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The symbol of the Olympics is the flame, which is located in Olympia, Greece where the Olympics
first began. Every four years, torches lit by the Olympic flame are carried to the new
location for that year's games. This February 2014, the Winter Olympics will be held in
Sochi Russia. Where possible, the torch is carried by runners, who form a relay to carry
the torch all the way to the site of the games and finally light the Olympic flame. When
the last torchbearer reaches the site of the games and lights the Olympic flame, the games
are officially underway.
The country that's hosting the games, Russia this year, can choose the path for the torch
as long as it reaches the site of the games in time for the opening ceremony. Because
the country of Russia is huge, and the Russian government wants as many of its citizens to
be able to see the torch, they have created a path that covers just about all of the country,
plus the North Pole, and even into the International Space Station in space! This year's path is
over 40,000 miles long. That's long enough to go almost twice around the world!
This is only the 22nd Winter Olympics Games because the first Winter Games didn't start
until 1924 in France and the games are only held every four years.
The Winter Games are relatively new because the original Olympic Games were held in Greece
which is in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is not really a snow country. Whatever amount
of snow that does fall there, doesn't last really that long. Interest in having Winter
Games came from countries that are located in climates where winters feature a lot of
snow for many, many, many months. In 1924, in France, the first Winter Games were held
and finally skiers, skaters, and sledders had a stage upon which to compete against
the best athletes and sportspersons in the world.
The Winter Games this year have 15 events and of these, there really are only two basic
types of competitions: Skiing on the snow and Skating on ice
The skiing events include alpine, nordic, biathlon, jumping, freestyle, and cross country
skiing, as well as sledding, and most recently added, snowboarding.
The ice competitions include figure skating, hockey, speed skating, and curling. The competitions
start on February 6th and go all the way to February 23rd., almost the entire month. Most
of the events have multiple formats. Some are team events, others are individual events.
Some are for men only, some are for women only. Some are for men and women together.
But, regardless of which Winter Games sports you most enjoy, you'll most certainly will
want to watch the opening and closing ceremonies. We don't know yet what the opening ceremony
will feature, but in recent years, the host country has worked hard to outdo the previous
host. So you can bet that this year's opening ceremony will be spectacular.
So remember to watch the opening ceremony on February 7th. Then enjoy watching the games
and cheer on the athletes representing your country and your favorite winter-time sport.