Cross-country skiing is a winter Deaflympic sport discipline for the Deaf, where athletes compete on specially prepared snow tracks using cross-country skis and poles. The main styles of skiing are classic style and freestyle (skating). Competitions are held over various distances with both individual and mass starts. The program also includes pursuit races. Competitions are conducted according to the rules for the sport "deaf sports," based on the rules of the International Ski Federation (FIS), with all sound signals replaced by visual signals. In the international deaf sports system and the Deaflympics program, cross-country skiing competitions have been held since 1949, while in the national sports system they have been held since the 1920s. The debut of the Soviet cross-country skiing team at the Deaflympics took place in 1949. Currently, annual championships and national championships are held in the Russian Federation.