Alpine skiing was introduced into the Olympics with three events in 1936. Alpine skiing is a wonderful sport that is a blend of art and speed. Put them together in perfect harmony for the gold. Since 1936 there have been two more events added to the sport making a grand total of five events.

Downhill: In downhill people ski at about 50-80 miles per hour. It is the fastest event in the Olympics. The object of the event is to get down the hill as fast as you can while getting through every gate. Gates are two flags, you can knock them over but you have to get through them, if you don’t then you are disqualified. You need a helmet specially made for downhill or you are disqualified. You need technique and courage to win.

Slalom: In Slalom you ski at about 15-20 miles per hour. The object of Slalom is just to get through all the gates. There are two runs in this event. The time in both of them is added up and the highest score wins!

There are open gates and closed gates. Open gates are flags that are horizontal of each other. Closed gates are flags that are vertical of each other. If you miss one of them you are disqualified. If you don’t start within 10 seconds, you are disqualified.

Giant Slalom: In Giant Slalom you ski at about 10-15 miles per hour. The object of this sport is to get down the mountain and through the gates as fast as you can. You go down the mountain twice then they average the two times together.