Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track

Coordinates: 51°04′47″N 114°12′57″W / 51.07972°N 114.21583°W / 51.07972; -114.21583
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Canada Olympic Park Bobsleigh & Luge Track
American Mike Kohn (front left) pushing his four-man team to a third-place finish at the US National Bobsled trial held in Calgary on October 22–23, 2005.
Map
LocationCanada Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates51°04′47″N 114°12′57″W / 51.07972°N 114.21583°W / 51.07972; -114.21583
OperatorWinSport
SurfaceArtificial-Refrigerated Concrete
Construction
Broke groundFall 1984
OpenedFebruary 1986
Closed3 March 2019
Construction cost$27,000,000 CAD
ArchitectIBG + Partner
Website
https://www.winsport.ca/

The Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a

bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.[1]
).

History

In 1981, Calgary was awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics over

FIBT World Championships for skeleton in 1992.[10] An indoor iced push facility near the track opened up in 2001.[11] When competition does not occur on the track, it offers programs for bobsleigh and luge open to the public.[12]

On 5 February 2019,

WinSport (the operator of the track) announced that due to an $8 million CAD funding shortfall, the track would cease operations after the completion of the IBSF World Cup that year. On 3 March 2019, the track closed indefinitely, pending the funding of a $25 million CAD renovation.[13] While the sliding facilities have closed for winter operations (due to the refrigeration system needing total replacement), the track would still be available for summer training and tourism, and the Ice House would remain open.[14]

Map of the Calgary Olympic Park Bobsleigh, Luge, & Skeleton Track
Unidentified luger at the men's tower start house at the Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track during World Cup competition on December 9, 2006.
Steve Holcomb
(front), finishing first in the final day of US National Bobsled trials held in Calgary on November 2, 2005.

Track technical details

Costing

maintenance costs.[3] The two portions of the track merge at turn five prior to the Omega combination curve.[3] Lined with 100 km (62 mi) of refrigeration coolant, the track can hold ice at air temperatures up to 20 deg C (68 deg F).[3] Sunscreens were installed on curves directly exposed to the sunlight to keep the track smooth and prevent melting.[3] Electronic timing systems include double photo sensors at the start and finish positions of the track and artificial lighting is used to allow for night runs on the track.[3] Lighting was adjusted at the request of the host television broadcaster (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) prior to the games to ensure proper video coverage for the 1988 games.[3]

Renovation

On 5 April 2017 a $20 million CAD renovation was announced as part of WinSport's ongoing intention to operate the track in addition to Calgary's potential bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.[15] Despite a referendum rejecting Calgary's 2026 bid and subsequent closure of the track, WinSport announced renovations will begin and proceed as funding becomes available.[16] On 9 October 2019 the first phase of the renovation project for the track began with the demolition of the bobsleigh/skeleton start portion of the track (curves 1–5).[17] The bobsleigh/skeleton start is being removed to reduce operating costs and make the track more exciting for those athletes who will now start on the luge portion of the track. Until the renovation of the track is complete—including the replacement of the entire refrigeration system, the track will remain closed. Demolition of the track is scheduled to be completed by December 2021.

Statistics

Physical statistics
Sport[3] Length(meters) Turns Vertical drop (start to finish) Average grade (%)
Bobsleigh and skeleton 1475 14 121.48 8
Luge - men's & women's singles 1251 14 104.2 8.3
Luge - men's doubles 1081 10 81.2 7.5

Men's start at the tower start house (currently demolished) at the top of the track while the women's is at the regular start house at the top of the track.

Turns
Turn Number Name Reason named
6., 7., 8. Omega or Omega combination After the Omega shape.
9. Kreisel 270-degree circular curve.
10., 11., 12., 13. Labyrinth Four quick turns in succession without a straight (labyrinth)
14. Finish Curve After the curve before the finish line.

The turn names were initially given during the 1988 Winter Olympic broadcast (ABC in the United States).[18][19] All curves shown are bobsleigh curves. The luge section joins the bobsleigh and skeleton section at turn five. Turns 1 through 5 do not have turn names.

Track records[20]
Sport Record Nation - athlete(s) Date Time (seconds)
Luge - men's singles Start David Möller -  Germany 21 November 2009 4.789
Luge - men's singles Track Armin Zöggeler -  Italy 30 November 2002 44.516
Luge - women's singles Start Tatjana Hüfner -  Germany 21 November 2009 4.913
Luge - women's singles Track Sylke Otto -  Germany 9 December 2005 46.543
Luge - men's doubles Start  Italy - Christian Oberstolz & Patrick Gruber 14 February 2009 1.102
Luge - men's doubles Track  
Mark Grimmette & Brian Martin
 29 November 2002 43.564

Championships hosted

Incidents and accidents

6 February 2016 - In the early hours of the morning of 6 February, 8 teenagers broke into the Canada Olympic Park's track and, using toboggans, began a slide down from the Bobsleigh start. At turn 5, the teens struck a large track switching element that had been used to configure the track for Luge. The impact with the track switch and the chains holding it in place resulted in death for two of the teens, and serious injuries to the other 6.[24] In November, 2018 a provincial court judge who had been leading an investigation into the incident ruled it to be an accident. The judge also recommended a slew of security enhancements (including: motion-triggered alarms and lights, better signage and barriers, and more effective training of staff) to help prevent another incident of this nature—several of which WinSport had already adopted prior to the ruling.[25]

References

  1. ^ For Your Eyes Only production notes featuring the Cortina track[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Gamesbids.com archives of past awards of Olympic Games. - accessed January 30, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 1988 Winter Olympics official report. Part 1. pp. 114-9. (in English and French) - accessed February 10, 2008.
  4. ^ 1980 Winter Olympic Games official report - Volume 1. Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine pp. 57-66. (in English and French)
  5. ^ List of venues on Mt. Van Hoevenberg for the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games[permanent dead link] - Accessed January 16, 2008.
  6. ^ 1988 Winter Olympic official report. Part 2. Archived 2012-02-12 at the Wayback Machine pp. 564-66.
  7. ^ 1988 bobsleigh four-man results
  8. ^ Jamaican bobsleigh team history Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine - accessed February 10, 2008.
  9. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ a b c d e FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989 Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b Alberta Skeleton information on the Calgary track Archived 2006-10-08 at the Wayback Machine - accessed February 6, 2008]
  12. ^ Canada Olympic Park lessons and programs featuring bobsleigh and luge rides Archived 2008-02-16 at the Wayback Machine - accessed February 10, 2008.
  13. ^ "Calgary's Olympic sledding track closes, possibly for the last time | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  14. ^ "Calgary luge, bobsleigh upgrade projects shelved due to funding issues: WinSport - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  15. ^ "$20M renovation will dramatically change Calgary's bobsled and luge track". The Canadian Press. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Renovations underway at Calgary's WinSport despite funding uncertainty". Global News. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  17. ^ Sidhu, Ina (2019-10-09). "Renovation work begins on bobsleigh track at WinSport". Calgary. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  18. ^ "Luge - men's singles" coverage. 1988 Winter Olympics. ABC Sports (United States). February 14, 1988.
  19. ^ 1988 luge men's singles results - accessed February 10, 2008
  20. ^ From results shown from the FIL World cup event in Calgary during 20–21 November 2009 shown from the live track results.
  21. ^ a b Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931 Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ a b Bobsleigh two-woman world championship medalists since 2000 Archived 2011-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ FIL World Luge Championships men's single results since 1955 Archived 2007-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Twin 17-year-old brothers killed in bobsled track accident, 6 other teens injured". CBC. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  25. ^ "Deaths of Caldwell brothers on Calgary bobsled track deemed an accident - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-02-21.

External links

51°04′47″N 114°12′57″W / 51.07972°N 114.21583°W / 51.07972; -114.21583

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