Changchun 2007

Alpine skiing otherwise known as downhill skiing is where the athlete has a pair of long flat runners of plastic, metal, or wood that curve upward in front and attached to a boot or foot for gliding or travelling over snow.

In competition speed and accuracy are important. Alpine skiing evolved from cross-country skiing after the invention of the ski lift and was first incorporated into the Asian Winter Games in 1986.

Cross-country skiing is a popular winter sport where the athletes race to ski along large areas.

Cross-country skiing is part of the growing skiing sport family, which also includes events such as ski jumping, there are many techniques which can be used but Free-technique cross-country skiing is also the method of locomotion in the combination sport of Biathlon, which adds rifle marksmanship to skiing.

Cross country skiing was incorporated into the Asian Winter Games in 2003.

It has been suggested that, Freestyle skiing is a product of America in the 1960s, when social change and freedom of expression led to new and exciting skiing techniques.

Originally a mix of alpine skiing and acrobatics, freestyle skiing developed over the decades into the present-day Olympic sport.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) recognised freestyle as a discipline in 1979 and brought in new regulations regarding certification of athletes and jump techniques in an effort to curb some of the dangerous elements of the competitions.

The first FIS World Cup series was staged in 1980 and the first FIS World Championships took place in 1986 in Tignes, France, featuring moguls, aerials and ballet.

Freestyle skiing, where skiers perform aerial manoeuvres while skiing downhill, was a demonstration event at the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary in 1988.

Mogul skiing was added to the official programme of the Albertville Games in 1992 and Aerials were added at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

Snowboarding was developed in the United States in the 1960s as people across the country began to seek out new winter activities.

Over the next decade, different pioneers boosted the production of boards and the overall interest in snowboarding. Surfers and skateboarders became involved, and by 1980, snowboarding was a nationwide activity.

Competition was the next logical step. Competition and national and international federation influence began in the 1980s.

The United States held its first national championships in 1982 and hosted the first World Championships in 1983.

In 1987, a four-stop World Cup tour was established, with two stops in the United States and two in Europe. The International Snowboarding Federation (ISF) was formed in 1990 and on request of the International Ski Federation (FIS) National Ski Associations, many of which organised ski and snowboard competitions, the FIS introduced Snowboarding as a FIS discipline in 1994.