The Olympic Winter Games 2014 are kicking off in Sochi, Russia, in Febuary and with the IOC announcing 12 fantastic new events are being added to the schedule, fans around the globe can barely contain their excitement. So what are these new event?
Freeskiing Halfpipe (men and women)
Using skis rather than a snowboard, competitors will be performing a daring routine of twists, flips and jumps on the halfpipe. To qualify for the final, athletes must complete two preliminary runs. The 12 athletes with the highest score for one run make it through, where once again there are two runs. The gold medal will be awarded to the athlete with the highest score for one run.
Freeskiing Slopestyle (men and women)
Combining the raw speed of downhill skiing with the liftoff skills of skateboarders is a foolproof method of attracting spectators and that’s exactly what the IOC have done in this event. Expect this to be one of the most popular events at the games.
Snowboard Slopestyle (men and women)
One of the most eagerly anticipated of the new events, the goal of athletes here is to perform a range of audacious tricks while getting the highest jump they can. Lots of the tricks comprise of spins, grabs and flips and are guaranteed to keep lucky spectators on the edge of their seats.
Snowboard Parallel Special Slalom (men and women)
In this slopestyle event two athletes compete against each other by racing down an identical course with obstacles. The gold medal is given to the athlete who can get to the bottom of the course in the fastest time.
Biathlon Mixed Relay
This is a wonderful ski team event where teams of two men and two women must race against each other and shoot one prone and one standing shot during their lap. The lap distances for women is 6km and for men it’s 7.5km, however, a penalty lap of 150m must be completed for every shot that is missed. The team with the lowest overall time at the end will be on the summit of the podium.
Women’s Ski Jumping
There was vociferous backing for this event to be included in the Winter Games and now it’s here. It’s an individual event for women with points awarded for distance and style of the jump. The winner will have the highest combined score from two jumps.
Figure Skating Team Event
This event takes place before the opening ceremony of the games with six skaters on each team; one male skater; one female skater; one skating pair and one ice dance couple. Points are awarded for each performance and the team with the highest combined score will be declared the winner.
Luge Team Relay
The luge team relay is expected to be one of the highlights of the Winter Games. Teams are comprised of one male luger, one female luger and one doubles team. What’s sure to spike the interest of the crowd is when the first luger makes it to the finish line they must hit a pad which opens a gate on the start line so the next team member can begin their lap.
All in all, the Olympic Winter Games 2014 are shaping up to be one of the most memorable and closely watched games in the competition’s history. If you want to be there to witness all the action, now is the time to get your tickets. It’s definitely an experience that you won’t forget in a hurry.