Four new events make Olympic debut at Pyeongchang Games

Berlin (dpa) - Four new events, with six gold medals on offer, will be making their Winter Olympics debut at the February 9-25 Games in Pyeongchang.Snowboard big air for men and women, speed skating mass start races for men and women, curling mixed doubles and the alpine skiing team event will be featuring for the first time at sport‘s biggest stage.Here is what they are all about:SNOWBOARD BIG AIR: While freestyle skiers have had their aerial event at the Games since 1994, snowboarders now have their turn to perform breathtaking tricks high in the air after launching themselves off a kicker from a steep in-run. Big air has been part of the FIS world championships since 2003 and is also a popular part of the X Games.SPEED SKATING MASS START: Long track speed skating continues to reinvent itself, with the mass start races for men and women joining a programme ranging from the traditional races to the team pursuit which was added in 2010. At the world championships since 2015, and twice contested at Youth Olympics, the mass start race features 24 athletes who skate 16 laps. Intermediate sprint classifications add further spice to the event.CURLING MIXED DOUBLES: This new curling event has also featured at the two Youth Olympics 2012 and 2016, and has had world champions since 2008. Teams are made up of one man and one woman who play with six stones instead of the usual eight, over eight ends instead of the usual 10. Its introduction is part of the IOC‘s drive for more mixed events on the Olympic programme, joining the biathlon mixed relay which debuted on the Olympic stage in 2014.ALPINE SKIING TEAM EVENT: Maybe not as glamorous as the blue-riband downhill races, the team event has nonetheless made a big impact and carries a lot of prestige since joining the world championship programme in 2005. The event is contested among 16 teams in a knock-out format over four rounds, with two men and two women per team competing in parallel slaloms against athletes from an opposing team.