Olympic Winter Games 2006 in Torino

On 19 June 1999 in Seoul, Korea, the 109th IOC session elected Turin (Torino), Italy as the host city for the XX Olympic Winter Games in 2006. Six cities put forward bids for the 2006 Winter Games. They were (in alphabetical order): Helsinki (FIN), Klagenfurt (AUT), Poprad-Tatry (SVK), Sion (SUI), Turin (ITA), and Zakopane (POL).

The Torino mascots

"Neve": a gentle, kind and elegant snowball; "Gliz": a lively, playful ice cube. They are the two symbolic characters of the XX Olympic Winter Games. They complement each other and personify the very essence of winter sports.

The mascots were born from the pencil of Pedro Albuquerque, a 38-year old Portuguese designer who won the international competition launched by the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games in Turin (TOROC) on 25 March 2003.

Neve and Gliz reflect the spirit of the Italian Olympic event: passion, enthusiasm, culture, elegance, and love of the environment and of sport. They are the symbol of a young generation that is full of life and energy.

The Olympic Torino Torch

The style concept behind the design is innovative. It is a modern reinterpretation of the traditional torch made of wood. The flame envelopes the body of the torch, instead of coming out of a hole on top, as has been the case in the past.

An advanced technological instrument, the torch was designed according to specific criteria and prerequisites. It is 770 mm high, has a diameter of 105 mm and weighs 1.850 kg. It cannot be re-lit and it must not go out even in bad weather conditions such as rain, snow and wind.

The flame of each torch, which burns for 15 minutes, must not be higher than 10 centimeters. The outside shell is made of aluminium, the inside fittings are of steel, copper and techno-polymers and a special paint is used that is resistant to high temperatures for the surface finish.

The Olympic winter sports

Biathlon
Biathlon was originally a tactic of survival rather than a sport. Northern Europeans skied to hunt for food and, later, skied with weapons to defend their countries. The word "biathlon" stems from the Greek word for two contests. Today it is interpreted as a joining of two sports: cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

Bobsleigh
At the start all team members (two or four) push their bobsleigh together to achieve maximum speed. Everyone leaps in the bob with the pilot at the controls, choosing the fastest trajectory into the curves and down the straights, at breathtaking speeds of more than 130 km (80 miles) an hour.

Cross-Country
The cross-country discipline comprises twelve different skiing events. Women compete in the sprint, team sprint, 10 km individual start, 15 km pursuit, 30 km mass start and the 4x5 km relay. Men compete in the sprint, team sprint, 15 km individual start, 30 km pursuit, 50 km mass start and the 4x10 km relay.

Curling
Both women and men compete in ten-team events. The game is played on ice and the two teams take turns pushing a 19.1kg (42,1 pound) stone towards the middle of a series of concentric circles. Curling made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games with the men's and women's tournaments.

Figure Skating
There are four figure skating events: ladies singles, men's singles, pairs, and ice dancing. Because competitions could be held indoors, figure skating was added to the Olympic program for the 1908 Summer Games. Figure skating became an official Olympic Winter Games sport at the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix.

Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing, where skiers perform aerial manoeuvres while skiing downhill, was a demonstration event at the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary in 1988. Mogul skiing was added to the official program of the Albertville Games in 1992 and Aerials were added at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.

Ice Hockey
Women compete in an eight-team tournament (women's hockey was added to the Olympic Winter Games program in Nagano in 1998), whereas men compete in a 12-team tournament. The first Olympic Games to include ice hockey for men were the Antwerp Games in 1920.

Luge
There is a men and women single competition (four runs over two days) and a men and women double competition (two runs in one day). There are 19 turns along the course of almost 1.500 meters (0,93 miles) and the descent lasts less than a minute. Luge made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Games.

Nordic combined
Two disciplines for one gold medal. First the jump where distance, style and techniques are important; then cross-country skiing, demanding physical stamina and an athlete’s fluidity of movement. The Nordic Combined originated in Northern Europe.

Short track
Aggressive, strategic skating on a 111 meter (364 feet) oval track. It is an individual sport where the body is leaning forward at a 40° angle, one hand touching the ice in the turns, trying to best the opponents without ever touching them. Short track has been an Olympic discipline since Albertville 1992.

Skeleton
The first competition was held in 1884. Riders raced down the road from St. Moritz to Celerina. The sport took its name in 1892, when a new sled made mostly of metal was introduced. People thought it looked like a skeleton. Skeleton made its second appearance at Salt Lake in 2002, after first debuting in 1928.

Skiing
The Olympic Winter Games present five disciplines of skiing: Alpine, Cross Country, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle as well as Snowboarding. To compete in these various disciplines one needs to master speed, endurance, dexterity, and determination.

Snowboard
Half Pipe, Parallel Giant Slalom, and Snowboard Cross: three extreme boarding disciplines. The one-on-one competition of the Parallel Giant Slalom, the acrobatics of the Half Pipe, and, in its Olympic debut, Snowboard Cross: jumps, bumps, moguls, and turns.

Speed skating
Speed skating at the Olympic Games consists of ten events: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m for both woman and men, 3000m for women, 10,000m for men, and Team pursuit for women and men. All events are skated once, with the exception of the men's and women's 500 meters, which are skated twice.

Olympic Games Torino 2006 program

Paralympic disciplines Torino 2006

Alpine skiing
Emotions and pure adrenaline are the ingredients of the Paralympic alpine skiing disciplines: downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. Athletes with lower or upper limb disabilities descend at high speed. Visually impaired skiers are directed down the course by a guide. There are three major groups: visually impaired, standing, sitting.

Biathlon
The endurance of cross-country skiing is combined with the concentration and steady nerves of rifle marksmanship (vision impaired athletes use a laser rifle and acoustic sensor) in one of the most spectacular of all Paralympic disciplines. Both short and medium distances are covered.

Cross country
Nordic Skiing is one of the sports included into the Paralympic Winter Games program and considers both Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon. Nordic Skiing was included into the Paralympic Games in 1976 when it was organized for the first time in Ornskoldsvik in Sweden.

Curling
The object of the sport is to slide 19.96 kilogram smooth granite stones with handles across the ice, aiming for them to come to a stop on a target (the house), marked on opposite ends of each sheet. Wheelchair Curling will make its debut during the Torino 2006 Paralympics.

Ice sledge hockey
Three judges and two teams made up of six players (two defenders, three attackers and one goaltender) who face each other skating on the ice trying to score points shooting the puck with a stick into the adversary's goal. Substitutions are rapid and frequent.

Paralympics Torino 2006 program

Source: TOROC