Let’s learn the names of all the Winter Olympic sports and also learn a little bit about each sport! If you do this, when you are watching the games over the next weeks you can practice your English, by quizzing yourself on these new vocabulary words.

These are the sports represented in the 2014 Winter Olympics:

Alpine skiing – This sport is also often called ‘downhill skiing’ in English. Alpine skiing is a sport that involves sliding (or skiing) down a snow-covered mountain on two skis that are attached to the feet with “fixed-heel binding” or a connection between the feet and skis that doesn’t allow for lifting the feet off the skis.

Biathlon – This is a sport that is a combination of two sports: cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. In this sport athletes ski along relatively flat ground and also stop to shot, with guns, at specific targets.

Bobsleigh – This sport is also called ‘bobsled.’ Competing in bobsleigh involves teams (of two or four people) making timed runs down a narrow ice-covered track in a small sled. The sled is pushed at the top of the track and then driven as it goes down. The hope is to get the fastest time(s).

Cross-country skiing – The name of this sport is sometimes written as ‘XC skiing.’ Cross-country skiing involves racing on skis over snow-covered ground, that is relatively flat (i.e. not mountainous). The point is to ski the fastest and be the first to complete the course that is set out.

Curling – This is a team sport in which one member of the team slides a large round stone down the ice, with other team members aiding the movement with brooms. The point of the game is to move the large stone to the target. (There is a picture of curling above.)

Figure skating – This sport involves both individuals and couples skating in an artistic manner on an ice rink. In the Olympic Games there are many figure skating competitions, including: men’s and ladies’ singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The routines the athletes perform are rated by judges who determine which athlete did the best.

Freestyle skiing – This sport is also called ‘freeskiing’ and ‘newschool skiing.’ This sport involves skiing while performing tricks, jumps, and skiing around obstacles.

Ice hockey – This is a team sport played in an ice rink with players wearing ice skates. The players use sticks to move a small rubber disc (hockey puck) around the ice, trying to score a goal against the other team.

Luge – This sporting competition is played both individually or in pairs. It involves lying on a small sled feet-first (feet leading) and sliding down a narrow ice-covered track. The point of this sport is to have the fastest time running down the track.

Nordic combined – This is a sport that is a combination of two sports: cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Competitors participate in both a cross-country ski race and preform ski jumps to see who can jump the furthest.

Short track speed skating – This is a form of competitive ice skating where the point is to skate as fast as possible around a small oval ice track.

Skeleton – This is another sport that involves riding a sled down a frozen track to get the fastest time possible.  In skeleton, athletes ride on top of a small sled, face-first (head leading) down an ice-covered track. This is considered a particularly dangerous sport. (See the picture below.)

Ski jumping – This sport involves skiing down a “takeoff” ramp, which is a tall man-made hill, and then trying to jump the furthest from the starting point. The athletes gain speed as they go down the takeoff ramp, then they try to hold an aerodynamic position while flying through the air to go as far as possible before landing on the snow.

Snowboarding – This sport is similar to skiing; only it involves one large board instead of two skis.  In snowboarding competitions, athletes either race for the fastest time down a mountain or preform tricks in what is called the half-pipe for the best score.

Speed skating – This is a form of competitive ice skating where the point of the competition is to skate as fast as possible around an ice track. There are varying distances that the athletes compete in and there are also team or relay events in speed skating.