At the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, not only single-board but now also double-board artists will be able to perform their aerial acrobatics. In addition to the skiers' halfpipe competition confirmed in April, slopestyle will now also be part of the Olympic competition.
Following the inclusion of Ski Halfpipe in the Olympic competition calendar last April, the IOC confirmed today that the Ski and Snowboard Slopestyle events will also be included in the 2014 program in Sochi.
IOC President Jacques Rogge commented on today's decision in the official press release: "We are very pleased with the addition of ski and snowboard slopestyle and snowboard special slalom in the Olympic Winter Games program.Such events provide great entertainment for the spectators and add further youthful appeal to our already action-packed lineup of Olympic winter sports. We look forward to welcoming all the athletes to Sochi in 2014."
In addition to women's ski jumping, mixed relay races in biathlon and team competitions in figure skating and luge, the young men and women will be able to throw themselves onto the artificial snow obstacles in their wide outfits and give the Winter Games a much-needed makeover.
According to the IOC, the reason for the inclusion of these seven new competitions is the large number of spectators at the freestyle competitions and the rise of this fringe sport. Other sports such as baseball have been put back on the watch list for the 2020 Summer Games.