The British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) is the main sports governing body for bobsleigh and skeleton in the United Kingdom.
British Bobsleigh was formed in 1927. It was known as the British Bobsleigh Association from 1980 until 2010, with its headquarters in Wiltshire. It moved to Bath in 1999. It was incorporated in October 1980. [1] In 2010 it merged with the British Skeleton Association. The BBSA became the sports governing body for bobsleigh and skeleton in the UK in 2014.
The organisation is headquartered at the University of Bath. It is affiliated to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF, formerly FIBT).
A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the pod. Racing sleds weigh 21–25 kg (46–55 lb) for singles and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) for doubles. Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport that employs that sled and technique.
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, and the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation.
Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.
Adam Laird Pengilly is a British skeleton racer who has competed since 2004. He won a silver medal in men's skeleton event at the FIBT World Championships 2009 in Lake Placid.
Kazuhiro Koshi is a Japanese skeleton racer who has competed since 1991. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of eighth in the men's skeleton event at Salt Lake City in 2002. He was the oldest member of the Japanese team at the 2010 Winter Olympics and, because of this, was referred to in media reports as, "the hope of the middle class."
Major Thomas "Robin" Valerian Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran,, is a former British bobsledder and Northern Irish politician, known as Robin Dixon. He is a former Conservative Party Shadow Minister for the Olympics.
Shelley Rudman is a former skeleton bobsleigh athlete. She was the 2013 world champion in the event, won an Olympic silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in skeleton and is a former World Cup and European champion.
Amy Joy Williams, is a British former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist. Originally a runner, she began training in skeleton in 2002 after trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath. Although unable to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics, she was a member of the Great Britain team four years later at the 2010 Games. She won a gold medal, becoming the first British individual gold medallist at a Winter Olympics for 30 years and the only British medallist in those Olympics.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as an umbrella organization for 14 national bobsleigh and skeleton associations as of 2007. It was founded on 23 November 1923 by the delegates of Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States at the meeting of their first International Congress in Paris, France. In June 2015, it announced a name change from FIBT to IBSF. The federation's headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nicola Minichiello is a retired British bobsledder who competed between 2001 and 2011. She won two medals in the two-woman event at the FIBT World Championships, winning a silver in 2005 and making history with a gold in 2009 partnering Gillian Cooke, to become the first British female bobsleigh driver to win a World Championships. Competing in three Winter Olympics, Minichiello earned her best finish of ninth in the two-woman event at Turin in 2006. This was also the best ever Olympic result by a GB women’s bobsleigh team.
Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley, is an Irish sportsman and British peer and Conservative member of the House of Lords.
German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation is the official federation for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton in Germany. It is the German representative both to the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation and the International Luge Federation and is part of the German Olympic Committee.
The Royal Spanish Ice Sports Federation, abbreviated as RFEDH or FedHielo, is the administrative body for ice sports in Spain. It is a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) and, in partnership with the Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation (RFEDI), represents Spain in all international interactions regarding the Winter Olympics. The RFEDH is headquartered in Barcelona and its president is Frank González, a former ice hockey player and official.
Bobsleigh Skeleton Australia is the governing body for the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton in Australia.
Dominic Edward Parsons is a British former skeleton racer. He won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and also competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He retired from the sport at the end of 2019.
Laura Deas is a British sportswoman, best known as a skeleton racer on the World Cup circuit, representing the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association. She won bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Great Britain competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 58 competitors in 11 sports. They won five medals in total, one gold and four bronze, ranking 19th in the medal table.
Mica McNeill is a British bobsledder. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and at the 2021–22 Bobsleigh World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia. She competed at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Lithuanian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is a national governing body of bobsleigh and skeleton sports in Lithuania.