The second heat is under way in the men's halfpipe qualifying, but the condition of the pipe continues to dominate the talk.

BBC commentator Ed Leigh says: "The pipe is in terrible shape. There has been talk earlier today of postponing the competition. The best half pipes are when it is icy, but at the moment it's slushy."

Britain's Ben Kilner, who competed in the first heat and failed to qualify, adds: "I had such a good vibe as I dropped. But the conditions are so tough. It's really bumpy and soft."

Amy Williams MBE, who won skeleton gold in Vancouver, posts a message on Twitter, external to British freestyle skier Katie Summerhayes. It says: "Huge well done. Take the positives from today as you have proved to yourself how much potential you have for the future."

It's a little odd to see a winter sport played by men in short-sleeved T-shirts. Also, they wear shoes that slide across the ice, but seem to work normally off it. Would love to have that one explained for me. One red, one yellow stone sit near the centre of the house, but there's miles to go in this end.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park

"Start of the second heat for the snowboard halfpipe delayed whilst further inspections take place on the somewhat controversial venue.

"Two-time US Olympic champion Shaun White is bidding to win the event for a third Games in a row and needs a top-three finish in qualifying to guarantee progression to tonight's final.

"If he's fourth to ninth in the rankings after this session he'll need to take part in the semi-finals - any lower and he'd be out... but we aren't expecting that."

Last stone of the end...Germans sweeping cautiously...red stone of GB nudged long, Germany take one point but transfer the hammer. Remember, the hammer only transfers if you score a point, so GB will look to "blank" this ninth end, keeping the advantage in the 10th and final.

Image source, @AshleySkis

American freestyle skier Ashley Caldwell posts on Twitter:, external Being silly at the top of the hill before taking some jumps.

Cheers inside the Curling Centre tell us that Russia are doing well on another sheet. Germany - dressed in white polo shirts and black trousers, a bit like waiters - have the hammer in this eighth end, meaning they have the advantage of the last stone. Two to go for Germany, one for GB. Only the red of the two GB stones are near the Olympic Rings that mark the centre of the scoring area.

Tom Sutcliffe:, external I can't get enough of this curling. I can't tell the difference between a good or bad shot but oh well.

Dr Aristotle Slicer:, external Good thing the curling doesn't go to penalties isn't it? Otherwise GB might as well give up now.

Leanne Frace:, external Not sure what it is about curling that's so addictive. Loved it ever since I saw Rhona & team win gold in 2002.

After a sensational morning's work from Aimee Lewis, it's Stephan Shemilt here for the first part of the afternoon. I arrive in this eighth end of the GB men v Germany curling group game. 5-5. Tension cranking.

British freestyle skier Katie Summerhayes on Twitter:, external So, so gutted about the end result today. Skied well in qualifiers but couldn't hold it together, so excited for 2018. Really, really tried my best to hold it together in the final, but onwards and upwards from here. I'm stoked that I was trending on twitter. Thanks so much everyone for the support and sending my best wishes to Yuki Tsubota.

Summerhayes came seventh in the ski slopestyle final earlier today and Yuki Tsubota was carried off on a stretcher after falling in the competition.

The £8.5m Ice Cube Curling Centre is a moveable venue and by that I mean it could potentially be dismantled and taken to another city once these Winter Olympics are done and dusted. Salford could do with a curling centre... Just a thought.... Britain's male curlers earn two points in the seventh end which allows them to level at 5-5 against Germany. Not quite nerve-jangling, but it's interesting at least.

Richard Conway
BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent in Sochi

Sochi organisers say ticket sales are "significantly above expectations", with a total of 924,802 sold so far. Dmitry Perlin, the head of Sochi's ticketing department, says 70% to 75% of tickets have been bought by Russians.

He also stated that Japan and Germany sold out of their allotted ticket quotas which range in price from $15 up to $1,500 for the best seats at the opening ceremony. The average cost of a ticket is approximately $115 (£70).

Britain's Ben Kilner was 16th while fellow Brit Dominic Harington was bottom of the pile with a second run score of 37.25.

By the way, the second heat has been delayed and will not start until at least before 12:10 GMT.

Olivier S Humphrey:, external I could finish preparing my presentation or I could just keep watching the curling.

James Salt:, external Every four years I become strangely obsessed with curling.

ComeOnTeamGB:, external Team GB men should win this one. We're looking good.

Drum roll, please, because we can officially announce who has qualified from the first heat of the men's halfpipe.

Earning a free pass to the final are Japan's Ayumu Hirano, Switzerland's Christian Haller and his compatriot David Habluetzel.

Those who finished between fourth and ninth go through to the semi-finals and they are: France's Arthur Longo, Slovakia's Tim-Kevin Ravnjak, China's Wancheng Shi, America's Gregory Bretz, Ireland's Seamus O'Connor and France's Johann Baisamy.

Ollie Williams
BBC Sport at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Centre

"Andrew Musgrave's Sprint Free quarter-final is scheduled for 12:36 GMT. He will face two leading Norwegians - Anders Gloeersen and Eirik Brandsdal - and with the top two to go through he will need to get past at least one.

"Frenchman Renaud Jay, American Andrew Newll and Harald Wurm of Austria make up the remainder of the field. And the word of day here is: Slushy."

Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport in Sochi

Britain's Dom Harington admitted nerves got the better of him as he fell in both qualification runs for the snowboard halfpipe. "On the first run my legs went to absolute jelly," he said.

"I just dropped in and thought, 'My legs have gone.' On the second I calmed down a bit and thought I was on it but I fell on my face. It's quite bumpy as it's quite warm. It shows you have to be a good rider. It's been a long time coming but I've loved the Olympics. I just wish I could have done better. The team as a whole has done really well."

Image source, @BBCDavidMcDaid

BBC Radio Scotland's David McDaid on Twitter:, external At the break after five ends Team GB men back level at 3-3 against Germany. The Germans had to go through qualifying to be here.

I suppose you're probably wondering who the second most followed athlete in Sochi on Twitter is. Funnily enough, I have information on that. Korean figure skater Yuna Kim, external wins silver in that particular competition with over 700,000 followers, while Russian ice hockey star Alex Ovechkin, external is third with 674,000 followers.

What impact will a melting halfpipe have an impact on Shaun White, who competes in the second heat of qualifying? We will soon find out, I suppose. Why are we making such a fuss over White? Because he's the most followed Sochi competitor on Twitter with 1.3m followers,, external which means he must be popular. And there's the small matter of the American going for a third Olympic gold...