Manchester City Library

The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place from February 9-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea.  And once again New Hampshire will be well represented by a mixture of those who grew up here and enjoyed their sport from a young age to those who furthered their athletic talents while attending college in New Hampshire.  For the rest of us, the Manchester City Library has a broad collection of materials in print and electronic format to help us learn the fundamentals of skating/skiing, discover a new ski spot, read about past Olympics as well as a variety of other winter sports.  There are DVD’s on the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” hockey team and the scaling of Mount Everest.  The library’s digital collections provide options to read or listen to even more!

To whet your appetite a bit more check out these fun facts!

 “Firsts”

The first winter Olympics was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.  The first gold medal of these games was won by the United States of America.  The host country, France, failed to win any gold medals; a first in Olympic history.  The first winter medals were awarded in the sports of:

• Bobsleigh
• Curling
• Ice hockey
• Skating
• Figure skating
• Speed skating
• Nordic skiing
• Military patrol
• Cross-country skiing
• Nordic combined
• Ski jumping

And finally, the first ski club in America was formed in Berlin, New Hampshire in 1872!

Did you know…?

• The 1924 winter Olympics brought 11 year old Sonje Henie to the world. She did not win here but went on to win in three later Olympics.
• Sixteen nations competed in the 1924 winter games.
• Germany was banned from participation due to unresolved issues stemming from WWI that were not settled until 1925.
• Manchester Parks and Recreation provides opportunities for skating at two locations: the JFK Arena on Beech Street and the West Side Ice Arena on Electric Street.
• McIntyre Arena welcomes skiers, snowboarders and tubers to its Chalet Court location in Manchester.

It’s time to get ready for the winter games.  Begin by checking out the two displays in the rotunda.  Respond and let us know how you enjoy the winter!

-Rose