Winter Olympics Quiz
1) The first Winter Olympics was held in 1924. Which country do you think hosted it?
USA - Scotland - France - Norway
2) Which country has won the most medals at the Winter Olympics?
USA - Russia - Norway - Sweden
3) What is the population of Norway?
4) Why do you think Norway has won so many medals?
Do you think their curling pants design (from 2010) helped them win?
Do you think these were popular in Norway?
Norway:
Rich country
Free healthcare
Long winters
In the countryside people ski everywhere in the winter (even to go to the supermarket)
Do you think other countries should follow these policies?
Kids can’t keep score in organized sports until they’re 13
Winning Olympians don’t get prize money from the government
They don’t pay big salaries to athletes (top athletes get between $10-15000 from the government)
They use profits from gambling companies to fund sports programs
Rich country - they invest in world class sports training centres
Free healthcare - necessary for athletes who may have many injuries
No scores - They believe it makes people enjoy sports more so they continue for a longer time
5) How much does a Japanese athlete win from the government for winning a gold medal?
6) Match the country to the gold medal prize money from their government:
$0
$37,500
$720,000
$740,000
Britain
Singapore
Taiwan
USA
Are you surprised by the amounts?
Singapore pays the most prize money. Do you think it’s taxed?
7) Match the country to the prize for winning a gold medal
Belarus
Germany
Korea
the Philippines
free flights on a national airline for life
a lifetime supply of beer
a lifetime supply of sausages
no military service
Is it a good idea for Korea to let Kpop stars, athletes and musicians avoid Military Service?
Ben Davis was the first Singaporean to join a Premier League team when he was 17. Do you think Singapore let him skip military service?
8) What percentage of the snow at the Beijing Olympics is artificial?
9) How do you think the government made so much snow in this area?
On average the area only get 2.5 inches of snow per season
Water was diverted from a reservoir to a dried up riverbed. This was made into artificial snow
10) Match the year to the host country:
Canada
China
Italy
Korea
Russia
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
11) True or False:
Beijing has a bigger population than Australia
Beijing is the biggest city in China
Metropolitan Beijing has more bicycles than people
Beijing has the busiest airport in the world
Beijing is the 2nd busiest airport.
Where is the busiest airport in the world?
Los Angeles (US)
Atlanta (US)
Dubai
12) In 1998 the first snowboard gold medalist, Ross Rebagliati, had his medal taken away for…
a) getting drunk and destroying his hotel room after winning
b) making a political statement
c) testing positive for marijuana
Later his medal was returned to him. Why?
13) What 2 sports are in the Winter Olympics Biathlon?
14) Why is this an Olympic event?
15) In 2022 the Monobob was a new olympic event. What is it?
How many men will compete in the Monobob?
All athletes will use the same model of Monobob sled. Why?
A monobob sled must weigh at least:
72 kg
102kg
162kg
16) Noriaki Kasai holds the record for appearing at the most Olympic Games. How many times has he appeared?
a) 4
b) 6
c) 8
How many medals did he win?
How old was he when he won his most recent Olympic medal?
17) In 1997 Brad Pitt starred in “7 years in Tibet.” He played the teacher of the Dalai Lama. How did China react to the movie?
a) they celebrated the film for being set in Tibet and encouraging tourists
b) they banned the movie in China
c) they banned Brad Pitt from entering China
18) Speaking of Brad Pitt, why was his 2002 Toyota ad banned in Malaysia?
a) Malaysia was pressured by China to ban the ad
b) The government was unhappy Toyota hadn’t built a factory in Malaysia yet
c) Brad Pitt was too handsome
Malaysian information minister, Zainuddin Maidin, said that the ad would:
"plant a sense of inferiority among Asians"
"Why must we use their faces in our advertisements? Aren't our own people handsome enough?"
19) Why was Harrison Ford and all his movies banned from China in 1995?
a) China didn’t like him being a rebel in Star Wars. They thought no one should fight against the government
b) He met and supported the Dalai Lama
c) He helped write a movie about the Dalai Lama escaping from China
d) for flying his plane into Chinese territory without permission
20) Why was Justin Bieber banned from China?
a) he met and supported the Dalai Lama
b) he asked his bodyguards to carry him up the Great wall of China
c) he was arrested for drag racing while drunk
21) How many Time Zones does the US have?
How many Time Zones does China have?
Is Taiwan in a different zone?
For years people and politicians in Taiwan have discussed changing the time zone to match Korea and Japan’s.
However some people don’t want the change because it had that time zone after Japan invaded it
ANSWERS
1) France
2) Norway
4) Norway - Population: 5 million
5) Japan: 5 million yen ($45,000)
6) Britain: $0, USA: $37,500, Taiwan: $720,000, Singapore: $740,000 (taxed and 20% must be donated to their sport)
7)
Philippines - free flights on a national airline for life
Germany - a lifetime supply of beer
Belarus - a lifetime supply of sausages
Korea - no military service
Ben Davis wasn’t allowed so he played for Thailand and won’t return to Singapore where he may go to prison
8) 100% - except for 2 days of snow during games and some snow 1 week before games
10) from 2010: Canada, Russia, Korea, China, Italy
11) False - Australia’s 25 million population is around 3 million more than Beijing’s
Beijing is the 2nd biggest city in China (behind Shanghai)
1) Atlanda, 2) Beijing, 3) LA, 4) Dubai
Metropolitan Beijing has about 12 million people but 13 million bicycles
11) He tested positive for marijuana but the Olympics hadn’t added it to the list of banned substances yet so his medal was given back to him
12) Cross country skiing and shooting a rifle
13) Scandinavian countries need to be able to fight soldiers who invaded them in the winter. In the 1930’s Finnish soldiers defeated Russia despite being outnumbered 10 to 1.
15) No men will use it. They can compete in the 2 or 4 man bobsled races
- to make the game fair (no customizing), the athletes use the same model that is at least 162kg
16) Kasai won 3 medals (1994: Silver) (2014 -Silver (solo), Bronze (team)) He was 41 when he won his last medal
17) China banned Brad Pitt from entering China and banned the movie
18) Malaysia banned the ad because he was too handsome and would make Malaysian men feel insecure
19) B and C - Ford was and is a strong supporter of Tibet
20) The Chinese government said his “bad behaviour” meant he couldn’t enter China
21) US has 6 times zones. China has 1 (it’s the same as Taiwan’s)
https://time.com/5168048/norway-olympics-medals-winter-games-skiiing/