IOC approves Slopestyle snowboarding for 2014 Sochi Games

Shaun White competing in Slopestyle at the ESPN X Games

Today the IOC has approved the inclusion of men's and women's slopestyle events in snowboarding and freestyle skiing for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Also approved for Sochi were snowboard parallel slalom events for men and women. You can see an example of slopestyle snowboarding in the embeded video above or you can find more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopestyle & http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-07-04-2554850981_x.htm

Shaun White paper toy

Download the Shaun White paper toy by Tougui.

Shaun White does it again!!!

Shaun White and Scott Lago, left to right at center, celebrate with friends and family after winning medals in the men's halfpipe snowboard final at Cypress Mountain. 

(Robert Gauthier /Los Angeles Times)

Video: Shaun White wins more gold at the Winter X-Games 13

Shaun White Snowboarding video game teaser and Wii edition details

Looks great! Will be on the PS3 for sure, but I suspect that it will arrive on other consoles as well. I'll try to keep you updated as I find out more info.

**Update**
I came across an article that provided further info on the game including screen shots and the confirmation that it will take advantage of the Wii Balance Board! Having just purchased the Wii Fit I think this is fantastic news. And I am keen on the visual style of the game, at least for the Wii version. Knowing the system is underpowered relative to the PS3 and the 360, it looks like they went for a more stylized approach to the characters which I think looks better and works better for video games any way. Below are a few choice images from the ign.com:

Olympic Skateboarding?

While this is a bit of old news I never posted it here so I figure now is as good a time as any... IOC announced that it is considering adding Skateboarding to the line up of games in 2012.
From ESPN:

"The International Olympic Committee said Friday it has held discussions with cycling's world governing body about introducing skateboarding as a discipline for the London program. Skateboarding events are part of the X Games, and the IOC is eager to modernize the Olympic program with sports and disciplines that appeal to youth. It has already added snowboarding to the Winter Games and BMX cycling for next year's Beijing Olympics."

The article even suggests that Shaun White could make his way into the summer games if such a thing were to happen.