Winter sports in the United States are popular, both professionally and recreationally. Most of this activity takes place in the northern half of the country.
Once popular only in "the upper midwest and small pockets of New England", curling is gradually making inroads in the rest of the country. [1]
The governing body of figure skating in the United States is US Figure Skating,"U.S. Figure Skating is a member of the International Skating Union (ISU), the international federation for figure skating; and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
Ice skating used to be a popular television sport in the United States but has fallen out of favor since the 1970s, and the number of medals they have won at the winter Olympics has declined.
Twenty-four of the thirty-one National Hockey League teams are based in the United States, the other seven in Canada.
Skiing remains a billion-dollar industry, but according to Snowsports Industry of America, its popularity peaked in the winter of 2010–11, with 11.5 million alpine skiers, and has declined since. [2]
Historically the United States has not been a world power in bobsledding. [3] USA Bobsled are the governing body for bobsledding in the United States. [4] [5]
Kaillie Humphries is one the most successful bobsledders for the United States. [6]
Snowboarding was once a popular and trendy sport among the youth of America in the 1990s and 2000s, but has declined in popularity since the early 2010s due to the expense of the sport. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
The United States is a traditional powerhouse in the Winter Olympics. [12] [13] However, the 2018 Winter Olympics saw the country's worst performance in terms of medals in 20 years. [14] [15]
Winter sports are underrepresented by ethnic minorities due to the fact that such sports are expensive to play. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
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. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, and the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation.
Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.
Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled, a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding. When practised on sand, it is known as a form of sandboarding. In Russia sledges are used for maritime activities including fishing and commuting from island to island on ice.
The National Sport School (NSS) is a public high school in Calgary, Alberta which teaches grades 9 through 12. In partnership with Winsport Canada, the school was created to support student athletes with Olympic potential. Developmental and competitive athletes are able to train and travel internationally, while staying in school. It was founded in 1994 as the first national sport school in the country.
The USOPC Athlete of the Year awards are part of a series of awards presented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to athletes who have distinguished themselves in one of the Olympic or Paralympic sports. Awards are presented to the Olympic or Paralympic SportsMan of the Year, SportsWoman of the Year, and Team of the Year.
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian-American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. With her victory in 2014, she became the first female bobsledder to defend her Olympic title and was named flagbearer for the Olympic closing ceremony with brakewoman Heather Moyse.
Elana Meyers Taylor is an American Olympic bobsledder and World Champion who has competed since 2007. Born in Oceanside, California, Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglasville, Georgia and is a graduate of The George Washington University, where she was a member of the softball team.
The United States participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The U.S. team had a historic Winter Games, winning an unprecedented 37 medals. Team USA's medal haul, which included nine gold, marked the first time since the 1932 Lake Placid Games that the U.S. earned more medals than any other participant.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and sent a team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom including Northern Ireland, whose athletes may elect to hold Irish citizenship, allowing them to represent either Great Britain or Ireland. Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Olympic competition.
Christopher Fogt is a United States Army Major, three time USA Olympian, and Olympic Silver medalist. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi as a member of the famed Team Night Train, in the four-man event. He also competed in the two-man Bobsled event in Sochi, earning 12th place with pilot, Cory Butner. He competed in the 2010 Vancouver Games as a member of USA-2, in the four-man event with pilot John Napier. After taking three years off after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, he returned to the Sport in 2017 with long time friend and teammate Steve Langton earning a spot on his third USA Winter Olympic Team to compete in PyeongChang, 2018. He competed in PyeongChang with pilot Justin Olsen in the four-man event.
The United States competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 to 23, 2014. Team USA consisted of 222 athletes competing in all 15 sports.
Canada competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from February 9 to 25, 2018. It was the nation's 23rd appearance at the Winter Olympics, having competed at every Games since their inception in 1924. Canada competed in all sports disciplines, except Nordic combined. The chef de mission was Isabelle Charest, who was appointed in February 2017.
The United States competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from February 9 to 25, 2018.
Germany competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 153 competitors in 14 sports. They won 31 medals in total, 14 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze, ranking second in the medal table after Norway at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Germany excelled in ice track events, biathlon, Nordic combined and Ski jumping. The men's ice hockey team took a silver medal, having lost a closely contested final to Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Ukraine competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 33 competitors in 9 sports. Oleksandr Abramenko won the only medal for the country, a gold in men's aerials freestyle skiing, earning Ukraine the 21st place in the overall medal table.
Australia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 50 competitors in 10 sports. They won three medals in total, two silver and one bronze, ranking 23rd in the medal table.
Brazil competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 9 competitors in 5 sports.
The Nigeria bobsled team or Nigerian bobsleigh team, represents Nigeria in bobsledding. The first team was established in 2016 by Seun Adigun, as a women's team for the 2-women event. In 2017, they qualified to be the first Nigerians at the Winter Olympics, and first Africans in bobsled at the Winter Olympics.
Sylvia Hoffman is an American bobsledder who was first discovered and recruited for the national bobsled team on The Next Olympic Hopeful. She is originally from Arlington, TX and attended Louisiana State University Shreveport. Before bobsledding she was a college basketball player and participated in weightlifting.
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