Para cross-country skiing words · Beginner

Cross-country ski racing for athletes with a physical or a vision impairment, run by FIS. Athletes race in a vision impaired, standing or sitting category in distance races, sprints and relays.

Athletes are in one of three categories: vision impaired (classes NS1 to NS3), standing (LW2 to LW9) or sitting (LW10 to LW12). They race against athletes of the same gender and category and are ranked by calculated time.

Each sport class has a percentage, set by a factors expert group and approved by the Para Snowsports Committee. An athlete's real time is multiplied by the class percentage to give a calculated time, so that classes can be ranked together. Time adjustments are applied to the real time before the percentage.

The real net time multiplied by the sport class percentage, rounded to a tenth of a second (a hundredth in sprint qualification). Distance races and the sprint qualification are ranked by it.

Each skier starts at a set time, normally at 30-second intervals, and the result is the calculated time. The Paralympics and World Championships have a 10 km interval start in classical or free technique.

A race in which start times come from a previous interval race (the fastest real time sets the basic time) and skiers start by pursuit start, so the first to the finish wins in real time. The Paralympics and World Championships have a 20 km one.

A qualification round in interval start order, ranked by calculated time, followed by heats from pursuit starts, with the first across the line winning in real time. Courses are 0.6 to 1.2 km for sitting and 0.8 to 1.6 km for standing and vision impaired.

The sighted skier who guides a vision impaired athlete. A guide is obligatory in NS1 and NS2 and optional in NS3. Guiding is by voice only, with radio allowed, and the guide starts together with the athlete from in front, may lead, follow or ski alongside, and is treated as a competitor under the rules.

The sitting device of a sit-skier, with a fixed seat that cannot be adjusted during the race, mounted on a pair of cross-country skis. It must have a rigid connection and no springs or flexible joints. The seat may be at most 40 cm above the ski.