|
Team USA Luge Q & A
"Courtesy of Brenna Margol and Gordy Sheer of the USA Luge Team"
Q: What is luge?
A: The easiest way to explain the sport of luge is to compare it with a winter activity that children find enjoyable - sledding.
Instead of racing down a snow covered hill, luge athletes race down a track covered in ice with banked corners in a competition against the clock.
Unlike the sleds children take to their favorite hill, the sleds the athletes compete on are usually custom-fit for each racer and cost a lot more to manufacture. There are also special components built into the sled like the pod, made from fiberglass, which the athletes lay on. The runners (or blades of the sled) are made from special steel. The sled steers when the athlete applies pressure on the pod and runners with his or her feet and shoulders.
There are three separate events within world-class competition: women's singles, men's singles, and men's doubles. The most notable difference between singles and doubles is that in doubles, there are two people on the sled.
Q: Who participates in Luge?
A: Because there are only a dozen or so luge facilities in the world, for the most part, the sport of luge primarily exists at an elite level. Each country does have developmental and junior teams. However, those interested in trying the sport can join a luge club or, if you're over the age of 18, sign up for a Fantasy Camp. Go to www.usaluge.org for more information.
The sport of luge can be seen during the Winter Olympics when athletes from around the world compete, in search of the highly coveted gold medal. Countries from around the world also take part in international competition each winter and each field teams of varying sizes, depending on the depth of their luge program. In recent years, the strongest athletes and team have come from Germany, Italy, Austria and the United States.
Within luge, there are three signature events: FIL World Cup Series, Luge World Championships, and the Winter Olympic Games. At all competitions, races are held in three categories: men, women, and doubles.
The FIL World Cup is a series of international events held around the world. At the World Cup, the athlete with the lowest combined time over two runs is designated the winner. In addition, points are awarded to each athlete based upon their finish position. The higher you finish in each race, the more points you are awarded. At the end of the World Cup Season, the athlete who has accumulated the most points is declared the FIL World Cup Champion.
The Luge World Championship is the most prestigious event on the international calendar (except in Olympic years). This one-day event features the best and most talented athletes in the sport of luge and is held at a different track from year to year. The event is scored in the same manner as each World Cup event - the athlete with the lowest combined time for two runs is designated the World Champion. Because 2006 was an Olympic year, the World Champion also happens to be the reigning Olympic champion Armin Zoeggeler from Italy.
Last but not least is the Winter Olympic Games. As is commonly known, the Games takes place every four years with the next Winter Olympics taking place in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. In an Olympic year, there isn't a Luge World Championship, which makes the Winter Games the most exalted title of the year. At the Olympics, the luge event is scored a bit differently from other luge competitions. In World Cup and World Championship events, the athlete with the fastest time over two runs is the winner. However, at the Olympics, men and women are given four runs down the track and the athlete with the lowest combined time over the four runs is awarded the coveted gold medal. Doubles is contested in one day, over two runs, like a World Cup or World Championship race.
Q: How do you determine who races first?
A: Athletes are placed into three ranked groups during World Cup and World Championships, and drawn randomly from each group. The best athletes will go last during the first race heat. The second heat sees athletes racing from last place to first place based on their first heat time. This system applies during the Olympics for doubles teams.
For men and women racing in the Olympics, the same ranking system is used during the first heat, except the best athletes will go first. The second heat sees the first heat start order run in reverse. The third heat is run from first place to last, and the fourth heat is run from last place to first place.
Q: Where can I find a luge track?
A: There are two types of tracks that athletes compete on: natural and artificial. Natural tracks are created from existing mountain roads and paths and are naturally iced. The track surface must be horizontal and artificial refrigeration is not allowed. Because of this, most natural tracks are found in Austria and Italy. There is one natural track in the United States. It is located in Marquette, Michigan.
Most of the tracks around the world are artificial, meaning they have specially designed curveswith concrete walls, corners, and straight-aways. Artificial tracks are about a mile in length and drop over thirty stories. Because most artificial tracks are located in places that can not sustain freezing temperature all year long, the surface of artificial tracks is cooled through a complex system of pipes with a coolant (typically ammonia). However, there are a couple artificial tracks that do not require cooling systems like the one in St. Moritz. This allows for the water sprayed on the track to freeze. Artificial tracks can be found in Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Austria, and Latvia. There are two artificial tracks in the United States. One is located in Lake Placid, New York and the other in Park City, Utah.
Q: How do you train for luge?
A: Like any elite sport, being an athlete on the USA Luge Team is a full-time job.
To be competitive on the international circuit, it is important that athletes train year round. During the summer, most athletes live at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. There, the athletes prepare by lifting weights, practicing their starts at the indoor training facility, doing plyometrics, balance work, sprint training and other exercises. In the early fall, the racers begin sport-specific training that will translate into better performance on the sled. Finally, in the beginning of October, the teambegins training on the actual luge track to prepare for the World Cup season.
The World Cup season begins in November and runs through mid-March, during which the team travels all over the world to compete with the best in the sport of luge. The athletes only have a couple months to relax before off-season training resumes.
Q: How do athletes control the sled?
A: Lugers control the sled while racing down the track through steering. To steer, lugers shift weight from shoulder-to-shoulder and applying pressure to the runners with their legs. The sled is very sensitive to the pressure applied which means that to guide the sled along the track, athletes need only steer a little bit.
In the world of luge, the process of steering the sled is also known as "driving." The difficulty in luge occurs as the athlete drives the sled through the multiple turns of a track. When the athlete applies too much pressure or over-steers, the result is either a slower finish time or worse, a crash.
Q: How fast can you go?
A: Every track in the world is designed differently. Most tracks are about a mile in length and drop about thirty stories. While lugers have reached in excess of ninety miles per hour during competition, USA Luge Team member Tony Benshoof holds the Guinness Book of World Record at 86.6 mph.
Q: Is Luge dangerous?
A: In general, the sport of luge is safe. Falls and crashes are part of the sport and most of the time, athletes escape a crash with a few bumps, bruises, and scrapes. However, athletes do take certain precautions to make sure that safety is not ignored
While traveling down the track at eighty miles per hour, the point most vulnerable to injury is the athlete's head. Racers wear helmets made out of Kevlar. In addition to being strong enough to stop bullets, Kevlar is also light-weight which is important because there are no headrests on the sleds. While negotiating turns, lugers can experience up to 5 G-forces which makes it difficult to hold up their heads. When an athlete is unable to hold their head up due to these forces, it is known as "losing your head."
Q: How do I become part of the Luge Team?
A: USA Luge recruits children as young as ten years of age for their developmental team. The Verizon - USA Luge Slider Search serves as USA Luge's national recruitment tool. It visits cities across the country and gives boys and girls, ages 11 - 14, the opportunity to try luge and learn more about the sport. USA Luge coaches and athletes are on-hand to provide instruction on how to luge as well as test participants physical abilities. Current USA Luge World Cup Team members Brian Martin and Tony Benshoof were recruited through the Verizon - USA Luge Slider Search. To learn more, visit USA Luge's website at www.usaluge.org.
|