How to qualify in Alpine and cross-country skiing
How skiers qualify for the FIS World Ski Championships
There is no world qualifying tournament. Each national ski association can bring a squad up to a set size, and then start up to four in each medal event. Each athlete must also meet a minimum standard on the FIS points list (where fewer points is better).
| Discipline | Squad a country can bring | Starters per medal event |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine | 24, at most 14 per gender | 4 per gender |
| Cross-country | 12 per gender | 4 per gender |
| Ski jumping | 4 per gender (training: 6 men, 5 women) | 4 per gender |
| Nordic combined | 6 men, 5 women | 4 per gender |
| Ski flying | 4 | 4 |
The reigning world champion in an individual event may defend the title on top of the four, if entered by the same country.
The minimum standard
| Discipline | Standard |
|---|---|
| Alpine slalom and giant slalom | Any FIS points in one of the four alpine events |
| Alpine downhill and super-G | 80 FIS points or better in that event |
| Cross-country (to enter at all) | 800 FIS points or better (distance or sprint) |
| Cross-country distance races | 150 distance FIS points or better, or a top-10 place in a qualification race |
So the slalom and giant slalom are open to almost any skier with a FIS licence and a result. With many entries (about 120 or more), a qualification race is held first. This is the usual route for skiers from countries like India.
Cross-country qualification race
Skiers who meet the 800-point standard but not the 150-point one race a qualification competition. The top 10 may start the interval-start race as part of their country's four. To start the skiathlon or mass start too, they also need fewer than 200 distance FIS points.
Alpine mixed team parallel
Up to 16 nations. The best 15 on the World Cup Nations Cup standings after the last World Cup race before the championships qualify, and the host takes the 16th place if it is not among them. If fewer than 16 enter, the remaining places go to nations by the ranks of their best two women and two men.
Downhill training
Countries may send 6 per gender to the official downhill training, plus the reigning champion.
Where the rules give way
The rules say that if the table at article 8.11 ever conflicts with articles 8.1 to 8.10, the articles win.