The Winter Olympic Games are guaranteed to captivate and impress as elite athletes from around the world come together to compete in the most prestigious and intense sporting competition. These athletes dedicate their lives training to become the best, which ideally results in them winning an Olympic Medal. How exciting it must be for these athletes to proudly represent their sport and their country!

So what makes the 2014 Winter Olympic Games even more exciting than usual? A total of 12 events will debut during the Sochi Games!

We are excited to share with you a listing of these new events and a brief description of what the events entail.

What’s New in 2014?

1. Women’s ski jumping
2. Team events in figure skating
3. Luge relay
4. Mixed relay in biathlon
5. Men’s ski halfpipe (freestyle)
6. Women’s ski halfpipe (freestyle)
7. Men’s snowboard slopestyle (freestyle)
8. Women’s snowboard slopestyle (freestyle)
9. Men’s ski slopestyle (freestyle)
10. Women’s ski slopestyle (freestyle)
11. Men’s snowboard parallel slalom
12. Women’s snowboard parallel slalom

Brief description of What the New Events Entail

Women’s Ski Jumping

The format for women’s ski jumping competitions will be the same as for the men’s competitions with the exception that individual women’s competitions will use a smaller ski jump (K-95). One set of medals will be awarded following 3 rounds: qualifying, first, and final. The winner is the competitor with the maximum score at the end of all three rounds.

Figure Skating Team Events

The figure skating team events are competitions between the best national teams. For this event, each team may have one sports pair, one dance pair, one singles figure skating male, and one singles figure skating female. Representatives from the singles and pairs skating perform a short and free program, and in ice dancing they perform a short and free dance. The 10 best teams in the world take part in the short team skating event program. Only five teams get through to the free program based on their results in the short program.

Luge – Team Relay

The luge relay will consist of composing teams from each country including: One women’s (single luge), one male’s (single luge) and men in double luges. The order of runs for each team will be (1) women’s single luge; (2) men’s single luge; and (3) the men’s pair.

At the finish, the athlete must hit the touch pad, which opens the start gate for the second sled, all of this without the time stopping. As soon as the third member of the team reaches the touch pad, the time stops and the overall time for the relay team is determined.

Freestyle Ski Halfpipe (Men & Women)

Athletes perform on a slope (half pipe) on freestyle skis, performing various tricks – somersaults, flips, grips and pirouettes. The event format is as follows: qualifying and final rounds, with two runs per athlete in each round. Places are determined according to the total number of points in the final.

Biathlon – Mixed Relay

Each national team consists of 4 athletes: two women and two men. Women ski 6 km and men 7.5 km in the following order: 1^st woman, 2^nd woman, 1^st man, and then the final male competitor.

Next, each athlete shoots at five targets (lying and standing), with three spare bullets at each shooting range. There is a 150 m long penalty loop for each miss.

Snowboard Slopestyle (Men’s and Women’s)

Athletes perform on a slope with various obstacles: rails, quarter pipes and jumps.

The event format is as follows: an elimination system with semi-finals and finals with two runs in each round. The total number of participants in the final is 12, and the best result determines the winner.

 Freestyle – Ski-Slopestyle (Men’s and Women’s)

Athletes perform on a slope with various obstacles: rails, quarter pipes and jumps. The event format includes an elimination system with semifinals and finals and two runs in each round. The top finisher wins.

Snowboard Parallel Slalom (Men’s and Women’s)

Two athletes descend parallel courses marked with blue and red flags. The athlete who covers the distance the fastest while following the course rules (about trajectories, fines, etc.) wins.

The courses must match each other as much as possible in terms of relief, snow cover, number of turns, and other factors. The format of this event is structured so that competitors go through two qualification runs before reaching the final runs, with two attempts on the red and blue slopes. Following the first qualification run, 16 men and women with the best course results on the first run are selected. In the second qualification run (elimination run), all participants change courses and compete again for the best course completion times. Following two qualification rounds, the 16 best reach the final elimination runs: 1/8, 1/4, semi-final and final.

 

http://www.sochi2014.com/en/news-12-events-to-make-debut-at-sochi-games

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