Skiing Vs Skating During the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are a major international multi-sports event held annually for sports practiced especially on ice and snow. They are the only Olympic Sports Festival to be held on ice and snow. Winter Olympics have been an important symbol of the spirit of the Olympics as well as the spirit of international sportsmanship since their inception. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hosted by Germany and the United States.-Straits Times

Since then, other countries have been bidding to be the Winter Olympics host city, with many cities trying to woo the athletes to showcase their sports skills in front of the international audience. Some Winter Olympics host cities have been successful in securing top athletes to participate and compete at the Winter Olympics. Paris, London, Calgary, Russia, Vancouver, Canada and St. Paul, Minnesota, USA are just a few of the cities that have staged the Winter Olympics more than once.

Each country sends three to five Winter Olympics athletes to the Olympics. These athletes are placed in different sports competitions according to their own sports’ discipline. Competitors may come from any country in the world, but they must first compete in a qualifying tournament, which is organized and run by the International Olympic committee. After the qualifying tournament is over, the athletes will be invited to a tournament which will determine who will be the Winter Olympics’ athletes.

As opposed to swimming and gymnastics, ice skating and hockey are the only Olympic sports which make use of an ice rink during the Winter Olympics. The athletes practice their games on ice covered with a thin layer of water which makes it difficult for the competitors to move. The thickness of the ice also affects the performance of the athletes. When the competition is tough, the athletes often go to great lengths to make their moves on the ice as difficult as possible so that the judges can notice them.

Unlike swimming and gymnastics, ice skating and ice hockey do not make use of the water tower in order to save energy and time. Because of this, it takes a lot longer for the athletes to complete their routines on an ice rink. The speed and agility of the athletes playing in these events are highly dependent on their ability to maneuver through the ice using their body’s natural movements – without which, they cannot play. For instance, figure skaters need to smoothly turn on the ice and then quickly change direction, while their skating partners need to easily adjust their speeds to keep up with them.

Since the Winter Olympics are held during the coldest months of the year, many people think that skiing and ice skating should be banned from the Winter Olympics. However, experts say that if the athletes participating in the Winter Olympics spend more time practicing their sport on an artificial surface, they will be able to improve their skating techniques and be better prepared for the real ice. Also, the venues for the Winter Olympics have made major improvements over the last fifteen years. Therefore, even though snow is still on the ice, the athletes won’t feel it when they are racing down the slope.