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Skeleton (sport)

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Skeleton
USAF Major Brady Canfield, 2003 U.S. skeleton champion, shows off his takeoff form.
Highest governing bodyFédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing
First playedLate 19th century, Switzerland
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team members1
TypeWinter sport, Time trial
VenueSkeleton tracks
Presence
Olympic1928, 1948, 2002, 2006, 2010

Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding. While skeleton "sliders" use equipment similar to that of cresta "riders", the two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same track used by bobsleds and luge, cresta is run on cresta-specific sledding tracks only. Neither the skeleton sled or Cresta toboggan have a steering or braking mechanism although the cresta riders use rakes on their boots in addition to shifting body weight to help steer and brake.

History

The sport of skeleton can be traced to 1882, when soldiers in Switzerland constructed a toboggan track between the towns of Davos and Klosters. While toboggan tracks were not uncommon at the time, the added challenge of curves and bends in the Swiss track distinguished it from those of Canada and the United States.[1]

Approximately 30 km away in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, British gentlemen had long enjoyed racing one another down the busy, winding streets of the town, causing an uproar among citizens because of the danger to pedestrians and visiting tourists. In 1884, Major William Bulpett, with the backing of winter sports pioneer and Kulm hotel owner Caspar Badrutt, constructed Cresta Run, the first sledding track of its kind in St. Moritz.[2] The track ran three-quarters of a mile from St. Moritz to Celerina and contained 10 turns still used today. When the Winter Olympic Games were held at St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948, the Cresta Run was included in the program, marking the only two times skeleton was included as an Olympic event before its permanent addition in 2002 to the Winter Games.[3]

In the 1887 Grand National competition in St. Moritz, a Mr. Cornish introduced the now traditional head-first position, a trend that was in full force by the 1890 Grand National.[3][4] Until 1905, skeleton was practiced mainly in Switzerland; however, in 1905, Styria held its first skeleton competition in Muerzzuschlag. This opened the door to other national skeleton competitions including the Austrian championship held the following year. In 1908 and 1910, skeleton competitions were held in the Semmering.[1]

As the popularity of the sport grew in Europe, skeleton evolved into the sport recognized today. In 1892, the sled was transformed by L. P. Child, an Englishman. The newly designed bare-bones sled resembled a human skeleton, and the sport adopted its modern name of skeleton, though it is still recognized as tobogganing in many countries.[1]

In 1923, the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was established as the governing body of the sport. Soon afterward, in 1926, the International Olympic Committee declared bobsleigh and skeleton as Olympic sports and adopted the rules of the St. Moritz run as the officially recognized Olympic rules.[1] It was not until 2002, however, that skeleton itself was added permanently to the Olympic program with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Popularity in the sport has grown since the 2002 Winter Olympics and now includes participation by some countries that do not have or cannot have a track because of climate, terrain or monetary limitations. Athletes from such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, South Africa, Argentina, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Brazil and even the Virgin Islands have become involved with the sport in recent years. However, the FIBT narrows the field greatly and only a few dozen countries compete in the Olympic Games.

Timeline

Year Event
1884 Britons raced recreationally from St. Moritz to Celerina in Switzerland
1887 Cresta Run constructed
Head-first riding position introduced at Switzerland’s Grand National competition
1892 L.P. Child introduces the “America”
1902 Sliding seat added to new sled design, later dropped
1805 Styria holds first skeleton competition in Muerzzuschlag
1906 Austrian Championship
1926 International Olympic Committee officially declares skeleton as an Olympic sport
1928 Jennison Heaton wins first Olympic gold in Skeleton (Germany)
1948 Nino Bibbia wins Olympic gold in skeleton’s 2nd winter games appearance
1969 1st artificially refrigerated track built in West Germany
Bavarian Skeleton Club established in Munich
1974 Officially recognized by Deutsche Bob und Schlittensport Verband (German Bobsleigh and Luge Organisation)
1986 FIBT begins funding skeleton
1989 Skeleton is included officially in the FIBT World Championships
1998 Skeleton World Championship aired live on Eurosport for the first time
1999 Skeleton included in Olympic Games program, scheduled to debut in 2002 Winter Games
2000 Women's skeleton debuts at the FIBT World Championships
2002 First permanent Olympic skeleton competition held in Salt Lake City, Utah

Sport

File:Brady Canfield skeleton start.jpg
Brady Canfield pushes off at the start

The accessibility of skeleton to amateurs may have been the catalyst for its upswing in popularity. Most notably, Nino Bibbia, a fruit and vegetable merchant from St. Moritz, took Olympic gold at the 1948 event.[2] With the advent of the first artificially refrigerated track in 1969 at Königssee/Berchtesgaden, Germany, athletes are currently able to practice the sport regardless of weather conditions.[1][5] The sport is also promoted by skeleton officials as a gateway sport to “train young, aspiring athletes…for their future career in bobsleigh.”[1]

The major competitions of non-Olympic seasons include the World Championships and World Cups, held annually. The rankings and results from these competitions determine the starting positions for future races.[1] The track becomes less smooth after each successive run; thus, the negative effect on run times makes earlier starts in the lineup more desirable. Based on the overall performance of a country, the FIBT determines which countries may participate in the Olympic games. For the male competition, the best 12 nations based on World Cup rankings may participate, whereas for ladies, the best 8 may do so.[6]

Track

Main article: List of bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks

Sled

On a wall

“The ‘toboggans’ used in Alpine countries at the end of the 19th century were inspired by Canadian/Indian sleds used for transport.”[1] Various additions and redesigning efforts by athletes have led to the skeleton sleds used today. In 1892, L. P. Child introduced the “America,” a new metal sled that revolutionized skeleton as a sport. The stripped-down design provided a compact sled with metal runners, and the design caught on quickly. In 1902, Arden Bott added a sliding seat to help athletes shift their weight forward and backward, a feature that is no longer included on modern sleds.

2010,13, the FIBT restricts the materials with which skeleton sleds are permitted to be made. Sled frames must be made of steel and may not include steering or braking mechanisms. The base plate, however, may be made of plastics. The handles and bumpers found along the sides of the sled help secure the athlete during a run.[6]

Further specifications are included in the FIBT ruling regarding sled dimensions:[1][6]

Combined weight
(athlete + sled) 		sled
Men 115 kg 43 kg
Women 92 kg 35 kg

Some athletes opt to attach ballasts if the combined weight of athlete and sled falls below the minimum combined weight. However, these ballasts may only be added to the sled, not the rider.

  • Dimensions:
    • Length: 800–1200 mm
    • Height: 80–200 mm
    • Distance between runners: 340-380 mm

Equipment

  • alpine racing helmet with chin guard, or a skeleton-specific helmet
  • skin-tight racing speedsuit
  • spiked shoes, similar to track spikes
  • goggle or face shields
  • optional elbow and shoulder pads under their suits
  • sled

Organizations

Organization Description
Alberta Skeleton Association Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, home of the 1988 Winter Olympics. Offers racing and tuition. Has produced international-level athletes.
Bavarian Skeleton Club Established in 1969 in Munich, Germany and headed by Senator Hans Riedmayer and Max Probst (himself a skeleton bob engineer), the club was important in organizing some of the first national and international skeleton events in Konigsee, Tirol, and Czechoslovakia.[2]
Brazilian Ice Sports Federation The Official Brazilian Bob Skeleton organization was established in 1996 in Rio de Janeiro. Their website [1] includes a great deal of information regarding the sport, its history, events, photographs, news and updates on athletes and the sport.
British Bob Skeleton Association The Official British Bob Skeleton organization whose members include both athletes and fans. Their website includes a great deal of information regarding the sport, its history, events, photographs, news and updates on athletes and the sport.
Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) Established in 1923, the FIBT is the official governing body for the sport.
St. Moritz Tobogganing Club A private club founded in 1887 by Major Bulpetts of St. Moritz. Membership is selected from applicants on their “Supplementary List”. St. Moritz is the birthplace of the sport.

Olympic Medal table

Main article: Skeleton at the Winter Olympics
Further information: List of Olympic medalists in skeleton

Men

Current Olympic champion: 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Canada (CAN) Jon Montgomery 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Latvia (LAT) Martins Dukurs 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Russia (RUS) Alex Tretyakov

1  United States 2 2 0 4
2  Canada 2 1 0 3
3  Italy 1 0 0 1
4  Austria 0 1 0 1
4  Latvia 0 1 0 1
6  Great Britain 0 0 2 2
6  Switzerland 0 0 2 2
8  Russia 0 0 1 1
Total 5 5 5 15

Women

Current Olympic champion: 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Great Britain (GBR) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Germany (GER) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Germany (GER)

1  Great Britain 1 1 1 3
2  United States 1 1 0 2
3  Switzerland 1 0 0 1
4  Germany 0 1 1 2
5  Canada 0 0 1 1
Total 3 3 3 9

Total Olympic Ranking (2010)

1  United States 3 3 0 6
2  Canada 2 1 1 4
3  Great Britain 1 1 3 5
4  Switzerland 1 0 2 3
5  Italy 1 0 0 1
6  Germany 0 1 1 2
7  Austria 0 1 0 1
7  Latvia 0 1 0 1
9  Russia 0 0 1 1
Total 8 8 8 24

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skeleton (sport).

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing". Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  2. ^ a b c "British Bob Skeleton Association". Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  3. ^ a b "St. Moritz Tobogganing Club". Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  4. ^ "skeleton sledding". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2007.
  5. ^ "SKELETON, in winter sports". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2004.
  6. ^ a b c FIBT International Skeleton Rules (Word Document). Retrieved 2007-07-20.
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