Bobsled is a sport in which two or four people sit together in a sled and race down an iced pathway. This sled runs through narrow pathways that banks and twists. This gets the sleds to go down at speeds that reach up to one hundred and fifty kilo meters per hour.
Caspar Badrutt had come up with the concept of making pathways; which were designed for bobsleds for the entertainment of his guests. His more affluent guests were bored in their hotel suite, so they made sleds that attached to each other and raced it on roadways, narrow passageways that was dangerous to the public. So Badrutt constructed a track made completely out of ice. It was the first track made which requires no artificial refrigeration. This track is still operational today.
The sleds were later modified with steering and braking mechanisms. And now bobsleds are part of the Olympics.
Bobsleigh has been contesting in the winter Olympics since the early nineties. Until the year 2002,when women started competing as well.
The top bobsled and skeleton athletes compete in the FIBT tour (Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganin).
Skeleton or tobogganing is a sport in which a person rides a small sled with his face lying down. The riders go through forces of almost five Gs’. Skeleton slides got its concept from the British ‘Cresta sledding’.
In the Cresta sleds, the riders, use brakes from their boots to slow down and their body weight to steer and brake. Whereas in tobogganing, this is not the case.
The sport dates back to the late eighteenth century when swiss soldiers built a skeleton track between Davos and Klosters. The complex curves and bends, made the swiss tracks, different from the ones used in the United States and Canada.
At lake Placid in new York, as a part of the FIBT, top bobsled and skeleton athletes complete from the fifteenth of December till the seventeenth. An array of two and four mens and womens bobsled teams compete in one of the world toughest bobsled tracks.
The speeds of the bobsleds and skeletons reach up to ninety miles per hour. Theres an Olympic sports complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. The track over here is almost a mile in length. Most race events take place at the Olympic sorts complex in a combined fashion. You will find the ‘coke caravan’ serving drinks, food. Also you can get a picture with your friendly neighborhood Santa.
The holiday festival is on location at the speed skating oval. This festival features caroling, tree lighting, and local events like the crowning of king of winter and queen of winter.
