It’s that time again, the Olympics started earlier this week. The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off on February 4th in Beijing, China. Although it’s looking a little different, the Winter Olympics are back. The main difference being that there are no fans at any events. The only bystanders are staff and coaches which is a massive change for both viewers and athletes alike. Sports for almost the past two years have been more than strange, without fans it’s a whole different experience. I spend most of my time watching the freestyle skiing which includes Big Air, Slopestyle, and Halfpipe. Compared to the X games that took place in Aspen around two weeks ago the energy at the Olympics is abysmal. Freestyle comps like the X games normally have buzzing crowds, loud commentators, and overall a great atmosphere, the olympics this year do not. The atmosphere is just not the same. normally after an amazing run the camera pans to the athlete fist bumping the fans, everyone is going wild the fans make it exciting. While I still enjoy it I would love if they had fans.

Another change to these Olympics are the new sports. The two entirely new sports are Monobob and Freeski Big Air. Monobob is a solo version of bobsledding currently only open to woman. Monobob was primarily added to further gender equality in the Olympics. The Beijing Olympics have the highest percentage of female athletes ever at 45%. While that is great, the Olympics are hoping have a 1 to 1 ratio by 2024. The other new event is Big Air for skiing, big air already existed for the snowboarders so it was only a matter of time till the skiers got it. Big Air takes place on the last jump of the Slopestyle course which is the biggest. The event involves skiers launching themselves off massive jumps while performing flips and spins mid air. With so many new variables added to the already classic Winter Olympics this year is shaping up to be special.