Cross-Country Skiing Leagues, Clubs and Associations

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A ten-year-old at her first Bill Koch League festival, bib flapping over her jacket. A high school team piling out of a van at the state meet in Minnesota. A college skier double poling into the Craftsbury stadium at the NCAA championships. Ben Ogden lunging for the line in the Olympic sprint final. Cross-country skiing has a clear path from the first lap to the Olympics, and plenty of off-ramps for skiers who just want to race a loppet with friends. Here are the cross-country skiing organizations that run it all, from the international federation to Nordic ski clubs and citizen races.

FIS: the international federation

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) governs cross-country skiing worldwide, along with alpine, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle and snowboard. It was founded in 1924 at the first Winter Games in Chamonix, is based in Oberhofen, Switzerland, and counts 141 member nations. FIS writes the International Competition Rules (ICR) for cross-country, runs the FIS Cross-Country World Cup each winter (the program is set every season, and the Tour de Ski stage race is part of it), and the biennial World Championships. FIS also governs Para cross-country skiing. The rules side, from technique to pole length, is on our trail etiquette and racing rules page.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the regional divisions

U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the national governing body for Olympic and Paralympic skiing and snowboarding in the US. It traces back to the National Ski Association founded in 1905, is based in Park City, Utah, and selects the U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team. Its domestic racing is organized through ten regional divisions, such as the New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA), Central Cross Country (CXC) and Rocky Mountain Nordic, which run regional race series and pick the divisional teams for Junior Nationals.

• U.S. Cross-Country National Championships: the open national championships, part of the SuperTour racing system. The 2027 edition is set for Cable, Wisconsin, January 2–7, with a 10 km skate, a classic sprint, a 20 km classic mass start and a skate sprint.
• Junior National Championships: for the U16 (14–15), U18 (16–17) and U20 (18–19) age classes, with skiers selected onto divisional teams. The 2026 Junior Nationals were held at the American Birkebeiner trailhead in Cable, Wisconsin, March 9–14; the 2027 edition goes to Anchorage, Alaska.
• Regional series: NENSA’s Eastern Cup, for example, is the country’s largest regional racing circuit, with more than 1,000 skiers a year from juniors to college and open racers. NENSA also runs the Bill Koch League for kids (see our youth page).

Clubs are where it happens day to day: a local Nordic club usually runs a youth program, a junior racing team, masters training groups and the races themselves. Ask at your nearest Nordic center or your regional division’s website.

High school Nordic skiing

According to the 2024-25 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 12 states sponsor high school cross-country skiing, with 6,508 athletes: 3,326 boys on 315 school teams and 3,182 girls on 305. Minnesota leads by far, with about 3,400 skiers from nearly 140 schools. Alaska, Massachusetts and Maine follow, and New Hampshire, Vermont, Colorado, New York, Wyoming, Michigan, Utah and California also have teams. Each state association runs its own season, rules and championships; in New England, the Eastern High School Championships bring together more than 500 skiers from several states.

College: NCAA and USCSA

NCAA skiing is a single co-ed championship that combines alpine and Nordic: men and women race slalom and giant slalom plus classical and freestyle cross-country, and the team and individual titles are decided by cumulative points. Nordic skiers qualify through the East, Central and West regions. The 2027 NCAA championships are set for March 10–13 at Stowe Mountain Resort (alpine) and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center (Nordic) in Vermont. For club skiers, the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA), founded in 1974, has more than 140 member schools, 11 conferences and more than 40 Nordic teams, with a “student comes before athlete” philosophy.

Olympics and Paralympics

Cross-country skiing at Milano Cortina 2026 had 12 events, held at the cross-country and biathlon center in Tesero from February 7 to 22, and for the first time women raced the same distances as men, including the 50 km. Team USA won three medals: Ben Ogden’s silver in the classic sprint, the first U.S. men’s Olympic cross-country medal since Bill Koch’s 30 km silver in 1976; a team sprint silver for Ogden and Gus Schumacher; and Jessie Diggins’ bronze in the 10 km freestyle, her fourth Olympic medal and the most of any American cross-country skier.

Para cross-country skiing has been in the Paralympics since 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in standing, sit-ski and vision-impaired classes, with sprints, 10 and 20 km races and relays in classic and free technique. Canada’s Brian McKeever holds the men’s record with 16 Paralympic golds. Together with Para biathlon, it makes up Para Nordic skiing.

Biathlon

Biathlon, cross-country skiing plus rifle shooting, has its own federation: the International Biathlon Union (IBU), which has governed it since 1993 and runs its World Cup. It’s been an Olympic sport since 1960 for men and 1992 for women. Biathletes come from the same ski clubs and training, and in the US many start as cross-country skiers. For the shooting side, look for a club with certified coaches and range safety programs.

Citizen races: the American Birkebeiner and the loppets

For most adult skiers, the big goal is a citizen race. The American Birkebeiner has been run by the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation since 1973 and is North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon: 50 km skate or 53 km classic from Cable to Main Street in Hayward, Wisconsin, with skiers from all 50 states and 25 countries. The 29 km Kortelopet and 15 km Prince Haakon run the same weekend (age 13 and up), the Birkie itself is for skiers 18 and older, and the elite wave is filled from the previous year’s top finishers. The 2027 Birkie is Saturday, February 27. The Birkie is a founding member of Worldloppet, the international federation of ski marathons, and its race week includes kids’ races, a ParaBirkie and the Barnebirkie.

A ski marathon is a long day: our ski day and race day page covers fueling and pacing, and training covers how to build up to it. Many citizen racers train with a GPS watch and heart rate; the Garmin Forerunner 570 is a GPS multisport watch with Garmin Coach plans (about $550; see our best wearables for cross-country skiing). For hydration on long training days, Nuun Sport tablets have 300 mg of sodium and 1 g of sugar per tablet and are Informed Choice certified, according to the maker (see our electrolyte guide).

Back to the cross-country skiing hub, or see how alpine racing is organized on our skiing leagues page. For a team-sport comparison, see soccer’s leagues and associations.

Cross-country skiing organizations: questions

Who governs cross-country skiing?

Internationally, FIS, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which writes the competition rules and runs the World Cup and World Championships. In the US, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the national governing body, with ten regional divisions. Biathlon is governed by the IBU.

How many high schools have Nordic ski teams?

In 2024-25, NFHS counted 315 boys’ and 305 girls’ school teams in 12 states, with 6,508 skiers. Minnesota has by far the most.

Is cross-country skiing an NCAA sport?

Yes, as part of NCAA skiing, a co-ed championship that combines alpine (slalom and giant slalom) and Nordic (classical and freestyle) races, with titles decided on points. Club skiers race through the USCSA.

What is the American Birkebeiner?

North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon, held every February between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin, since 1973: 50 km skate or 53 km classic, plus shorter races and kids’ events the same week.

How many medals did the US win in cross-country skiing in 2026?

Three: two silvers for Ben Ogden (classic sprint, and team sprint with Gus Schumacher) and a bronze for Jessie Diggins in the 10 km freestyle.