The debate is on: Too many Winter Olympic events – or should more be added?

We take you behind the scenes this month with our timely Vancouver Games Blog, an insider perspective on sport medicine and science headlines, talking points, statistical data and emerging trends.

From 1980 to Vancouver’s games 48 more events have been added to the Winter Olympics. Now a New York Times article debates the merits of some of the newer flashier, crash prone high risk sports like ski-cross  and asks if the IOC should consider dropping traditional not as enjoyable to watch sports like biathlon and cross country skiing:

For decades, extensive participation was a principle guiding the Olympic program. For instance, the Olympic Charter stipulated that a sport was considered for inclusion in the winter games if it was practiced in a minimum of 25 countries and on three continents. But that criterion has been eliminated from the charter. Currently, the I.O.C. decides on any change in the program based on seven categories: history and tradition, universality, popularity, image, athletes’ health, costs, and development of the International Federation that governs the sport.

Read the full article here.