The International Olympic Committee announced that it will be including six new winter sports in the 2014 Games including Ski halfpipe, but the biggest news for the snowboard community is what wasn’t on the list—slopestyle. This does not mean, however, that snowboard and ski slopestyle are definitely off the table for the 2014 Sochi Games—the IOC said it has simply put the decision on hold for more review.

Officials said Wednesday more time was needed to study the technical aspects of the slopestyle events but they could still be added to the Sochi program. “There is still a team that is going to make some inspections in Sochi and for some it’s going to be a final decision, for some pending the results of the technical study,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge in a press conference.

In addition to ski halfpipe, women’s ski jump, biathlon mixed relay, figure skating team and luge team will now be on the roster. The IOC stated that it decided to include ski pipe for the following reasons:

• Ski Halfpipe - Men and Women: (International Ski Federation - FIS) Ski halfpipe is a young and dynamic event that will complement the recent introductions of the popular freestyle ski cross and snowboard halfpipe events that drew high spectator numbers and television audiences at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
• One competitor at a time performs a routine of acrobatic jumps, flips, twists and other manoeuvres on a half-pipe. The athletes are judged on their take-offs, the height they reach above the top of the pipe, and difficulty of their manoeuvres. A qualification round and final round are staged, with two runs per athlete in both. Ski halfpipe will make its first appearance in January 2012 at the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

by Business Transworld

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