(ATR) Organizers of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics are switching gears as they prepare for the next test event in December.
Following the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup which kicked off PyeongChang's 2016-2017 season of test events, organizers are finalizing arrangements for the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating World Cup that runs from Dec. 16-18.
The second test event of the season will take place at the future ice sports venue in Gangneung.
The Big Air event was held from Nov. 25-26, representing the discipline's first taste of Olympic inclusion as PyeongChang marks its addition to the Winter Games. The FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup brought 56 male and 39female athletes from 23 countries to compete at the Alpensia Ski JumpingCentre in PyeongChang.
Click here for photos of the FIS Snowboard World Cup and venues.
Mark McMorris of Canada took first place at the World Cup with Max Parrot of Canada and Ryan Stassel of the USA following behind in second and third in the men's final. Anna Gasser of Austria won gold, Julia Marino of the USA won silver and Katie Ormerod of Great Britain took bronze in the women's final.
The Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre is just one of the many venues to be tested ahead of the Winter Games. The newly built venue features the largest Big Air ramp in the world at 160.8 feet (49 meters) tall and angling at 40 degrees.
"I really like the Big Air in PyeongChang. The scenery is really amazing and the jump itself is in really good condition," Ormerod said in a statement.
"Now that Big Air is in the Olympics it’s for sure a good thing for me to be here and check out what conditions I will be competing in when it comes around in 2018," McMorris stated.
Big Air in snowboarding is one of a few additions to the Winter Olympics program including Big Air freestyle skiing, mass start speed-skating and mixed doubles curling.
With one event down, there are still 23 more test events to go for the 2016-2017 season.
Future test events will feature all of the International Ski Federation disciplines including alpine skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined and snowboarding.
Homepage photo: Getty Images
Written by Courtney Colquitt
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