The
2002 Winter Olympic Games
It's that
time again, the 2002
Winter Olympics are here! This year they take place
in Salt Lake City, Utah. They begin Friday, February
8th and continue until Sunday, February 24th.
Every four
years athletes from all over the world compete for bronze, silver,
and the six grams of gold that make up the coveted gold medal.
This year more than 1,300 athletes from 80 nations will
be present. In the first Winter Olympics there were only
16 nations that competed in the games.
The five
rings in blue, black, red, yellow, and green represent the fact
that any person of any country, culture, and color can participate
and win. The plain white background represents peace throughout
the games, and five rings were chosen to represent the union
of the five continents. Most flags in the world have at
least one of the five colors in them.
Statistics
The Olympic
events begin, long before the opening ceremony, with the Olympic
Torch Relay. This year 11,500 torchbearers nominated
by 210,000 people will carry the flame. It will venture
into 46 states (all except Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
and Hawaii) and 125 major U.S. cities. The torch will travel
a total of 13,500 miles in about 65 days before it arrives in
Salt Lake City, Utah for the opening ceremonies on February
8, 2002. The longest Torch Relay in history was in Sydney
and covered 27,000 km.
The torch
for this Olympiad is made of silver, copper and glass and was
designed by Sam
Shelton, a mechanical engineering professor at the Georgia
Institute of Technology.
Ceremonial
The Olympic
Parade of Nations is a very important part of the opening
ceremonies. Athletes will dress in costumes reflecting
the cultures of their homeland and some will carry flags of
their native countries. Greece appears first, the host
country last, and the rest of the countries in alphabetical
order.
There are
15 sports in the winter Olympics including skiing, a biathlon,
bobsleigh, cross-country, curling, figure skating, freestyle
skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined, short track, skeleton,
ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating. You can check
the schedule at Salt
Lake City 2002, the Official Site of the Winter Olympics,
by sport,
date,
or venue.
The
Winter Olympics are an International event that brings the multitude
of nations in this world closer in a way that no other occasion
(except perhaps the Summer Olympics) can.
For additional
information on sports, be sure to check out our page designed
to help you become more involved in the Winter Games.
With the Team
Site List, you'll learn about the various sports
that are highlighted in the Olympics, such as speed skating,
skeleton, and curling.
For
Kids and Teachers
You can
participate in this years Winter Olympics right from your computer!
With our Olympic
Links to Learning, you'll not only find helpful resources,
but a list of lesson plans and ideas as well. As
a student, the Olympics can take you on a journey around the
world! As a teacher, integrating the Olympics into
your curriculum is easier than you think!
2002 Olympic
Worksheets
|
Un-jumble
these Olympic terms as quickly as you can.
|
Be
a secret agent at the Olympics by figuring out this coded
puzzle.
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