Events/Disciplines:	Sprint, Team
Venue:	MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jump Complex Trail: 1.5m loop
Competition Schedule:	Sprint: Saturday, February 19 - 11:00 am    (Round 1) Sprint: Saturday, February 19 - 1:00 pm    (Round 2 and Finals) Relay: Sunday, February 20 - 11:30 am
Number of Athletes:	24 men and 24 women
Competition Format:	Sprint - 1.5k elimination race, 3 rounds    Round 1 - 3 heats, 8 athletes per heat,      top 4 from each advance    Round 2 - 2 heats, 6 athletes per heat,      top 3 from each advance    Round 3 (Final) - 1 heat, 6 athletes Team - 15k relay race    Each competitor skis the 1.5k loop 5 times      alternating with their teammate.
Brief Description:	Cross country skiing is like a road race on skis. The sprint - which has all the energy, excitement and spectator enjoyment of a fire drill on skis - is the newest event in cross country ski racing. It's been used on the World Cup tour for three seasons (with no points awarded until this season when it becomes an official World Cup event) and proposed to be added to the 2002 Olympic lineup. Despite the name, skiers will not always try to take the lead and hold it. There's often a 'cat and mouse' tactic applied. As in cycling, ski racers sometimes will let another lead, then try to overtake in the closing stages and win the sprint/heat. Skiers "skate" (i.e., use freestyle technique as opposed to classic technique), which is slower and requires prepared tracks Individual Sprint - This is total pandemonium with a "mass start" (skiers starting together as opposed to the "interval" or staggered start, with skiers going out 30 seconds apart, in traditional races), and racing pell-mell over a 1.5-km course...at the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jump Complex, that can have a tricky mix of uphills/downhills and rolls, not a lot of room to pass, you don't want to get behind early. Team Sprint - Same format with the mass start except now it's a two-member tag team: one skier goes 1.5Ks, tags off, tries to catch his/her breath while the partner tries to stay competitive. Note: The team sprint formula is the format used in the 2-man nordic combined sprint.