Now that the Winter Olympics are over, I can speak the truth, they aren’t fair. Yes, I love watching the Olympics but not all the countries are there. The lack of less developed countries is evident.

The Olympics are supposed to bring the world together, but how is it supposed to bring the world together if not all the countries are represented?

I do get that to specialize in basically any sport, it costs a lot of money, due to the costs associated with coaches, training time and traveling to competitions. But to even start most winter sports you need to have a ton of money, while in summer sports like track you only need to run and in soccer all you need is a ball.

It’s quite accessible for the average Joe to gain access to try most summer sports, but is not easy for Joe to go to an ice skating rink and discover his knack for speed skating, or his insane skeleton skills.

The summer Olympics are the games for the whole world, and the winter Olympics are the games for the upper class.

There are only 16 bobsledding courses in the entire world, this is a big difference compared to 206 countries that competed in the most recent Olympics. In the 2026 Olympics there were four separate bobsledding events, countries without a bobbsledding track miss out on an opportunity to win four gold medals if they don’t have a bobsled track. It makes sense that many countries don’t have a bobsledding track as they cost 90-120 million to construct.

Another inaccessible sport to the average Joe is ice hockey. It is a perfect example because it is similar to many winter team sports such as basketball, soccer and volleyball. But it is way more expensive due to the insane equipment prices. For most team sports to practice all you need is a ball and can go to the park to practice and if you want an advantage you could buy some fancy shoes/cleats. Meanwhile in ice hockey you have to buy hockey skates, shoulder pads, a helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, shin guards and special pants. Most of those will run you anywhere from 100-300 dollars. Players also need sticks and an amateur player breaks 1-4 sticks a season which cost between 100-400 dollars.

The winter Olympics are for the rich. The insane prices put poorer countries and their athletes at a disadvantage and make the winter olympics an unfair competition.