Winter Olympics

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Series of sports competitions held every four years on snow and ice, first held in 1924, and organized like the Summer Olympics under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee.

Although figure skating became an Olympic sport at the 1908 London Games and ice hockey was added in 1920, the first separate, self-contained Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix, France, in 1924, when 258 competitors from 16 nations competed for medals in Nordic skiing, ski jumping, ice hockey, four-man bobsledding, and figure and speed skating. Alpine skiing, which today attracts the most attention, was not introduced until 1936. Other sports to be introduced as medal events at subsequent games were biathlon in 1960, luge in 1964, ice dancing in 1976, freestyle skiing in 1992, snowboarding and curling in 1998, and skeleton in 2002. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, saw over 2,600 athletes from a record 80 countries taking part. The 2010 Games will be held in Vancouver, Canada.

The arms show a Bible open at the Gospel of St John, a Trinitarian symbol. The white cross symbolizes faith. The arms appear on national and state flags. Effective date: 14 September 1863. >>