Pete

=__Bobsleigh__=

Bobsleigh is an winter sport often seen in the Winter Olympics, which consists of an sled, carrying teams of two or four which is being driven in a narrow, twisted and icy track. The competitors' time are being combined to calculate the final score and the fastest will win. The name bobsleigh was named because of the competitors bobbing their back down and forth to increase the speed. In the 1870's in Davos, Switzerland, a group of people added a steering wheel to a normal sled. The first bobsled run took place on snow covered roads and it became a popular recreational sport. This was the birth of this winter sport.

The bobsleigh is an Tobbagan like sled which is controlled by the competitors. The front of the sled has a sterring handle which is used to steer the sled, and has a set of brakes. The sled has retractable bars used by the competitors to push the sled in the beggining on the race. On the bottom of the sleds are four runners which are used for the bobsleigh to move on the icy tracks.

In bobsleigh, the teams start off at the beggining of the track. They are to run and push their sled on a 50m flat track and jump onto the sled quickily, close down the bars, get into their positions and race down the icy, banked and twisted track. The bobsled travels faster as it goes down the track. The speed of the bobsled is important, aswell as controlling it. One mistake driving on the banked turn can lead to a huge crash, disqualifying the team if their sled didn't make it to the finish. The team that gets to the finish line sucessfully in the fastest time, wins.

In the four man sled, the front person is the pilot and is responsible of controling the sled. The two people sitting in the middle are the crewmen, and the person behind, is the brakeman, who is in chrage of the sled's brakes. In two the man/woman sled, the first person in the pilot and the person behind is the brakeman.The competitors wear helmets, the pilot needs goggles, and spiked shoes in order of them to be able to run on the icy surface. The bobsleigh competitors must be fit and strong in order to compete by the game rules.

The venue for this sport is the bobsleigh tracks. Today, bobsled tracks are concrete and are covered in ice for the events. The track shares it's venue for the luge and skeleton events. The tracks must be built with 15 curves and one labyrinth which means 3 straight curves without a straight section. The track must be about 1.2 to 1.3 kilometres long. After the finish line, the remainder of the track will be rough in order to help slow down and stop the sled.

Not always in the Winter Olympics but events are also held by the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobagganing (FIBT). The FIBT hosts International Championships such as the European Championships, World Cup and the Winter Olympic events.

Bobsleigh is played by teams around the world. About 30 nations have competed in bobsled events and 23 nations has participated in the latest olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Jamaica made their debut in Bobsleigh in the 1988 winter olympics in Calgary, Canada representing a tropical nation in a winter sport. This story inspired our classic favourite movie 'Cool Runnings'. The champion teams in Bobsleigh are the German team, the Swiss Team, the American Team, and the Canadian Team. Retired Bobsledder Andre Lange is an example of a champion in bobsleigh representing Germany with his longtime teamate Kevin Kuske.His famous position is the pilot and competing in two man events. He has competed in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 winter olympics aswell as international championships. He has won 5 gold medals and 1 silver medal in his olympic experience.Other Champions of Bobsleigh are Steve Holcomb of the USA, Kevin Kuske of Germany, Ivo Ruegg of Switzerland, Lascelles Brown of Canada and many more.

The Green and Gold, Australia have a bobsleigh team with a team consisting of Chris Spring and Duncan Harvey in the two man event coming 22nd in their event in the 2010 winter olympics. The women's team consisting of Astrid Loch Wilkinson and Cecillia Wilkinson brought themselves in 19th place in their event.

Overall I think bobsleigh is a sport I like to watch. When I had my first eyes on it I thought it was something cool. I only did the ride in Jamberoo but bobsleigh is nothing like any fun ride and I think is dangerous, fast and extreme. Skills with your sprinting,pushing, precision and driving is important and can finish you in a fast time and eventually win. In some former Winter Olympic locations, you can take a ride on a bobsleigh and experience how to sport is like and how it is in a bobsleigh.

Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobsleigh http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/snow-sports/bobsled5.htm