Winter Olympic events (curling,figure-skating,freestyle skiing)

Curling

The game curling is played on an ice rink. The players work in teams of four. They try to get a 42-pound granite stone to travel to the other end of the rink and stop close to the tee. The point of the game is after all 16 stones are played, you have to have a stone of your team's closest to the center of the Tee. They begin at a place called the Hack and the target at the other end is called the Tee. It is a little like bowling but on ice with a stone that has a handle.

You need the stone, brooms, and the right kind of shoes. One game consists of 10 ends. An end is almost like an inning in baseball. Each team has four members. Two of them sweep the ice in front of the Curling Stone so that the ice is smooth and the stone goes farther. They are called Sweepers. Ten men and women's teams will take part in this winter Olympics.

Figure-skating

Have you ever pictured yourself skating smoothly on ice in front of thousands of people? Then figure skating is for you!

Figure skating is a sport where you dance on ice. Figure skating can be done in pairs or as a single. The only equipment that you need is a pair of skates and costumes. Figure skaters stand gracefully, trying to achieve a smooth, effortless performance. The curved, shorter blade allows them to make sharp turns and spins. Figure Skating was added to the Olympic program of the 1908 Summer Game.

Ice skating began in Europe hundreds of years ago. People waited until winter to skate on frozen lakes, ponds, and canals. Today indoor ice rinks allow ice skaters to skate all year long.

There are a few different kinds of events: Pairs, Men's and Ladies' singles, and Ice Dancing. Pairs is when partners (a man and a woman) perform difficult and amazing tricks such as spins and jumps. Men's and Ladies' singles is when singles skaters perform. It includes a short program (worth 33.3 % of final score) and it includes a free skate (66.7%)

Participants create outfits that match their style and music. Ladies must wear skirts and men have to wear full length trousers. They also need skates which are boots with metal blades. A maximum of 30 women, 30 men, 20 pairs and 24 ice dancing teams will compete in this Winter Olympics.

Ice Dancing

Do you like the Olympics and dancing? Did you ever imagine dancing on ice? Then ice dancing is your kind of sport. You will see amazing moves on ice. If we were judges we know it would be hard to pick the winners!

Each team of ice dancers (a man and a woman) must do four dances. Two of those dances are the same for all the ice dancers. They are called the compulsory dances and are worth 10 percent of their score. The other two dances are the original dance and the free dance. The original dance is worth 30 percent of their score and the free dance is worth 50 percent.

In the free dance the ice dancers are allowed to create their own steps to whatever music they choose. The ice dancers are judged on the dancer's unison timing, expression and accuracy and placement of their dance steps. Ice dancing is a little bit like the pairs competition in figure skating but there are more thing that ice dancers can not do. 

Freestyle skiing 

Did you ever want to fly? This winter Olympic sport lets you do just that. Freestyle Aerials is almost like flying. Imagine you're on top of a mountain about to ski off a 13 foot high jump, fly through the air twisting and turning and land on soft crunchy snow. That is what it is like to be an aerial skier.

Freestyle aerials became an Olympic sport for men and women in 1994. If you are interested in being an aerialist you will need skis (usually shorter than the skier), ski boots, ski suit, and helmet.

There can be up to 135 athletes in this year's Olympic competition. The aerial competition will have two-jumps for each competitor. The top twelve men and women with the highest scores in the competition go on to the final. The finals will have two jumps. The highest total score from the final is the winner. The skiers do tricks in the air with strange names. Some of the interesting names are Daffy, Front Tuck, and Backscratcher. They skiers are judged on how they move in the air, how good their form is and how they land. Getting air is worth 20%, the skier's form is worth 50%, and the landing is worth 30%.

Skiers go off a jump that could be up to four meters tall (that's about thirteen feet.) They do flips and twists in the air before landing. Sometimes they even do multiple twisting somersaults. They land in soft snow.

Some skiers love to do the bumps! In the Olympics, some of those bumps will be almost four feet high! The word Mogul comes from an Australian word "mugel," which means moumen's halfpipe, women's halfpipe, men's parallel giant slalom and women's parallel giant slalom or small hill. Skiers use their knees like shock absorbers. The knees go up and down but the rest of their body stays still. Their skis should stay on the snow all the times as they make quick turns heading down hill at all times. Skiers use skies and poles like other racers. There is an event for men and one for women. The course is usually 755 to 885 feet long. 

Freestyle is the coolest!