Alex & Maia Shibutani Had A VERY Good Reason To Miss The Olympic Opening Ceremony

The 2018 Olympic Games has already gotten off to an exciting start. On Feb. 9, the Olympic opening ceremony kicked off in PyeongChang, South Korea. And, of course, many of the talented athletes from the good ole' United States of America participated in the event. But, did everyone participate in the ceremony? Are Alex and Maia Shibutani at the 2018 Olympic opening ceremony?

It seems as though the siblings were not at the Olympic opening ceremony. Both Alex and Maia have been active on social media throughout the time that the ceremony was going on, and neither posted a photo of themselves at the event. Maia posted a photo during the ceremony of herself at a practice, captioned, "Skated on a very special sheet of ice today! #WinterOlympics." It sounds like the photo may have been taken earlier in the day, but it still would be strange if she posted a pic of herself on the ice instead of from the ceremony if she was there.

Alex also posted a photo, taken by Maia, on his account of himself in the same rink. He captioned his pic, "Olympic ice is niiice" with a thumbs up emoji.

In addition to their posts that make it seem they aren't there, neither their figure skating teammates nor the Team USA official accounts posted any of behind-the-scenes shots on social media that include Alex and Maia at the opening ceremony.

Although the pair didn't attend the Olympic opening ceremony, they did have some involvement in the event. According to Forbes, the siblings helped Ralph Lauren unveil the uniforms that the athletes would wear for the opening ceremony. One would think Maia and Alex would have been at the opening ceremony, considering that they had this fashionable connection to it. However, things may have just changed in their busy schedules.

It's still unclear as to why exactly the pair had to skip out on the ceremony, but judging by what they've posted so far, they were probably busy practicing and preparing for their events. That's what they're there for, after all.

Even though the opening ceremony was on Feb. 9, the competition actually started a bit earlier. On Thursday, Feb. 8, some competitions were already airing in the U.S. Alex and Maia Shibutani's teammates in the men's and pairs programs started things off for the Team USA figure skating team. While the siblings' teammate, Nathan Chen, didn't get off to the best start, at least he had his teammates, including the "ShibSibs," rooting him on from the stands.

The popular pair won't officially compete in the Olympic Games until Feb. 11, which is when the ice dance short program starts. Seeing as though the pair have busied themselves with practice, it's likely that they'll be prepared when they do perform one of their always-entertaining routines come competition day.

In case you weren't familiar with Maia and Alex before, you're in for a treat during the 2018 Olympics. The world renowned Olympians are already icons for their ice dancing successes. According to the official Team USA site, the pair won a bronze medal at the World Championship in 2017 and made the cut for the USA figure skating team for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. All you have to do is check out one of their many flawless routines to tell just how much they've mastered the artistry and skill of the ice dancing sport.

Maia and Alex have amassed a ton of fans not only because of their fabulous routines, but also because of their charm. The two have their own Youtube channel, The ShibSibs, where they've shared videos of their time on the competition circuit and their daily lives — like when they adorably shared (with the help of some silly puns) that they were pictured on Minute Maid juice cartons.

Even though the ShibSibs didn't attend the opening ceremony, they'll definitely be ones to watch during the course of the Olympic Games.