Nordic World Ski Championships

• The first Nordic event recognised as a world championship took place in Chamonix in 1924.
• The Nordic disciplines are cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined.
• Since 1985, the championships have generally taken place every two years in odd-numbered years.
• The FIS awards titles as part of a shared major event.
• Women's ski jumping events have been included in the World Championships since 2009.
• Para cross-country skiing events joined the World Championship programme in 2025.

The Nordic World Ski Championships bring together three snow sports with close links to cross-country technique but very different competitions. In cross-country skiing, endurance, tactics and pace matter across several distances. Ski jumping centres on distance and execution. Nordic combined links a jump with a cross-country race, testing two abilities in one competition. A championship programme therefore offers spectators varied days of competition.

The first Nordic championship events were held in Chamonix in 1924 as part of the first Winter Olympic Games, which were officially recognised as such only later. In the early years, events were held annually. The FIS initially used names such as “Rendezvous races” and “FIS races”; since 1937, the official title has been FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Until the 1980 Winter Olympics, Olympic champions in many Nordic disciplines were also world champions.

The Second World War interrupted the competition calendar. Championships planned for 1940 were cancelled; an event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1941 later lost its official status. The first post-war championships took place in St. Moritz in 1948. They were then held every two years until 1982. Since 1985, the regular schedule has been in odd-numbered years, separate from the Winter Olympics.

Cross-country skiing includes individual races over various distances, relay and team formats. Nordic combined begins with a ski-jumping competition; the jump determines the time gap for the following cross-country race, so the order at the finish directly identifies the winner. Ski-jumping events take place on normal and large hills and include individual and team formats. The programme has expanded over the years.

Women's ski-jumping events joined the World Championship programme in 2009. In the World Cup, women's and men's cross-country distances were equalised from the 2022/23 season. The World Championships followed in 2025: in Trondheim, women and men raced the same distances, including the women's first 50-kilometre event. Para cross-country skiing events were also added at that championship. This development shows how the event has opened to more competitions and groups of participants. The sports can also be explored individually, including cross-country skiing, ski jumping and biathlon, which is not one of the three core Nordic championship disciplines but also combines skiing and precision.

The championships also bring together different sporting audiences: cross-country races travel through trails, jumping events centre on the hill, and Nordic combined links both venues through competition. Together with the Four Hills Tournament and other events in skiing, they are highlights of the winter calendar.