Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton A- Z

Bobsled, luge and skeleton are all winter sports in which a competitor or team of competitor rides a sled down a track covered in ice with banked turns in an attempt to have the fastest time down the track.  Do know the difference between bobsled and skeleton?  Is a luge athlete a luger or a slider?  Read on for all the terms you need to know.

Articulation: A term meaning that the front of the sled can rotate independently from the rear.

Bobsled (verb): Sport that involves a team of either 2 or 4 athletes  who will use a bobsled to race down a course that is made of ice, which has curved banks and other twists and turns in it.

Bobsled (noun): A large sled constructed in two sections  fitted together. The frame is made of metal, the shell of fiberglass. There are two types of bobsleds: two person bobsleds and four person bobsleds. The sled is steered by two handles connected to steering system through bungee cord and cable network.

Brakeman: Responsible for applying the brake at the end of a run, which forces a grooved piece of metal into the ice to stop the sled.

Bumpers or Bunks: These are fins that are used by crew members to get quickly into the bobsled. They are located on the front and back of a sled.

Cornering: The ability of the sled and to enter into a curve at a high rate of speed, maintain the speed and not crash.

Course: Courses are made up of left and right hand turns as well as hairpin and S sections.  Courses are made of cement and are artificially refrigerated.

Cufin (Kufin): The runners on the bottom of the sled. They are made of fiberglass and this is what the steel runners attach to.

Drive: To steer the sled

Driver: The very front person in the bobsled, who steers the sled down the course. To achieve the best time possible the driver tries to drive the straightest possible line down the course. The driver is the first person to jump in the bobsled at the beginning of a race.

DNF: Stands for Did Not Finish. This usually happens because of a crash.

DNS: Stands for Did Not Start. The competitor for some reason withdraws from the race.

Driver: Person responsible for guiding the sled down the track. She pulls on two rings that are attached to the front runners to turn the sled. Drivers try to maintain the straightest possible line down the course.

G-Force:  Gravitational force. This is the force that holds the sled and athlete against the wall on a banked turn. 1 ‘G’ is equal to the force of gravity.

Line: The path a sled takes when going down the track.

Luge: A winter sport in which a competitor rides a sled down a track covered in ice with banked turns in an attempt to have the fastest time down the track.

Push Athlete: Main job is to help push the sled at the start of the race. This is the most critical time of the race. as an explosive start can result in fast finish times. In a two-person sled, there is only one push athlete. She pushes from the back. In a four person sled, there are three push athletes. Two athletes push on the side, and the brakeman, pushes from the back.

Push Bar: A push bar sticks off the side of a sled. The driver and side pushers each push a bar at the start of the race. The force applied to the push bars by the athletes correlates with the speed of the sled at the start.

Runners: Runners are the four ice skates upon which the bobsled rides. Minute variations in forging, alloy composition and shape make for huge performance differences.

Skeleton: Sport where a competitor rides a skeleton (sled) down a track covered in ice with banked turns in an attempt to have the fastest time down the track. Head first, face down and hands back, approaching speeds of 80 mph, a skeleton slider races down icy bobsled tracks of the world. Skeleton was organized in the late 1800’s in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and appeared in the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics.

Slider: A competitor in the sport of bobsled, luge or skeleton.

Speed Suit: A specially made, aerodynamic skin-tight suit, made from tightly woven material, which is worn while sliding.

Steels: Refers to the steel runners that are attached to the fiberglass cufins. The steel runners are the only piece of the sled that touches the ice.

USBSF: The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, the governing body for the sports of Bobsledding and Skeleto