hanson olympic book (1)

Winter Olympic Sports
By Mrs. Hanson’s Class

Figure Skating
● Skating started as a way to get around the ice.
● Americans were responsible for developments in the history of the sport.
● Figure skating is the oldest sport in the Olympic games.
● Figure skating was first in the Olympics in 1924.
● In 1976 ice dancing started.
By Marissa

Freestyle Skiing
● Freestyle skiing started in the 1960s.
● Freestyle skiing was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Calgary
games.
● There are records of people doing somersaults in the air.
● You can do flips and tricks.
● Freestyle skiing was affectionately known as hotdogging.
By Brayden

●
●
●
●
●
Figure Skating
Figure skating has developed from a practical way to
get around on ice into the elegant mix of art and sport it
is today.
Figure skating is the oldest sport in the Olympic Winter
Games program. It was started at the 1908 London
Games and again in 1920 in Antwerp.
The Dutch were arguably the earliest pioneers of
skating. They began using canals to maintain
communication by skating from village to village as far
back as the 13th century.
Two Americans are responsible for the major
developments in the history of the sport.
Sonja Henie made her Olympic debut in Chamonix in
1924 at the age just 11, and was so nervous she had
to ask her coach what to do midway through her
routine.
By: Keturah

Nordic Combined
● This sport, which has a long Olympic history, combines ski
jumping and cross country skiing.
● Nordic Combined started in 1892.
● For centuries in the snow-covered North, skis were required to
chase game and gather firewood.
● The festival proved popular and soon attracted skiers from
Sweden and other neighboring countries.
● Unsurprisingly, the sport has been dominated by the
Norwegians and by the Finns.
By, Paige

Bobsleigh
● Bobsleigh is a winter sport. It was invented by
the Swiss in the late 1860s.
● In its original form, the first races used
skeleton sleds made of wood, but now they're
using sleds made of fiberglass and steel.
● In 1924, a four man race took place at the first
ever Olympic winter games in Chamonix.
● A two man event was added in 1932.
● The first women's Bobsleigh event, the two
woman Bobsleigh, was held in 2002.
By Derek

Speed Skating
● Speed skating started in the Olympics in 1924.
● Speed skating began as a rapid form of transportation across frozen lakes and rivers.
● It made its Olympics debut the 1924 winter games.
● The first known skating competition is thought to have been held in the Netherlands in
1676.
● The event almost always follows the European
system, which consists of skaters competition
two~by~two.
By Jillian

Cross Country Skiing
●
●
●
●
●
Cross Country Skiing is part of the Nordic
Skiing.
Cross Country Skiing is the oldest type of skiing.
It emerged from a need to travel over snow
covered terrain and developed as a sport in the
19th century.
The men’s event started at the first Winter
Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924.
The famous Holmenkollen Ski Festival started in
1892.
By: Gage

Luge
● Luge riders hurtle down slippery ice tracks at great speed, relying on steering.
● Luge is the French word for sledge and like bobsleigh.
● It was not until 1955 that the first world championship was organized.
● Luge is one of the oldest sports.
● The first race was held in 1883.
Antonio

Snowboarding
● Snowboarding combines elements of surfing, skateboarding
and skiing.
● Competition was the next logical step.
● This helped pave the way for snowboarding’s inclusion in the Olympic
winter games.
● The United States held its first national championships in 1982.
● In the event four riders race
across the snow with jumps,
bumps and huge turns.
By Gabriela

Biathlon
● The word biathlon comes from the
Greek word for two contests.
● It started in the Olympics in 1922.
● In 1993, the Biathlon rules were
created.
● Until the 1976 Games in Innsbruck
the events compresed.
● In lake Placid in 1980s, a second
individual event was introduced.
By Carmine

Skeleton
●
●
●
●
●
Skeleton is about people going down an icy
hill.
Men’s skeleton made two early appearances
on the Olympic programme in 1928 and 1948.
The sport developed in the Swiss resort town
as a pursuit for the rich.
It was the first sliding sport.
It was then dropped until it reappeared as a
men’s and women's event as Salt Lake city in
2002.
By Gavin

Curling
● Curling is a team sport played by two teams of four players on
rectangular sheet of ice.
● One of the world's oldest team sports, curling originated in the16
century in Scotland.
● The first curling club in Scotland formed in 1838.
● Men’s curling was included in the Olympic program in 1998.
● It was in Nagano in 1998 that it joined the Olympic program with men
and women competitions.
Allie