Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are here! And, after four years, that means you may need or want a reminder about how some winter sports, like figure skating, work. That’s OK because we’re here to help.
Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics begins Friday, Feb. 4 and, with so many different events, it runs through the entirety of the Games in Beijing.
There are five different medal events at the Olympics: men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs, ice dance and the team competition. And within each event, there are at least two portions.
Singles and pairs events each have a short program and a free skate, while the ice dance has a short dance and a free dance. For the team competition, there are eight portions with a short program/dance and a free skate/dance for each discipline.
But as your eyes are glued to the screen watching these athletes accomplish unbelievable moves on the ice, you might be wondering what exactly the difference is between figure skating’s short program and free skate. Let’s break it down.
