Events of the Winter Olympics

Bobsleigh, bobsled or bobsledge is a winter sport invented by Englishmen in the late 1860s in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled. The various types of sleds came several years before the first tracks were built in St Moritz, where the original bobsleds were adapted upsized Luge/Skeleton sleds designed by the adventurously wealthy to carry passengers. All three types were adapted from boys delivery sleds and toboggans. Competition naturally followed, and to protect the working class and rich visitors in the streets and byways of St M...

A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds. It is a competition in which these sleds race against a timer.

Skeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused (See below).

Ice hockey (frequently simply called hockey in countries where it is the most popular form of hockey) is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover, such as Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, and Russia. With the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks it has become a year-round pastime in these areas. Ice hockey is one of the four major North American professional sports. Worldwide...

Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior), and at local, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions. Figure skating is an official event in the Winter Olympic Games. In languages other than English, figure skating is usually referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating".

Major international...

Speed skating (also long track speed skating) is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating. Long track speed skating enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands, and has also had champion athletes from Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Italy, Norway, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the United States. Speed skaters attain maximum speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph) during the shorter distances.

Short track speed skating (also Shorttrack speedskating) is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m. The rink itself is 60 m by 30 m, which is the same size as an international-sized hockey rink.

Curling is a team sport with similarities to bowls and shuffleboard, played by two teams of four players each on a rectangular sheet of carefully prepared ice. Teams take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones down the ice towards the target (called the house). Two sweepers with brooms accompany each rock and use timing equipment and their best judgment, along with direction from their teammates, to help direct the stones to their resting place. The complex nature of stone placement and shot selection has led some to refer to curling as "chess on ice."[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...

Alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) is a recreational activity and sport involving sliding down snow-covered hills with long skis attached to each foot. Alpine skiing takes place at specially developed ski resorts where trees are cut, slopes are manipulated, snow is groomed and avalanches are controlled to facilitate the activity. Additionally, alpine skiing resorts employ various forms of mechanical ski lift to raise the skiers up the mountain.

The term "skiing" commonly refers to alpine skiing where one visits a ski resort, purchases a lift ticket, dons cold-weather clothing, skis, ski boots a...

Freestyle skiing is an acrobatic form of technical and aerial skiing. It is organized into a number of different disciplines, although there are no impartial authorities for managing the sport internationally.

Freestyle skiing first began to be taken seriously in the 1960s and early 1970s, when it was often known as "hot-dogging." Bob Burns pioneered this style in Sun Valley, Idaho beginning in 1965.

In the late 1960s other followers of the style included Wayne Wong, John Clendenin, Bob Salerno, and Tom LeRoy. Some people thought that this style of skiing was too dangerous and did not want i...

Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Another popular variant is summer biathlon, which combines cross-country running with riflery, and also modern biathlon and biathle, which combine running with swimming.

Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down an "inrun" with a take-off ramp (the jump), attempting to fly as far as possible. In addition to the length that skiers jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long (). Ski jumping is predominantly a winter sport, performed on snow, and is part of the Winter Olympic Games, but can also be performed in summer on artificial surfaces (porcelain or frost rail track on the inrun, plastic on the landing hill). The most notable ski jumpers today are Gregor Schlierenzauer, Wolfgang Loitzl,Simon Ammann and Janne Ahone...