INWA World Cups, Championships, Competitions & Races

Competitive Sport

INWA Events include:

World Championships
European Championships
Racing competitions
World Cup competitions
Special events such as the 100m Hill Climb competitions held in Japan.
Participation in other races where Nordic Walkers join runners and general walkers over distances ranging from marathons to 5 km.

Find relative and actual information on our Calendar Page

Find here the latest version 2024 of the INWA Nordic Walking Competition Rules for World and European Championships and World Cups

INWA COMPETITION EVENTS ARE JUDGED BY INWA EDUCATED RACE OFFICIALS.

INWA has 2 levels of Race officials;

National Nordic Walking Referee, who needs a pre education as National Trainer or Instructor
Nordic Walking Referee, it can be an enthusiastic Nordic Walker, an referee qualified in another sport or a volunteer without any knowledge of Nordic Walking

The National Nordic Walking Referee is the primarily responsible person during the World Cup event and controls the track, takes end decisions, and directs the team of Nordic Walking Referees. In an INWA World Cup or INWA event, there are always at least 1 National Nordic Walking Referee and 5 Nordic Walking Referees. You can make use of the persons in INWA Race Official Register or ask for education in your member country. For more information send a mail to INWA Office.

INWA offers the Race Official courses annually in a reasonable place and time. The course schedule and booking process will be available on the INWA website and INWA’s Facebook site and through the INWA Newsletter.
The course is delivered by an INWA International Trainer. If you require as Race Official training to be conducted in your own country, please contact INWA office.

Next coming competition events :

INWA NORDIC WALKING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LAHTI – FINLAND
Register now: September 13-15th 2024
www.finlandiahiihto.fi/nwwc

The Internationally known Lahti Sports Centre is the heart of the ski games. At the sports centre are located the ski jump towers, restaurant Voitto, ice hockey arena, ski museum, outdoor swimming pool and much more. During the wintertime there are ski trails on the area and during the summertime outdoor hiking trails.
In addition to being a world-renowned arena for winter events, the Lahti Sports Centre is one of the town’s most fascinating tourist attractions.
In summer, you can enjoy the wonderful view from the observation deck at the top of the Lahti Ski Jump tower. Take the chairlift from the out-run area up to the jump towers or, if a ride on the chairlift is not your cup of tea, you can also reach the jump towers by car from Hämeenlinnantie road. The ski jump tower observation deck is open for public daily during the summertime and in winter it is open by request. In summer, the out-run of the ski jumping hill serves as a pleasant outdoor swimming pool with separate pools for adults and children. And when hunger hits, you’ll find a nice café and a restaurant with a view over the whole Sports Centre in the museum building.

The hiking trails in Salpausselkä, some of which go all the way to Messilä Ski Centre, also start from the Sports Centre. And what’s more, the services of the Sports Centre are only 10 minutes away on foot from the centre of Lahti.

What makes the Sports Centre area so well suitable for sports is its geology: the unique, diverse landscape of ridges, kettle holes, steep slopes and raised beaches. The Sports Centre is one of the most significant geosites within the Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Sports Centre lies on the First Salpausselkä Ridge, which was formed along the margin of the continental ice sheet during the melting phase of the last Ice Age some 12 000 years ago, when a period of rapid climate cooling stopped the ice sheet from retreating further. The meltwaters, running in tunnels and cracks within the glacier, transported and sorted gravel and sand, which were deposited as adjacent deltas at the mouths of glacial rivers in the Baltic Ice Lake.

The kettle hole landscape that gives the area its distinctive look, was formed through the melting of enormous ice blocks that had split off from the continental ice sheet. These ice blocks were buried in the sand and gravel deposited by the glacial meltwaters. As the ice melted, the land around the blocks collapsed forming the pitted kettle landscape. The out-run of the ski jumping hill is also built in a kettle hole.

You can also arrive at the Sports Centre by public transport. For example the buses 4H, 4V, and 6 can take you less than half a kilometer away from the Sports Centre.

Calendar 2024 – 1

Finished events in 2024-2023:

INWA WORLD CUP KEMIGAWA (JAPAN) April 27th 2024

The INWA World Cup Japan took place on April 27th in Kemigawa, located between Tokyo Haneda International Airport and Narita International Airport. The expansive grass field, nestled in the heart of the city, provided an optimal venue for Nordic walking races.

Fourty Nordic walkers conducted a trial at the Kemigawa Sports Field to evaluate the outcomes of their routine Nordic walking exercise. The designated course consisted of two laps, each 2.5 kilometres long. The participants expressed interest not only in refining their walking technique but also in monitoring variations in lap times. Their enthusiasm extended to enhancing their future performance and aspiring to partake in the Japan Cup series.

Official results
https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=349852

INWA referee:
Naohiro Takahashi
Akiko Horuguchi
Hiroaki Andong
Hideaki Marushima
Etsuko Chaki

Race Nordic Walking Japan Cup 2024
27.4. Kemigawa, Chiba
29.4. Sendai, Miyagi
29.9. Iizuna, Nagano
20.10.Madarao, Nagano
30.11. Osaka, Osaka
1.12. Okazaki, Aichi