The hosting of this championship is a significant milestone not only for Kazakhstan but also for the entire international sports community. We are proud to welcome the world’s best athletes, united by the shared values of determination, excellence, and the inspiring power of sport.
This championship will mark an important step in the development of inclusive sport in Central Asia and will serve as a strong catalyst for promoting equality, accessibility, and participation of people with special needs in active social life.

See you in Kazakhstan from the 18th to 25th February 2026
We extend our warmest greetings to all athletes, coaches, officials, and guests of the Virtus World Nordic Ski Championships, which will be held for the first time in Kazakhstan, in the beautiful city of Shchuchinsk.
Shchuchinsk is a resort town in Northern Kazakhstan - in the Akmola region, which received its name due to the abundance of pikes in the lake on which it is located. It is under the regional jurisdiction of Akmolinsk. This city is located on Shchuchye Lake seventy-five kilometers from Kokshetau city or 237 km from Astana city (capital city of Kazakhstan).

The city is surrounded by evergreen pine forests, birch groves and hundreds of blue lakes.

The natural park is a unique oasis high in the mountains. It is famous as a resort area all over the world. There is not only the purest healing air, but also mineral waters and therapeutic mud. Modern developed infrastructure contributes to the development of tourism.
Entry into Kazakhstan is visa-free for many countries. However, if your country requires a visa, each competing nation is responsible for arranging for the necessary visas for their delegation. Where required the LOC will issue a letter of invitation to participating nations.

Note: Remember that visa request may need a long time especially for some countries, so please send as soon as you can the names and data of the people that will come to Kazakhstan so that we can prepare the invitation letter.

Delegations will be accommodated in a hotel located within the sports complex of the competition venue. The distance between the hotel and the competition venue is within walking distance for both training and competition days.
II1 – Athletes with an intellectual disability
II2 – Athletes with an intellectual disability and significant additional impairment
II3 – Athletes with autism
All athletes entering the event must appear as “Active” on the Virtus Master List no later than the final entry deadline.
Applications for new athletes must be submitted to Virtus as soon as possible
Athletes who do not meet the qualifying criteria or do not appear on the Virtus Master List as “Active” are not eligible for this event
There is no guest entry

According to the rules of Virtus, the competition is opened to the following Virtus’ categories:
These championships are subject to doping control testing.
Any athlete requiring a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) has to send a TUE applications to the Virtus Anti-Doping Committee no less than 30 days before the competition to: tue@virtus.sport.

These forms are available on the Virtus website.
English is the oficial language of Virtus events.
All materials and information will be available in english.
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday 20th February, a parade will take place between the competition site and the site of the opening ceremony at around 9 am (to be confirmed in the welcome guide sent out before the competition), the day before the start of the competition.

The closing ceremony and Medals ceremonies will take place on Tuesday 24th February at the venue.
30th November 2025 1st Entry
11st January 2026 2nd Entry

Tournament location
The competition will be held in the NATIONAL SKI CENTER. It was opened in Shchuchinsk in January 2018. The complex includes ski jumps K125 and K90, a ski-biathlon stadium and 16 FIS-certified ski runs, roller ski tracks, a ski track with artificial summer turf.

The Center has hosted over 10 international FIS competitions.

The ski and biathlon stadium has ski tracks with a total length of 11 km. It consists of 16 FIS-certified trails of varying difficulty levels, a roller ski track with a width of 6 to 12 meters and a length of 7 kilometers. The stadium is equipped with artificial lighting, snowmaking, video broadcast and timing systems. The stadium's stands can accommodate up to 3,000 spectators.
NATIONAL SKI CENTER,
020000 Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan
NATIONAL SKI CENTER
Accommodation address
Shchuchinsk,
020000, Kazakhstan