Let the 2018 Winter Olympics Begin
Home/Events/Let the 2018 Winter Olympics Begin
It is time! The 2018 Winter Olympics is coming this week and bringing with it more than two weeks of cold weather sport excitement. This year, the Olympics are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which earned the required majority votes to be named as the host location over Munich, Germany and Annecy, France.
This will be the 23rd games with more than 90 nations represented and 2,952 athletes competing in seven sports. The disciplines include alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross country skiing), short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboard and speed skating.
The Olympics, winter or summer, is an educational fiesta for any homeschooler. There are so many learning opportunities where history, foreign language, math, science and more subjects may be taught with the backdrop of watching the best athletics from around the world as they compete in their respective sport. An event like this only comes every two years, so it is definitely one not to miss!
There will be more than enough excitement just watching the athletes compete. Competition actually begins on Wednesday, but the opening ceremony will be held on Friday, February 9. The first medals will be awarded on Saturday, February 10. How many Olympics have you seen? What sport(s) are you looking forward to watching? Will you enjoy the games with family and friends? Ahh, questions, questions and more questions. You have got answers? Let us test your Olympic knowledge.
Test your Olympic Knowledge
Answers are shown below.
1. There will be Russian athletes competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics. True or False
2. What one American male and one American female have won the most medals at the Winter Olympics?
3. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." What does it mean?
4. Only the top three winning athletes are recognized by the IOC. True of False
5. The Winter and Summer Olympics have always been held in different years. True of False
If you have plans to watch the Olympics, you do not have to worry about it interrupting your regular school day. There is so much coverage that will happen where you will be able to watch live coverage, highlights or recorded competitions.
Olympic Journey
Meet the Athletes
Competing Countries
Keep Up with the Medals
Watch the Olympics
Competition Disciplines
NBC coverage
Team USA Olympic Sport Channels
Additional Teacher Resources
tHE Olympic Museum
Be sure to tune in for the Paralympic Winter Games, which will be held March 9-8, 2018.
Test your Olympic Knowledge Answers
1. Although Russia has been banned from competing in the 2018 Olympics, Russians athletes will be able to compete as individuals. They will wear neutral uniforms that have no relationship with Russia.
2. It has been more than 80 years since America has led in overall medals wins in winter, but there are two athletes that have stood out. We do extremely well in speed skating with speed skater Bonnie Blair winning four gold medals (1992 and 1994) and short track speed skater Apolo Ohno (2002, 2006 and 2010) winning two gold, tow silver and four bronze medals.
3. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," which means "Faster, Higher, Stronger."
4. The first eight finishers in all disciplines receive an IOC diploma with the top three also receiving medals. This year, the gold, silver and bronze medal design represents tree trunks to represent the mountain forests found in Pyeongchang.
5. The Winter and Summer Olympics use to be held the same year, every fours years. The last year that happened was in 1992. The next Winter Games were held 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway with the Summer Games continuing on its four year schedule in Atlanta, United States in 1996.