Snowboard big air is one of the four events to be added to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

DPA/Lausanne, Switzerland

The international ski federation FIS and curling’s ruling body WCF welcomed the addition of new events for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board on Monday approved the alpine skiing team event which features men and women, a curling mixed team event, snowboard Big Air for men and women and speed skating mass start races for men and women.
The snowboard parallel slalom, contested at Sochi 2014, was dropped for Pyeongchang which will have 102 medal events as a result. “I am very pleased with the decision to include these two events that reflect both the traditional and youth elements of the FIS disciplines,” FIS president Gian Franco Kasper said about the inclusion of the alpine team event and Big Air.  “The athlete, media and fan reaction to both events has been overwhelmingly positive and I believe both events will make a fine addition to the Olympic Games.”
Kasper said that Big Air has been successful at world championship level since 2003 and the alpine team event since 2005, now being contested in a parallel slalom format. The two events are the latest FIS competitions to gain entry into the Olympic programme, after women’s ski-jumping made its long-awaited debut in Sochi.
The curling mixed event adds to the women’s and men’s event, with one woman and one man per team for matches over eight ends.
“Our athletes have showcased this exciting and dynamic alternative to traditional team curling at our World Mixed Doubles Championships for many years now and we’re thrilled that their progress has been rewarded by the IOC’s decision,” WCF president Kate Caithness said in a statement.
Caithness said that the mixed event has seen non-traditional nations like Spain, Austria and Hungary medal at the worlds, adding to the diversity of the sport.
The skating union ISU, in a brief statement, took notice of the inclusion of the speed skating event but also said that its proposal to add synchronised figure skating was not approved by the IOC.
Under new IOC rules, new events can be added three years ahead of the Games and only require approval from the IOC executive board. New sports meanwhile must be nodded off by the full IOC.
The additions are in line with the Olympic Agenda 2020 under which the Games are to appeal more to youth. It also allows host cities to add events/sports popular in their area. However, the proposals were made before the Agenda was approved in December 2014.
The new events also add to gender equality, another key issue in the agenda, with 44 women’s events and eight mixed events in the 102.
“The changes reflect the continued evolution of the Winter Olympic programme and build on the success of recent editions of the Games,” the IOC said. “They also build on the reforms outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020 which aim to create more flexibility in the programme of the Olympic Games.”