Skiing is a means of transport using skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Artificial ice can be used to provide ice rinks for ice skating, ice hockey, and bandy in a milder climate.
Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Recreational disciplines include cross-country skiing and Telemark skiing.
The Fédération internationale de ski is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France, the FIS is responsible for the Olympic disciplines of Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing and snowboarding. The FIS is also responsible for setting the international competition rules. The organization now has a membership of 118 national ski associations and is based in Oberhofen am Thunersee, Switzerland.
Alpine Canada is the national governing body for alpine ski racing, para-alpine and ski cross in Canada. Alpine Canada represents coaches, officials, supporters and athletes, including the racers of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, Canadian Ski Cross Team and the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team. Alpine Canada is also involved in promoting participation within Canada's four million recreational skiers.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to skiing:
The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February and 21 February 2016. They were the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lillehammer was awarded the games on 7 December 2011 as the only candidate. The games reused venues from the 1994 Winter Olympics; this made Lillehammer the first city to host both regular and Youth Olympics. In addition to Lillehammer, sports were contested in Hamar, Gjøvik and Øyer.
The 2015 Winter Universiade, the XXVII Winter Universiade, was a multi sport winter event held in Granada, Spain and Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia. On 14 March 2009, FISU announced that the host would be Granada because they were the only bid.
Biathlon Canada is the governing federation for biathlon in Canada.
Nordiq Canada is the governing federation for cross-country skiing in Canada.
Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing federation for freestyle skiing in Canada.
Nordic Combined Ski Canada is the governing federation for Nordic Combined in Canada.
Ski Jumping Canada is the governing federation for ski jumping in Canada. It is responsible for the governance of all ski jumping competitions in Canada and for the operation of the national team. Canada has competed in ski jumping at the Winter Olympics since 1928.
The Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation is the winter sports federation for Spain. Part of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), it deals with all federations conducting sports for the Winter Olympics. RFEDI is member of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and International Biathlon Union (IBU).
The compactness of the venue locations for the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Paralympics, hosted by the county of Pyeongchang, was one of the winning arguments of the bid. The Games were gathered around two main venues: these were the mountain resort of Alpensia in Pyeongchang for the outdoor (snow) sports and the coastal city of Gangneung for the indoor (ice) sports There were also two stand-alone mountain venues.
Finland competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. The Finnish team consisted of 103 competitors who participated in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating.
The Russian Ski Association (RSA) is a non-governmental organization, which represents Russian ski sports in the international field. Organization includes 4 all-Russian sports Federations: Russian Alpine Skiing and Snowboard Federation, Cross-Country Ski Federation of Russia, Freestyle Federation of Russia, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Federation of Russia.
The Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee unveiled the venue layout plan for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on 20 February 2014: five ice events will be held at the Olympic center, the Capital Indoor Stadium and the Beijing Wukesong Sports Center, which were some of the main venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Competitions for luge, bobsleigh and alpine skiing will be held in Xiaohaituo Mountain area northwest of Beijing, 90 kilometres away from the city centre of Beijing and 17.5 kilometres away from the town of Yanqing. All other skiing events will be held in Taizicheng Area in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou, 220 km (140 mi) from downtown Beijing and 130 km (81 mi) away from Xiaohaituo Mountain Area.
From August 22, 2012 to March 27, 2013, the following skiing events took place at various locations around the world.
The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, officially known as the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Gangwon 2024, will be the fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympics, an international sports, education and cultural festival for teenagers, to be held between 19 January and 2 February 2024 in Gangwon, South Korea. The host city was announced at the 135th IOC Session on 10 January 2020 at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland during the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics. This is the first Olympic event with the new bidding process. This will also be the first Winter Youth Olympic Games to be held outside of Europe.
