First they brought over the Snowboard Half-Pipe, then came Snowboard Cross and now it's Skicross - the third sport to join the relatively staid Winter Olympics, from the exciting world of the Winter X-Games.

The sport, which involves speed skiing down a course that resembles a motocross track, will make its debut at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on February 21st (men) and February 23rd (women). Among the competitors this year, is Jamaican, Errol Kerr, who is being described by some as Usain Bolt on skies!

Similar to Snowboard Cross, four competitors line up at a time, with the top two advancing to the next round until the final eight are left. The top four then go on to compete in the 'big final', while the athletes who rank from fifth to eight compete in the 'small final'.

The sport, which has been around since the early days of alpine skiing, was first introduced at the Winter X-Games about a decade ago, to encourage younger skiers to participate. Instead, it has become very popular among retired Alpine racers, adding to the sports they can now compete in.

Similar to Motocross, the Skicross track has a number of man-made and natural rollers, jumps, sharp-turns and tabletops. The sport is extremely popular among both spectators and competitors, because it is so unpredictable, one where even the most experienced skiers wipeout and where being the fastest skier doesn't necessarily guarantee a medal.

So, while 2009 Skicross World Cup Champion, Michael Schmid, is the favorite to win the gold at the inaugural Olympic event, anything could happen in this wild and wacky competition - So be sure to tune in and watch next week!

sources: the spread.com, vancouver2010.com