At its annual meeting last Friday, the federation - which promotes the sport of cross-country skiing through various races around the world - approved associate membership to several smaller races. New Zealand's Merino Muster joined the Worldloppet ranks, along with races in Argentina, China and Iceland.
An announcement on the federation's website read: ''Races which are not able to fulfil the minimum requirements to become a full Worldloppet member will now have the possibility to become an associated Worldloppet member, which allows them to learn from the best long-distance races in the world at the same time as sharing their own special knowledge with everyone.''
Worldloppet is an international sports federation of cross-country skiing marathons, founded in 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden. Only the best race from each country can become a member of Worldloppet.
Merino Muster chairman John Burridge said, while Snow Farm was still awaiting official confirmation its Worldloppet application had been successful, the online announcement was ''fantastic news'' for cross-country skiing in New Zealand.
''It is a dream I have shared with Mary Lee, the former owner of the Snow Farm, from my earliest days as the manager of the first company sponsoring the race.
''Worldloppet will open the window on the global camaraderie of our sport and expose our small New Zealand cross-country community to a much bigger and welcoming community.''
Worldloppet had about 140,000 participants in its races each year, Mr Burridge said. The Merino Muster was the smallest race in terms of participant numbers, which were 175 last year.
A Worldloppet inspector will visit this year's Merino Muster on August 17 to provide guidance on what is required for the race to meet the federation's international standards. An Australian race referee will also assist in ensuring the race meets FIS (International Ski Federation) rules. The Merino Muster will then operate under the Worldloppet banner from 2014.
''Now comes the hard work of working with the Central Otago community to deliver the event that reflects our professionalism,'' Mr Burridge said.
