A Brief History

One of the oldest Olympic sports is Luge. Luge is the French word for sled. The first international Luge race was held in 1833. There were twenty-one competitors in that race. The winning time for the first Luge race was 9 minutes and 15 seconds. Now the winning times are usually around 45 seconds! This awesome sport has become a great activity for children and adults and is excelling.

To improve their speed and agility Lugers have to train. These trainees can be women, men, and children. All Lugers must have a strong neck, legs, and arms. This is partly because they will have to carry their own sled. The Luge or sled is very heavy. One of the most important parts of Luge the Lugers have to train for is the start.

There is equipment necessary in Luge just like there is in every Olympic sport. All athletes have a strong helmet and face shield. They also must wear gloves with spikes on the end of the three middle fingers in order to grip the ice more easily and move faster. The Lugers need a aerodynamic race suit and lots of clothing underneath to keep them warm. Of course the racers need the Luge! This is the sled that they sit on and use to glide down the track, it is and absolute necessity! The Luge also comes in different sizes for different sized people.

In a race, each racer makes 2 runs after that the 2 times are put together to get his or hers final time. There are judges who help make sure all of the rules are followed. If a racer breaks a rule he or she is disqualified. Before a race the racers weigh in with the judges, all racers are allowed to add a certain amount of weight to their vest to be able to race.

The start can be the key to winning a race. The Lugers will pull on handles then with their spiked gloves they are able to grip the ice and move swiftly down the track.

The Lugers must lie back and relax while getting faster and faster going down the track. All Lugers should let their sleds carry them guiding at the least. If the Lugers crash they still have to make it across the finish line for the race to be official.

After the Lugers cross the finish line, the track starts to go upward to slow the Luge down. After the race the Lugers are weighed to make sure they didn’t add anything over the weight limits for the race.