The Nordic Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition that is contested between the Nordic countries. The championships are generally held in mid-November and the host nation rotates every year between the Nordic countries.
Established in 1997, the championships comprises four separate races: the men's senior and junior competitions (9 kilometres and 6 km respectively), and a senior and junior competition for women (7.5 km and 4.5 km).[1] The women's senior race was previously the same length as the junior race, but this was modified in 2008.[2] The distances are approximate and vary slightly from year to year depending on the course.[3][4]
In addition to the individual competitions, each race doubles as a team competition in which the finishing positions of the top three athletes from each country are combined, with the lowest scoring national team winning. At the championships the years 1997-2019 performances of the top four athletes was used for the men's senior team race.[5]
After an update in June 2021 of the Rules and Regulations covering the Meetings and Competitions between the Nordic Athletic Federations the finishing positions of the top three athletes also for the men's senior team race is used (article 3.5.8 The sizes of the teams).[6]
