Nordic Walking has always been known as a particularly good aerobic sport and now athletes and Nordic Walking practitioners have the opportunity to test themselves against other Nordic Walkers around the World.
The International Nordic Walking Federation (INWA) has announced the formation of the official Nordic Walking World Cup and World Championship Series.
World Cup 2017 events in Latvia and China
The first World Cup will be held in Riga Latvia on the 17th June, 2017 followed by the second 2017 event in the Qinghai Province in China on the 8th and 9th July, 2017.
INWA is the Global Governing Body for Nordic Walking and sets the standards for how Nordic Walking is taught and practiced. INWA also develops the required Education material and programs to ensure Nordic Walking is practiced the correct way and have now added Global competitions to the range of functions for which INWA is responsible.
President of the International Nordic Walking Federation (INWA), Aki Karihtala is very excited about the World Cup 2017. “One target of INWA has been to promote also Nordic Walking Competitions as this will bring younger participants to the sport. This also offers huge opportunities for the development, promotion and visibility of Nordic Walking worldwide and this is now the perfect time to start. Our member associations have been testing the competitions on national level and the feedback from that has encouraged us to take this up to the higher international level.” Aki Karihtala continues: “We now start in Latvia where the World Cup event will be held at the same time as the World Sports Games. Host of the second World Cup event China is nowadays one of the fastest developing countries and the province of Qinghai has a lot of experience in organizing international events, Qinghai Lake Bicycle Race being their best known event. A population of over 10 million Nordic Walkers offers us a good base for international competitions.”
The INWA World Championships will be held once every three years commencing in 2018, whereas the INWA World Cup events are held multiple times throughout each year in different locations around the World, providing the opportunity for Nordic Walking participants to attend events in their region, and for those enthusiasts who can’t get enough of Nordic Walking competitions, there is the opportunity to travel around the World and participate in multiple World Cups.
Competition classes and rules
Nordic Walking is known as an activity that can be practiced by people of all ages and fitness levels. INWA competitions have therefore been structured to enable as many people as possible to participate. Rules of the events will be conducted in accordance with INWA competition rules, including use of correct Nordic Walking technique during competitions. In both the INWA World Cup and INWA World Championships, there are 3 different event types:
• Nordic Walking races across three distances – 5km, 10km and 21km (single and team competitions)
• Nordic Walking Techtime competition, which is a special type of competition where technique and time accuracy are evaluated
• Nordic Hill Racing in which participants are running uphill with Nordic Walking poles (does not apply for the Senior participants)
The following age categories apply for both men and women.
• Junior under 20 years old
• Adult A. 21 – 39 years old
• Adult B. 40 – 59 years old
• Senior 60+ years old
I INWA Nordic Walking World Cup 2017 Riga, Latvia
II INWA Nordic Walking World Cup event 2017 Qinghai, CHINA
INWA World Cup competitions in 2017 are open for the citizens of the INWA member countries (presently 18).
For more information, please contact INWA by email to info@inwa-nordicwalking.com
www.inwa-nordicwalking.com
Facebook: INWA Nordic Walking
