The executive board of the聽International Olympic Committee聽(IOC) approved the inclusion of four new events in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Snowboard big air, mass starts in speedskating, mixed doubles in curling, and an alpine skiing team competition鈥攁ll for both men and women鈥攚ill debut in three years in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Monday鈥檚 decision was based on several criteria, including youth appeal, gender equality, and operational cost and complexity, . The Olympic governing body expects that the new events will increase female participation in the Winter Games and make for a record number of women鈥檚 competitions.
What鈥檚 in:
- Team skiing: A staple of the World Cup, this parallel slalom race pits two two-person teams against each other. The event will be for both men and women.
- Snowboard big air: This competition involves athletes fitting as many jumps, flips, and spins into the allotted time as possible, .
- Mass starts in speedskating: In , 24 skaters race to complete 16 laps around the ice. 鈥淢ass-start races would add intrigue, team tactics, and a direct confrontation of skating styles in a long-distance event,鈥 .
What鈥檚 out:聽
- Snowboard parallel slalom:聽Last year, 聽of Russia took the gold in the men鈥檚 category, while Austrian 聽placed first in women鈥檚.
- Big air freestyle skiing: This聽new event was proposed聽but didn鈥檛 make the cut.
The additions bring the total number of events to 102.聽South Korean organizers say that these will be the first games with more than 100 contests. 鈥淲e believe that adding new events will make the 2018 Winter Games more innovative,鈥 Pyeongchang organizing committee leader Cho Yang-ho told the AP.