Women's Skicross Olympic Preview
Posted 7/6/2009
The women's skicross is one of the newest and certainly most exciting new events to join the Winter Olympic games.
It's a lot like moto cross in that competitors must navigate down a course with just about any obstacle a designer can think of and the fastest finisher is declared the winner.
It wasn't decided until 2006 that the event would become a part of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. This means it will officially become an Olympic event.
Because of the nature of the event, contact is allow and part of the competition so long as it is not done intentionally. Any pushing or shoving or intentionally trying to knock down other competitors is illegal.
Such activities will result in either a disqualification or exclusion from the subsequent race.
The format often begins with a time trial which then takes either top 16 or 32 skiers and puts them in a knockout style round in groups of four. The first two skiers to cross the finish line in each group of four advance to the next round until they reach the finals.
It will be interesting to watch as this sport evolves to see what happens as this competition continues to evolve and gets more popular over time.