The 2018 Winter Olympics have begun and its time to cheer on our athletes.

Trouble is, its hard to know what the hecks going on in some of these events.

Why are there so many people skating at once?

Is ice dancing the same as figure skating?

And, woah, does that lady have a gun?

Mass Start Speed Skating

Speed skating isnt anything new, but Mass Start Speed Skating is.

Competitors cant intentionally obstruct one another, but the way the race is set up almost makes contact unavoidable.

But you dont really need to know all of that to enjoy watching the event.

Essentially, the Biathlon is part cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

The events roots are outdoor skills that were once crucial for survival in snowy winter climates like Scandinavia.

Again, this is just a race with different rules and a gun.

Furthermore, they must shoot targets in both prone and standing positions according to the station they stop at.

Curling

Ah, curling.

Everyones favorite winter sport event to watch.

Its like a friendly shuffleboard game at the retirement community blow up to Olympic proportions.

Pretty straightforward if youve ever played shuffleboard or bocce.

Sweepers: These two players sweep the ice in front of the stone for influence its path.

The sweeping, which everyone seems to get a kick out of, is actually quite necessary.

This year at PyeonChang, Mixed Doubles Curling is making its Olympics debut.

This version of the game has only two players on each team, a man and a woman.

Its got speed, its got cool aerial tricks, and it always looks intense.

The term comes from the Bavarian word mugel, which literally means mound or small hill.

Throughout the bumpy course are also two small jumps, where competitors must perform upright or inverted tricks.

Those sweet aerial maneuvers only account for 20% of the competitors score, however.

Its a very technical event, but its a lot of fun to watch.

The biggest difference being there are no jumps in ice dancing like there are in figure skating.

Thats right, no triple axels here.

In fact, jumping is against the rules.

Generally speaking, ice dancing has more in common with ballroom dancing than figure skating.

For example, the main theme for the 2018 Olympics Short Dance is Latin.

In the past, these required elements have included swing, polka, and even hip hop.

The free dance gives the competitors more, well, artistic freedom.

In terms of scoring, judges are looking for technical perfection and amazing artistic style.

Their total score reflects those two main components from both the short dance and the free dance.

All you really need to know is a score of around 200 and up is good.