Additional Disciplines for Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, Russia. Additional disciplines have been added to the games, and have been welcomed by athletes, giving them more freedom as to the events that they can qualify in. Now snowboard slopestyle, parallel slalom snowboarding and slopestyle skiing events will also be allowed, and the International Olympic Committee has also made the decision to allow women’s ski jumping and halfpipe skiing into the next Winter Olympic Games.

Ski Orienteering – Skill, Endurance & Quick Thinking

As one of the four disciplines regulated by the International Orienteering Federation (the others being foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering and trail orienteering) ski orienteering is a winter activity requiring strength, endurance and technical skiing skills, along with the ability to make split-second decisions while navigating cross-country terrain, often at high speed.

Victory for Gundersen in Birkebeiner

The American Birkebeiner was hosted for its 38th year on Saturday, 26 February 2011, in Wisconsin’s northwoods. It is located close to the cities of Duluth, Chicago, Minnesota and Illinois and is therefore easily accessible. The ski area in which the Birkie is held is in Chequamegon National Forest, which covers an area of eight hundred and fifty thousand acres, consisting of beautiful rivers and of course numerous trails that can be used all year round. Runners, bikers and trekkers visit the area for training. During the winter months the slopes belong to the avid skiers and winter sport enthusiasts.

Victory for Elisabeth Goergl

The satisfaction of winning the Super G event this week has been unimaginable after a long journey for Elisabeth Goergl of Austria. Winning her first gold medal was an extremely proud moment for the accomplished alpine skier, who also enjoys downhill disciplines as well as giant slalom. Born on 20 February 1981, Goergl will most definitely have something to celebrate along with her birthday as the enormity of her victory begins to sink in. Even though she was up against world class competition, the Austrian skier did not allow pressure to deter her from delivering one of her best performances.

Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010

The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games 2010 will be taking place from the 12th of February to the 28th of February 2010. This thrilling international event began in France in 1924, when the first Olympic Winter Games were held in Chamonix.

Alf Engen Ski Museum

Situated in the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center, located at Utah Olympic Park, the Alf Engen Ski Museum is a fantastic experience for the entire family. This highly interactive museum will guide patrons through the past right into the future of winter sports in the area. Visitors can enjoy both self-guided and guided tours of the museum as well as the Olympic competition sites.

Freestyle for Canada Winter Games

Canada is already gearing up for the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and they have made an announcement that Freestyle skiing will be making a huge impact on the coming games. Freestyle skiing skyrocketed to popularity during the 1960’s and was then referred to as Hot-Dogging. For years this style was considered to be reckless and dangerous, but in 1979, it was recognized as a sport by the International Ski Federation. To make the sport safer, especially for competitions, jumping techniques and regulations were introduced, and today the breathtaking aerial maneuvers of varying technical difficulty still leave spectators speechless.

Cross Country Ski Association Gets Olympic Grant

It’s official – the Central Cross Country Ski Association (CXC) is one of the grant recipients of the 2009 Olympic Opportunity Fund. The financial support provided by this facility will no doubt go a long way to helping the association with its Support Adaptive Ski Program efforts.