Five Crazy Winter Sports

Biathlon

The biathlon is a combination of two slightly different sports – cross-country skiing and rifle shooting! The sport grew out of survivalist traditions in Scandinavian countries and an older team winter sport called military patrol, but became an Olympic sport in the twentieth century.

In a biathlon, one races on a cross-country skiing course with shooting rounds punctuating the track, half the shots taken while standing and the other half while prone. The goal is to complete the course as quickly as possible. Typically, one is punished for missing the target by being made to ski further or adding a minute to a skier’s time.

If you want a fun activity that combines dexterity with stamina, then practising for biathlons might be the crazy snow sport for you!

Ice Sailing

This is a daring sport most people don’t know exists. Ice sailing, also known as ice yachting, involves sailing specially designed ice yachts which glide along the ice to compete in races with other brave sailors. The sailboats work thanks to giant blades underneath the hull, cutting through the frozen water at speeds of up to 100km/hr.

It is tough even to find conditions to compete in ice sailing. You need a large flat body of water to have completely frozen over and it must be thick enough to handle the weight of your boat. In competitions, half of the fleet will start on one side of the lake, half on the other, and all ships are required to complete three laps of a pre-designated course. The sport demands bravery, creativity and skill to succeed and is impressive both to watch and participate in.

Mogul Skiing

A freestyle skiing competition, mogul skiing involves navigating steep, bumpy, hard snow over 200 to 270 metres. Such skiing emphasises technical turns, aerial manoeuvres and speed, and one earns points for each of these unlike other skiing competitions focused solely on speed. You earn 50% of your score for aggressive, controlled turning, 25% for the form and difficulty of jumps, and 25% for matching pace speed.

Internationally, the sport is contested at both the Freestyle World Ski Championships and at the Winter Olympic Games. Currently, Mikaël Kingsbury is the undisputed best mogul skier of all time and the seven-time reigning FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for mogul skiing.