Doubling its investment in Olympic Winter Sports from £13.5m to £27.9m, UK Sport will be hoping that the team will be able to build on their impressive performance in Sochi, and even potentially set a new national record at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

So, who will Team GB be relying on? With around 60 athletes being sent to PyeongChang, we’ll give you a quick rundown of the main stars and their fierce competitors which will tussle with them for that chance to stand aloft on the podium.

Elise Christie (28) – Short Track Speed Skater [500m + 1000m]

The 2014 Winter Olympics was one to forget for Elise. Entering the 500m, 1000m and 1500m, she and the nation had high hopes of a medal but she ended up being disqualified in all 3 of her races. She was also harassed by South Koreans on Twitter after they accused her of causing their athlete, Park Seung-Hi, to crash. The abuse was so bad she decided to close her Twitter and Facebook accounts.

This should make her more determined this time around and she’s certainly got the capabilities to take home 2 potential medals. The hopes are for her to achieve a Bronze in the 500m and in the 1000m, an area in which she specialises in, the hope is that she’ll be able to obtain a Silver.

Elise comes into this Olympics with very good form. She took both the 2015 and 2016 European titles and she won back-to-back world titles at the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam – becoming the first British and first European woman to do so.

Standing in her way – Choi Min-jeong (19) – South Korea

Despite just being 19 years old, Choi Min-jeong has taken the women’s speed-skating scene by storm. As of now, she’s officially ranked World Number 1 in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m. Performing at her home nation, Choi Min-jeong is certainly going to have the crowd behind her and she’ll be a tough match-up for Christie.

Lizzy Yarnold (29) – Skeleton

Winning Gold at Sochi 2014, the 29-year-old is looking to become the first British athlete to defend a Winter Olympic title. Grabbing European and World Titles in 2015, Lizzy decided to take a break during the 2015/2016 Skeleton season due to the risk of burnout. Upon returning her form hasn’t come back as she’d of hoped having failed to finish inside the top ten in her last 3 races. The Olympics is a whole different kettle of fish though, and she’ll be looking to show her experience next month as she aims to reclaim Gold.

Standing in her way – Jacqueline Loelling (22) – Germany

Jacqueline Loelling is an extremely talented competitor from Germany. Aged just 22, Jacqueline is currently ranked Number 1 in the World, playing a part in Germany’s gold-medal winning mixed team at the Championships. In the 2016-17 season, she showed her individual talent as she won the World Cup events in Altenberg, Konigssee and PyeongChang.

James Woods (25) – Freestyle Skiing

Entering the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games with a hip injury, James Woods managed to impressively finish 5th in the slopestyle. This time around he’ll be hoping for better as he enters the Olympic Games in much better health and in extremely good form.

Winning his first ever Winter X Games Gold Medal in 2017, James went on to take a bronze in the Winter X Games Europe slopestyle and the World Championships – capping off a truly great 2017.

Standing in his way – Nick Goepper (24) – USA

Standing in the way of James Woods is USA’s Nick Goepper, who grabbed a Bronze medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. As well as that, Goepper has won 3 Gold medals and a Silver at the Winter X Games in the Slopestyle contests. He’ll be hoping for Gold this time around.

Isabel Atkin (19) – Freestyle Skiing

Aged just 19, Isabel Atkin showed her potential as she won a Bronze medal at the Freestyle Skiing World Championship in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Two weeks prior to that, Atkin became the first British woman to win a World Cup Ski Slopestyle as she took Gold in Silvaplana, Switzerland.

Standing in her way – Tess Ledeux (16) – France

Tess Ledeux has seemingly come out of nowhere this year. Grabbing a pair of silver medals at the X Games Slopestyle competitions in Aspen and Norway, Ledeux also managed to secure Gold in the 2017 World Championships.

If Leduex was to win in PyeongChang, she’d become the youngest-ever Olympic Champion in Freestyle Skiing.

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Where is it being held?

South Korea is holding the Winter Olympics. The events will take place in PyeongChang – a county in Gangwon Province. PyeongChang is situated about 80 miles from the capital, Seoul, and is located 60 miles south of the South Korea and North Korea border.

This is the first Winter Olympics that South Korea has held, but they did host the Summer Olympics back in 1988.

When does the Winter Olympics start and end?

The Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympic games will commence on Friday, February 9th. The Closing Ceremony will be on Sunday, 25th February. Both the Opening and Closing ceremonies will take place at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, which can hold up to 35,000 spectators.

It’s important to note that South Korea is 8 hours ahead of London.

What’s the Mascot?

The Mascot for this years games is a white tiger, named ‘Soohorang’. The White Tiger is closely associated with Korean Mythology and culture with many believing that the Tiger symbolises trust, strength and protection.

What Sports are in the Winter Olympics?

The list of Sports that are on offer are as follows.

Alpine Skiing
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Cross Country Skiing
Curling
Figure skating
Freestyle Skiing
Ice Hockey
Luge
Nordic Combined
Short Track Speed Skating
Skeleton
Ski Jumping
Snowboard
Speed skating

The new events this year are;

Big Air Snowboarding – This is an extreme version of snowboarding in which competitors must perform complex tricks whilst simultaneously maintaining high, distance and a clean landing.

Freestyle Skiing – This is a skiing discipline which involves aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe and slopestyle – giving the participant various methods to score points.

Mass Start Speed Skating – The mass start format of Speed Skating has been tried once before back in 1932 but regularly occurs in other forms of Winter Sports. The Mass Start should provide more fun than it did in 1932 though, with 4 times as many competitors now lining up to take part in each heat!

Mixed Doubles Curling – Mixed Doubles Curling will make its debut at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Mixed doubles is a different type of curling that revolves around stone positioning – focusing more on play to the four-foot circle and the angles. Requiring only two player, mixed doubles curling is a faster version of traditional curling.

The Medals

Designed by Lee Suk-woo, the Winter Olympic medals incorporate both the Korean alphabet and the foundation of Korean Culture. Stretching across the face of the medal towards the edge, the features come together to spell out “Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018”. The diagonal lines that they create aim to represent both the history of the Olympic Games and the competitive strive of the athletes as they compete to win a medal.

The ribbon used to hang the medal is created using a traditional Korean fabric, Gapsa.

There will be a record 102 medals on offer to win this year.

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The phenomenon of Tough Guy© has continued to evolve, and it now attracts a worldwide audience and an abundance of courageous competitors who come from all over to try and beat this ordeal and equally enjoy the unique spirit of the friendship and amiability that exists at a Mudathon.

Set in over 150-acres of fertile land, where spring waters will wash away your miseries and replace them with smiles of achievement, Tough Guy® is the ultimate challenge for any self-proclaimed competitor. Year upon year, the amazing staff come up with brand new ways to challenge you. The assault course is custom-built to be mentally demanding, fear-inducing and visually spectacular – meaning that those who’ve come along to cheer someone on will be able to have an amazing day out!

There’s no better feeling than taking part though, and after you’ve completed the mammoth task you will understand just why thousands upon thousands of people keep on coming back. Despite it being extremely challenging, it’s extremely rewarding and guarantees to change your life!

Its clear to see that the organisers at Tough Guy® have searched the world to find a more demanding one-day survival training ordeal and, based on reputation, only the US Navy S.E.A.L.S. ‘Grinder’ Assault Course even gets close! Upon completion of a ‘Grinder’ Assault Course, they shout ‘Hoo-Yah’! This is their own unique cry of triumph. At Tough Guy, they have their own traditions – crying out ‘Yohimbe!’upon completion. Only at the end of the event, will you know the true meaning of the word!

If you want to take part in this truly amazing event, you can sign up by clicking here.

The Tough Guy competition is open to men and women. Those as young as 15 can take part, but if you’re under 18 years old you must be accompanied by a parent. The event is uniquely fear-ridden, and you need to be fit in both body and spirit to survive the ordeal. You will not be alone though, as you line up with thousands will be by your side. There you will find the true spirit of Tough Guy.

Good luck!

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If you’re looking to enter, click here.

The mayhem of the beloved “Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake” Cheese Rolling event in Gloucestershire is back for yet another year, and 2018’s event promises to provide just as many thrills and spills as daring competitors tumble down the gigantic hill in a graceful attempt to win the coveted Double Gloucester cheese!

Every country has their own slightly ‘unique’ event – just look at Spain and their Tomatina tomato-throwing festival and the running of the bulls, or our fellow Americans across the pond who play host to the World Pillow Fight Championships. What about in Japan too? Where grown men run through the streets naked in the, you guessed it, ‘Naked Festival’. With all that in mind, our Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling event is truly the spectacle worth seeing.

Dating back to about the 15th century, the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake involves hordes of courageous competitors chasing a weighty 8lb Double Gloucester Cheese down a truly death-defyingly steep hill. With the speed of the cheese reaching heart-racing speeds of 70mph, it’s basically uncatchable. Therefore whoever crosses the line at the bottom of the hill and picks up the cheese is the winner.

There are 4 downhill races in total, three of them for men and one for women. Only 15 runners are able to take part now but, in the past, there was up to 40 competitors running down Cooper’s hill! With 40 people running down the hill, crashing into one another as they go head over heels, there’s no wonder that the St John’s Ambulance staff complained that they didn’t have enough paramedics to treat everyone!

It’s unclear why the ceremony first began, but they’re multiple explanations that aim to solve it. An explanation believes that the ceremony evolved from a requirement to maintain grazing rights, whilst the second explanation believes it’s a pagan origin where bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year.

If you’re wanting to take part in 2018’s event, there’s a link at the top of this article that will send you to the official page. Despite the injury concerns, it’s amazing fun – even if you just want to go watch!

Participate at your own risk, and good luck!

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In no particular order:

1. Off-road karting. This is a top gift for a surge of adrenalin from the get-go. It places the rider in a monster of a kart and then challenges them to go at ridiculous speeds over rough terrain. Marvellous!

2. Clay pigeon shooting. For those who are stuck for what to buy teenagers who had done most things, clay pigeon shooting is a brilliant idea. Not only does it get them away from the computer and out into the fresh air, it will surprise them just how much they enjoy the experience.

3. Zorbing. A rollercoaster ride of emotions. The gift of a whirl in a zorb is like Christmas wrapped up into a large plastic ball. And, it gave the voucher holders something to look forward to after Christmas.

4. Horse Riding. The RSPCA warns against dogs as Christmas presents as they are often abandoned by Boxing Day. Here is an animal that is happy to be the centre of attention for just one day. Horse riding lessons.

5. Showboarding. Guarantee a white Christmas with a snowboarding lesson at a top indoor centre. This is a great introduction to the sport. A gift idea for any age.

6. Skiing. A romantic gift idea. Many people like to go away skiing between Christmas and Easter, so join the jet set and take to the slopes (in the UK).

7. Paintball. When the fights break out at Christmas and you feel like shooting someone – do it! Get moving, hiding and shooting. Paintballis a great energy release for everyone aged 12yrs and over, and it will burn some off those pesky calories too.

8. Microlighting.  Microlighting gives you the same sensation. Take to the skies and let the crazy world below just drift away.

9. Segway. Oh yes! This is a superb gift, and an activity that very few people have tried.  You will be top of the nice list for this gift, that is for sure.

10. Anything they fancy. Can’t decide what on earth to give from all the incredible options? Easy, give an Activity Passport and let them choose themselves. Last on this list, but probably the best gift of all.

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1. Monster Truck Driving, Sussex.Tired of the traffic and ready to put your foot down in a big way? Monster trucks are a ‘bad ass’ weekend driving experience. From £226 for a two-and-half hour session, it isn’t cheap, but the memory is as big and bold as the US ‘Grizzly’ truck you could be steering. And it’s just about the only time you will be able to bully your way over two police saloon cars without an expensive trip to Her Majesty’s courts.

2. Water Spills, Scotland. No year is complete without an excursion into the wilds of Scotland. Spring snow melts make for a rush of water and adrenalin in rivers across the central belt and the Highlands, which make it great for white water rafting. Prices start from around the £50 mark. And, while you’re up there, adding some canyoning and bungee jumping can make for an exhilarating weekend. The only difficulty is making sure it’s thawing and not still snowing.

3. Walking on water. Yes, really. You too can achieve the miracle of walking on water, courtesy of a plastic zorb. From about £20, the experience is a great buy and as the flotilla of You Tube videos testify, it’s the highlight of many a weekend.

4. Canyoning, Lleyn Peninsula, Wales. Canyoning or coasteering as some people call it, is a cross between mountain climbing, walking, pot-holing and swimming. Half-a-day’s canyoning is around £32.00. For that you get to make your way down a gorge in a wet suit, tackling obstacles as you go. But be warned, depending on the level of water, it can be a challenging activity requiring a high level of fitness. Maybe one to leave until later in the year, when you’re a bit fitter.

5. Riding, Oxfordshire. For those lucky enough to be born in the country, horses are akin to bicycles – transport that keeps you fit – but for the majority of UK urbanites, they are just creatures we lose money on at the bookies. A weekend visit to a riding school such as the one near Banbury can change all that. For around £30, you get a chance to ride indoor or outdoor, with qualified instructors at a centre approved by the Association of British Riding Schools.

6. Quad biking, Yorkshire. This Doncaster site is one of the UK’s most prestigious quad centres. Visitors get the chance bump and slide on Apache RLX 150cc, RLX 100cc and 50cc quad bikes over a disused quarry site. Prices start at around £25.

7. High Ropes, Devon. Close to Dartmoor National Park, the Tavistock high ropes course is another excuse to head to the west country for a weekend. The canopy-based activities offer challenges for different ages and levels of fitness, and start at £26.

8. Scuba-diving, Buckinghamshire. Scuba diving is a sport that is becoming more accessible and popular, particularly with the over 40s. And dipping a toe into the sport isn’t expensive. Less than £30 will be needed for an introductory session.

9. Ballooning, Lake District. William Wordsworth – one of the Lake District’s most famous sons – could have said: ‘I wandered lonely as a balloon.’ Surely, there can’t be a better way to view some of the UK’s finest scenery than perched in a balloon a few thousand feet in the air. Just imagine the poetry he may have come up with as he floated on high o’er vales and hills. Prices are around the £200 mark.

10. Off-road karting, Surrey. Just a short drive from the M25 is an off-road karting circuit without any traffic cones in sight. For between £80 and £90, you can rip up the mud and blow away all the memories of weekdays stuck on the M25. Proper driving that you can only dream about in the south east of England.

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TV viewers who watched former England cricketer Freddie Flintoff’s ITV4 show Freddie Flintoff Versus the World saw the birth of a new extreme sport – paintball and paragliding. Two extreme sports combined into one.

The former England all-rounder battled it out in the airspace in South America with ex-England cricketing colleague Darren Gough, although Freddie came off second best as he damaged his paintball gun when taking off in the paraglider. Which just goes to show there will be a raft of new techniques to master if it takes off over here.

Click here for paintball or here for paragliding. As yet there’s no plans to combine the sports in the UK – if that changes, we’ll let you know as soon as we do!

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According to Google, airsoft is set to perform a St Valentine’s Day massacre on the Internet as it tops the poll as the most searched for shooting activity term.

Airsoft, which uses replica guns firing plastic balls, is outgunning activities such as paintball, laser quest and clay pigeon shooting in online searches. A staggering 2.7 million people searched for airsoft in January, compared to just 1.8 million for the perennial favourite paintball. Airsoft originated in Japan in the late 1970s as the Far Eastern answer to paintball. So what is the big attraction? And why is airsoft blasting away the competition?

Gary, 20, a student from Sheffield, who recently started taking part in combat games of airsoft, says: ‘It’s the authentic feel of military combat that turns people on.’ Primary school teacher Sally, 27, has been taking part in airsoft games for a couple of years. ‘I started playing when my boyfriend’s company organised a corporate airsoft day, and just loved it,’ she said. ‘It’s a team sport which involves tactics and working together to beat the opponent. So it is a mental as well as a physical challenge.’

One big difference between paintball and airsoft is there’s no paint marks when a person is shot, so honesty is the only policy for these gun fighters. Gary believes it is part of the attraction of the sport. ‘It’s a bit like golf, it’s easy to cheat, but in my experience people are very honest. It’s considered really bad form to argue if you’ve been shot,’ he says.

The hot debate within airsoft is over the control of the replica guns. The UK Airsoft Sites Governing Body (UKASGB) which represents airsoft sites and is supported by Sport England, argues for controls on the use of replica guns rather than a ban. The UK Home Office currently classifies airsoft guns as Replica Imitation Firearms (RIFs), which restricts their use to exempted activities such as combat games. So firing airsoft guns at a site is legal but don’t carry them while you are in the supermarket. If you want to find out why is airsoft is out firing other sports, click here.

10 facts to fire-off about Airsoft

1. Airsoft guns fire 6mm plastic bullets at speeds between 100 and 328 feet per second

2. Airsoft replica guns are normally lighter than normal guns and cannot be turned into real firearms.

3. Airsoft started as the Japanese answer to paintball.

4. The power of airsoft guns is limited in the UK to 328 feet per second, which is the equivalent to flicking your skin with a finger, when fired from a safe distance.

5. Airsoft dealers currently operate a voluntary ban on the sale of airsoft guns to under 18s

6. Airsoft sites normally have a minimum age restriction of 12, under 16s need to be signed for by a parent or guardian

7. The plastic balls fired by airsoft guns are biodegradable.

8. The three types of airsoft gun are spring, electric and gas operated – all using compressed air

9. Combatants normally take a timeout when hit

10. Like paintball, face masks are worn

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The images in the above video appear to have offended a lot of people. (Not in the Adrenamag editorial office.) But like many people we have been known to eat too many mince pies and Christmas pudding over the festive period, and before we book our next bungee jumps, we know we’ll need to plan to lose a few pounds. Click here if you aim to do a bungee jump in 2018 or want to buy a bungee jump voucher for someone. (Just don’t show them the video.)

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Paintball UK takes its lead from the US, just as the movie industry looks to Hollywood. Therefore, when you’re talking paintball games on the big screen, there’s only one place to start and end – the US.

Paintballers are divided on what is the best paintball movie ever made. For most paintballers it has to be Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story. Starring Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Dannah Feinglass and directed and co-written by Brant Sersen, Blackballed is an improvised comedy that tells the tale of a disgraced US paintball star who attempts to return to competition. Andrew Leech network manager at Go Ballistic says: ‘If you’re a fan of comedies such as The Office or the US’s The Daily Show, this is the kind of film you’ll enjoy.’

Splat: In Your Face is another film beloved of paintballers. A teenage paintball romp, it is more of a hardcore paintball film. ‘It has some good film sequences and teenagers love it,’ says Leech.

Out now on DVD is Paintball: The Movie. It is the story of eight paintballers who innocently set off to a paintball tournament. Unknown to the paintballers, they have been chosen by a group called the ‘Organisation’ to take part in a 21^st century version of a Roman festival. Like the slaves being fed to the lions, the paintballers are up against a killer with real ammunition. Reviews of the movie are mixed and that is being polite. ‘If I had a spare hour I’d rather play paintball,’ says Leech.

If you want to try the real thing, click here.

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