It’s a few days into the Winter Olympics being held in Beijing and there are so many great athletes showing off all their hard work on the biggest stage in the world! But did you know that within every sport there are some weird rules athletes must follow when competing? While watching them on TV keep an eye out for these rules so you can understand the sports a little bit more.

 

Skeleton

The sport where it’s just you and a sled going down a track headfirst with speeds going up to 80 miles per hour! Athletes are actually allowed to get off their sled to move it, but they must be back on their sled once they cross the finish line.

 

Snowboarding

In the Big Air event snowboarders have to follow a rule that they must spin in two different directions on two of their three attempts for a winning mark during the finals. So, keep an eye out for your favorite snowboarder and see if they spin both ways.

Ski Jumping

Watching ski jumpers fly through the air after going off a big ramp is the coolest thing ever. They look like they are soaring through the air for so long before landing on the ground. Well, imagine landing on the ground and losing your balance for a split second and using your hands to catch yourself. Ski jumpers are not allowed to touch the ground with their hands even for a split second or their whole jump doesn’t count. 

 

Luge

It’s similar to the skeleton event but this one you are on your back with feet going first and going up to 87 miles per hour. Doesn’t sound like a huge difference from skeleton racers but that is still really fast! Luge racers are actually supposed to make a specific weight to race. Men need to weigh at least 90kg (198 lbs.) and women 75kg (165 lbs.). If you can’t make weight, then that’s alright because you can add weights to yourself to hit the weight requirement.

 

Ice Hockey

When playing hockey your stick cannot have a banana curve to it. The maximum curve they can have is 1.5 centimeters, so if you are used to playing with a big curve then this rule can either hurt or help your game when playing.

 

Figure Skating

When skating men and women have dress code requirements. Men are supposed to wear pants when skating while women have to wear skirts. Also doing a backflip in competition is illegal because when landing, it consists of two feet instead of one.

 

Speed Skating

It’s like running around a track but with rollerblades on your feet. When competing athletes are actually required to the most inner part of the track. But they cannot cross in front of the other athlete to cut them off or they may be disqualified.