Winter Olympic History
Five years after the birth of the modern Olympics, the first organized international games that include winter sports. These games were called the Nordic Games, which were held in Sweden every year. This only included athletes from the country Scandinavia. In 1911 Count Eugenio Brunetta suggested that Sweden should either include winter sports in the next Olympics or have a totally different Winter Olympics. Count Eugenio Brunetta was part of the International Olympic Committee. Sweden decided to refuse the offer because they thought that such a move would jeopardize the Nordic Games. In the 1920 Olympics there were two winter sports that were included in the Olympics. The sports included were figure skating and ice hockey. Two years after the 1920 Olympics the IOC decided to create the International Winter Sports Week. This event was held in Charmoniz, France. The next year after the IOC finally decided to create a separate Winter Olympics. These Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland in 1928. From that point on the Winter Olympics were held every four years in the same calendar year as the Summer Olympics. In 1986, however, the IOC decided to change the schedule of the Winter Olympics. Instead of having the Winter Olympics in the same calendar year as the Summer Olympics, they decided to put the Summer and Winter Olympics two years apart. The games are still held every four years.