2022 Winter Olympics: Seven New Events

New events offer more variety at the Games

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Four years ago, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added four new events to attract younger audiences and more women participants. The IOC has added seven new events to the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. TV and media interest, as well as gender equality, played a role in the IOC's decision to add these new events.

The new events are women's monobob in bobsled, men and women's big air freestyle skiing, mixed team aerials for freestyle skiing, mixed team relay for short-track speedskating, mixed team ski jumping, and mixed team snowboard cross. There will be 109 events total, with 2,900 athletes competing.

Criteria for New Events

According to the Olympic Program Commission, a sport or discipline must meet the following criteria in order to be added to the Olympics program:

• offer a high level of international participation (including at least two world and continental championships);
• global public and media interest, strong social value, a commitment to youth and youth development, and a judging system that is transparent and objective.

Women's Monobob

The Monobob is a relatively recent innovation in the storied legacy of bobsledding. While bobsleigh is traditionally a team sport, the monobob features a shorter sled with only a single rider in charge of pushing and driving the sleigh. However, unlike Luge and Skeleton, it is still done in a high-sided bobsleigh.

Big Air Freestyle Skiing

Big Air, the major event added to snowboarding in 2018 at Pyeongchang, has now come to skiing. In big air events, the goal is for athletes to complete three tricks midair during a single jump (and to safely land). The event has become increasingly popular outside of Olympic competition for its striking visuals and technical precision.

Mixed Team Events

The biggest change at the 2022 Beijing Olympics is the introduction of four new Mixed Team events incorporating male and female athletes. Although the introduction of women's competition brackets requires a fair deal of assessment and investment from organizers, these mixed team events make use of the existing fields of competition to add more opportunities for women to participate in the Olympics and to promote gender equity among athletes.