Bobsleigh,
bobsled or
bobsledge is a
winter sportA winter sport is a sport commonly played during winter. As a formal term, it refers to a sport played on snow or ice, but informally it can refer to sports played in winter that are also played year-round, such as basketball. The main winter sports are ice hockey and figure skating, sledding...
invented by Englishmen in the late 1860s in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered
sledA sled, sledge, or sleigh is a vehicle that moves by sliding. Usually runners or a smooth underside enable a sled to slide. Sleds are used for transport on surfaces with low friction, usually snow or ice...
. The various types of sleds came several years before the first tracks were built in St Moritz, where the original bobsleds were adapted upsized
LugeA luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds...
/
SkeletonSkeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused .-History:...
sleds designed by the adventurously wealthy to carry passengers. All three types were adapted from boys delivery sleds and
tobogganA toboggan is a simple sled that is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
s. Competition naturally followed, and to protect the working class and rich visitors in the streets and byways of St Moritz, hotel owner
Caspar BadruttSwissman Caspar Badrutt may have near singlehandedly invented the way we now look at winter activities — a time for fun and frolic on the picturesque but cold slopes outside his first hotel in scenic St Moritz, historic summer Mineral spa town where the rich and royal took mineral cures...
, owner of the historic Krup Hotel and the later
Palace HotelThe historic Palace Hotel in St. Moritz — more recently renamed as Badrutt's Palace Hotel is an internationally known destination, famous for its glitz and glamor. It was constructed over four years and opened in 1896 as a successor to the resort hotel which invented the cold weather winter...
, built the first familiarly configured 'half-pipe' track circa 1870. It has hosted the sports during two Olympics and is still in use today.
International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the
Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de TobogganingThe Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing or International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation is the main international federation for all bobsleigh and skeleton sports...
(FIBT). National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the
United States Bobsled and Skeleton FederationThe United States Bobsled & Skeleton Federation is the official federation for bobsled and skeleton in the United States. It serves as the American representative for the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation and is part of the United States Olympic Committee.The USBSF is...
and
Bobsleigh Canada SkeletonBobsleigh Canada Skeleton is the official federation for bobsled and skeleton in Canada. It serves as the Canadian representative for the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation and is part of the Canadian Olympic Committee....
.
History
Although sledding on snow or ice had been popular in many northern countries, bobsleighing is a relatively modern sport. It originates from two crestas (skeleton sleds) being attached together with a board and a steering mechanism being attached to the front one. English tourists were crossed with the successful marketing and vision of hotelman
Caspar BadruttSwissman Caspar Badrutt may have near singlehandedly invented the way we now look at winter activities — a time for fun and frolic on the picturesque but cold slopes outside his first hotel in scenic St Moritz, historic summer Mineral spa town where the rich and royal took mineral cures...
in the
mineral spaMineral spas are resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral spring locales. Spas grew in reputation in the nineteenth century on into the late middle-twentieth century for their purported healing or healthful benefits to those wealthy enough to partake of their waters...
town of St Moritz,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. Badrutt had recently successfully 'sold' the idea of 'winter resorting' to some of his English regulars using a wager as bait for he was annoyed with a four month long season for the rooms, food, alcohol and activities he sold. A year or two later some of his more adventuresome English guests began adapting boys' delivery sleds for recreation and began colliding with pedestrians whilst speeding down the village's lanes and alleys.
This had both short and long term outcomes: in the short term the guests began to scheme about and invent 'steering means' for the sleds, which became the
lugeA luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds...
, bobsleighs (bobsleds), and head-first
skeletonSkeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused .-History:...
. Long term effects were after a couple more years of happy pedestrian peril, Badrutt built them a special track for their activities—the world's first natural ice half-pipe track in about 1870. It is still in operation today and has served as a host track during two Winter Olympics. The track is one of the few natural weather tracks in the world - it doesn't require extra refrigeration. The satisfied guests eventually enabled him to build the
Palace HotelThe historic Palace Hotel in St. Moritz — more recently renamed as Badrutt's Palace Hotel is an internationally known destination, famous for its glitz and glamor. It was constructed over four years and opened in 1896 as a successor to the resort hotel which invented the cold weather winter...
, whilst holding onto the popular Krup Hotel (which catered to different clientele) and brought competition in as winter tourism in alpine locales caught fire.
The first informal races were run on snow-covered roads. The opening of formal competition was in 1884 at
St. MoritzSt. Moritz is an exclusive resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
. It's not known how much the original track evolved in the early years as the three sports matured and stabilized. The first club was formed in 1897, and the first purpose-built track solely for bobsleds was opened in 1902 outside of St Moritz.
The
Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de TobogganingThe Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing or International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation is the main international federation for all bobsleigh and skeleton sports...
(FIBT) was founded in 1923. Men's four man bobsleigh appeared in the first ever
Winter Olympic GamesThe Winter Olympic Games is a winter multi-sport event held every four years. They feature winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsledding and ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and...
in 1924, and men's two man bobsleigh (two man bobsled) event was added in 1932. Bobsleigh was not included in the
1960 Winter OlympicsThe 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated between February 18 and February 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States . Squaw Valley won the bid in 1955...
, but has been in every Winter Olympics since. Women's bobsleigh competition began in the early 1990s, and women's two woman bobsleigh made its Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Bobsleigh is also contested at American, European, and World Cup championships.
Over the years, bobsleigh tracks evolved from straight runs to twisting and turning tracks. The original wooden sleds were replaced by streamlined fibreglass and metal ones.
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
have been the most successful bobsleighing nations using over all successes in European, World, World Cup, and Olympic championships as measurement. The Swiss have won more medals than any other nation, and since the 1990s Germans have been dominant in international competition.
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
, USA and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
also have strong bobsleigh traditions.
The world record for fastest speed attained in a bobsled is 201 km per hour. US Bobsled & Skeleton Federation have previously mistakenly claimed the world record to be lower because they didn't adjust for wind resistance, gravitational pull, slope angle, and conditions of the ice .
Tracks
Modern tracks are made of
concreteConcrete is a construction material composed of cement as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water, and chemical admixtures...
and artificial ice. They are required to have at least one straight and one
labyrinthIn Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus...
.
Ideally, a modern track should be 1200 to 1300 metres long and have at least fifteen curves. Speeds may exceed 130 km/h, and some curves can subject the crews to as much as 5
gThe g-force experienced by an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. The term g-force is considered a misnomer, as g-force is not a force but an acceleration....
.
Some bobsled tracks are also used for
lugeA luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds...
and
skeletonSkeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused .-History:...
competition.
At some tracks there are paid services that offer tourists rides in bobsleighs, including those at
SiguldaThe Sigulda bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is located in Sigulda, Latvia. Currently, the track manager is Dainis Dukurs, former bobsleigh brakeman and the father of skeleton racers Martins and Tomass Dukurs.-History:...
, Latvia;
CalgaryThe Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Calgary, Canada. Part of Canada Olympic Park, it hosted the bobsleigh and luge competitions at the 1988 Winter Olympics...
, Canada;
Lake PlacidThe Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton located in Lake Placid, New York. This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and for the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000...
, USA and
Salt Lake CityThe Utah Olympic Park is located north of Park City, Utah and east of Salt Lake City. During the 2002 Winter Olympics it served as the venue for Nordic Jumping events and sliding events including Bobsled, Skeleton, and Luge. It still serves an active training center year round for Olympic and...
, USA.
Sleighs and crews
Modern sleighs combine light metals, steel runners, and an aerodynamic composite body. Competition sleighs must be a maximum of 3.80 m long (4-crew) or 2.70 m long (2-crew). The runners on both are set at 0.67 m
gaugeRail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two parallel rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers to the meeting of...
. Until the weight-limit rule was added in 1952, bobsleigh crews tended to be very heavy. Now, the maximum
weightIn the physical sciences, the weight of an object is the magnitude, W, of the force that must be applied to an object in order to support it in a gravitational field. The weight of an object in static equilibrium equals the magnitude of the gravitational force acting on the object, less the effect...
, including crew, is 630 kg (4 man), 390 kg (men's 2 man), or 340 kg (women's 2 woman). Metal weights may be added to reach these limits, as greater weight makes for a faster run.
Bobsleigh crews once consisted of five or six people, but were reduced to two- and four-person sleighs in the 1930s. A crew is made up of a pilot, a brakeman, and, in 4 man only, two pushers. Athletes are selected based on speed and strength, necessary to push the sleigh to a competitive initial speed at the start of the race. Pilots must have the skill, timing, and finesse to drive the sleigh along the best possible line to achieve the greatest possible speed.
Women compete in two woman competitions, and men in both two and four man competitions.
Races
Runs (
lauf) begin from a standing start, with the crew pushing the sled for up to fifty metres before boarding. The runners of the sled follow grooves in the ice for this distance, so steering is unnecessary until after the sleigh exits the starting area. Races can be lost in the initial push but are rarely won there. Over the rest of the course, the sleigh's speed depends on its weight, aerodynamics, and runners, the condition of the ice, and the skill of the driver.
The sleds can go so fast that the race times are measured in hundredths of seconds, so any error can have a significant impact on the final race standings. Even small errors make for small decreases in speed and commensurate increases in time. Because any decrease in speed affects the sleigh for the remainder of the course, errors made high on the track will have a greater effect than those made closer to the finish.
Each run down the course in competition is referred to as a heat. The men's and women's standing for normal races are calculated over the aggregate of two runs or heats. At the Olympic Winter Games and World Championships, all competitions (for both men and women) consist of 4 heats.
See also
- Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics
Bobsleigh has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1924, with the exception of the 1960 games in Squaw Valley when the organizing committee decided not to build a track in order to reduce expenses. Other than that exception, the four-man competition has been...
- FIBT World Championships
The FIBT World Championships, part of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing , have taken place on an annual basis in non-Winter Olympic years since 1930. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947...
- List of Bobsleigh World Cup champions
- Luge
A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds...
- Skeleton
Skeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused .-History:...
- Toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled that is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
Governing bodies
National sites
- Australian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, Australia's national team.
- Österreichischer Bob- und Skeletonverband, Austria.
- Confederação Brasileira de Desportos no Gelo, Brazil.
- Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton, the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in Canada.
- Czech Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, Czech Republic.
- Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschland, Germany.
- British Bobsleigh Association, Great Britain.
- Bobsleebond Nederland, Holland.
- Israeli Bobsled Team, Israel.
- BobItalia, Italy.
- Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation, the national governing body for the sport of bobsled in Jamaica.
- Bobslejs LV, Latvia.
- Norges Ake-, Bob- og Skeletonforbund, Norway.
- Schweitzerischer Bobsleigh-, Schlitten- und Skeleton-Sportverband, Switzerland.
- United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States.
Other sites
- 2006 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team bios
- Official site of BobTeam USA The official site of US national team member Steven Holcomb and BobTeam USA
- Calgary Bobsled Club, providing access to the track at Canada Olympic Park
Canada Olympic Park is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The park is operated by WinSport Canada formerly the Calgary Olympic Development Association . It is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public...
.
- Alberta Bobsleigh, provincial team in Alberta
Alberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
, CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- British Columbia Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, Provincial Sport Association in British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
, CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- Bobsledding Topics
- GB Womens Bobsleigh Team - World Champions 2009
- Steel and Ice Project, Women's Bobsleigh Portal - providing information on Women's Bobsleigh.
- Statistics
- Jamaica Bobsled-Olympic History
- Usain Bolt 4 Bobsled