June 06, 2012 (Kangwonland, Korea) – Meetings of eight different Cross-Country Committees were held during the 48th International Ski Congress that took place in Kangwonland, Korea, from Monday, May 28 to Wednesday, May 30th.

Some important issues concerning the World Cup calendar and rules were presented, discussed and confirmed by the FIS Cross-Country Committee and forwarded for review and decision by the FIS Council.

As of the upcoming season, the men’s relay at FIS Cross-Country World Cups will be shortened to 4×7.5km. This change will be applied only to World Cup competitions. The program of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships remains unchanged. With this change, the men’s relay will become more compact for TV transmission and the shorter distance might encourage teams to be more active and offensive.

Another change deals with ski exchange in mass start competitions. Stadium layouts at mass start competitions will be updated so that the way through the exchange zone will be longer. These extra meters seek to animate the competition and encourage the tactical aspects of racing. They will also give a chance to the commentators and TV to focus on athletes going to change skis and build a story. The maximum number of exchanges will be based on the course and lap length, but should be limited to three at a maximum in competitions up to 30km, five at a maximum in competitions longer than 30km and one time at a maximum in skiathlon competitions.

The FIS Council confirmed the change of the maximum distance of ladies sprint course, which has been increased from 1.4 to 1.6km.

The Council also approved a clarification of procedures for penalties including special rules for allowing substitution of disqualification with time penalty in multi-stage events, as per decision of the competition jury.

Waxing and team service have changed dramatically in last years especially with introduction of teams’ waxing trucks. In order to clarify the situation new rules have been put in place.