USABS is headquartered in Lake Placid, NY. The organization formerly used the name "United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation" or USBSF.
Racing Circuits and Operations
The bobsled and skeleton teams compete on the two levels within the IBSF, a development level and a world cup level. The Development Team competes on the North American Cup and European Cup while the National Team generally competes on the World Cup. In an Olympic year, the teams that compete on the World Cup will usually carry directly into the Winter Olympic Games.
North American Cup
The North American Cup (NAC) consists of tracks in North America. These tracks are located in Lake Placid NY, Park City UT, and Whistler BC. There was formerly a track located in Calgary AB, but it has been closed since the 2019 season.
European Cup
The European Cup (EC) is another development level circuit that races only on tracks in Europe.
World Cup
The World Cup (WC) races on tracks in any location around the world (North America, Europe, and Asia). Bobsled teams and Skeleton athletes gain points through placement in races throughout the season and race in the World Championships (generally held in February) each year. The location for World Championships and World Cup races change from year to year. Tracks from the NAC and EC are used for the World Cup.
Basics of Bobsled and Skeleton
In modern day bobsled, men compete in two disciplines, 4-man and 2-man. Women also compete in two disciples, those being 2-woman and mono-bob. Skeleton athletes always compete solo, unlike Luge, which does have a doubles event.
USA Skeleton Athletes pushing the sled at the beginning of a race
Bobsled and Skeleton are managed under the IBSF and are a separate entity from luge, although the three together are considered to be under the umbrella of "sliding sports." All three sports utilize the same tracks, with luge having different start gates at the top of each track. This is because in luge, the athlete pulls themselves to start while in bobsled and skeleton, the athletes push the sled from a running position in the grooves cut into the start area. These start areas are much longer to give athletes time to accelerate the sled to max velocity before getting in.
Those who drive the bobsled down the track are referred to as Pilots or Drivers and sit in the front of the sled and steer the runners using the ring and rope system inside. The other athletes are referred to as Push Athletes and do not contribute to the movement of the sled once they hop in. The Brakeman is the rear-most athlete in the sled in both 2-man and 4-man and they pull the brakes when the bobsled reaches the very end of the run, which is generally an uphill portion of the track.
Recruitment
One of the United States 4-man bobsled teams on the start line at the 2014 Olympics
USABS recruits athletes from around the United States that have competed in a wide background of sports. Sports with a large emphasis on power and speed generally develop skills that transfer the best. Common sporting backgrounds for athletes that have made Team USA include football and track & field. Although athletes from other sports have made World Cup teams as well. Due to the high level of collegiate sports in the United States, many athletes that enter training and competition for USABS have generally already completed all of their years at a university and step into Bobsled or Skeleton in their early to mid twenties.
Coaches for Team USA host "combines" in various cities throughout the United States each summer to recruit, but in recent years, they have also allowed athletes to submit video of athletic feats through a virtual combine.
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 winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make 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.
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.
Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled, a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding. When practised on sand, it is known as a form of sandboarding. In Russia sledges are used for maritime activities including fishing and commuting from island to island on ice.
Kristan Bromley is a retired British skeleton racer who has competed since 1996. He won the gold medal in the men's event at the 2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany. This was Great Britain's first gold medal at the FIBT World Championships since 1965.
Steven Paul Holcomb was an American bobsledder who competed from 1998 until his death in 2017. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he won the four-man bobsled event for the United States, its first gold medal in that event since 1948. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he finished second in both the four-man and two-man event.
The Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Team is the official bobsleigh and skeleton team of Israel. The team is the competitive wing of Bobsled/Skeleton Israel, which Aaron Zeff, former National Football League player John Frank, and David Greaves founded in 2002.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) is the international sports federation for the sliding sports of Bobsleigh and Skeleton. 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.
The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton in the United States, located at the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, New York. This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and for the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000. The track hosted both the first FIBT World Championships and FIL World Luge Championships held outside of Europe, doing so in 1949 and 1983. The third and most recent version of the track was completed in 2000. In 2010 the bobsled track was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Utah Olympic Park Track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in the United States, located in the Utah Olympic Park near Park City, Utah. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in nearby Salt Lake City, the track hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events. Today the track still serves as a training center for Olympic and development level athletes and hosts numerous local and international competitions. It is one of two national tracks; the other is at Mt. Van Hoevenberg near Lake Placid, New York.
The Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track is located in Sigulda, Latvia, built in 1986. Currently, the track manager is Dainis Dukurs, former bobsleigh brakeman and the father of skeleton racers Martins and Tomass Dukurs.
The Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Calgary, Alberta. Part of Canada Olympic Park, it hosted the bobsleigh and luge competitions at the 1988 Winter Olympics. This track is one of only two of its type in the world to be featured in a non-documentary film when it was part of the 1993 American film Cool Runnings which loosely followed the Jamaican Bobsled Team during their competition in bobsleigh at the 1988 Games.
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian-American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. With her victory in 2014, she became the first female bobsledder to defend her Olympic title and was named flagbearer for the Olympic closing ceremony with brakewoman Heather Moyse.
Elana Meyers Taylor is an American Olympic bobsledder and World Champion who has competed since 2007. Born in Oceanside, California, Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglasville, Georgia and is a graduate of George Washington University, where she was a member of the softball team.
Christopher Fogt is a United States Army Major, three time USA Olympian, and Olympic Silver medalist. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi as a member of the famed Team Night Train, in the four-man event. He also competed in the two-man Bobsled event in Sochi, earning 12th place with pilot, Cory Butner. He competed in the 2010 Vancouver Games as a member of USA-2, in the four-man event with pilot John Napier. After taking three years off after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, he returned to the Sport in 2017 with long time friend and teammate Steve Langton earning a spot on his third USA Winter Olympic Team to compete in PyeongChang, 2018. He competed in PyeongChang with pilot Justin Olsen in the four-man event.
Germany competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 153 competitors in 14 sports. They won 31 medals in total, 14 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze, ranking second in the medal table after Norway at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Germany excelled in ice track events, biathlon, Nordic combined and Ski jumping. The men's ice hockey team took a silver medal, having lost a closely contested final to Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Austria competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 105 competitors in 12 sports. They won 14 medals in total: five gold, three silver and six bronze; ranking 10th in the medal table.
Italy competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 120 competitors in 14 sports. They won ten medals in total, three gold, two silver and five bronze, ranking 12th in the medal table. Short-track speed skater Arianna Fontana, who was also the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, was the country's most successful athlete, having won three medals, one of each color.
Brazil competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 9 competitors in 5 sports.
Kim Kalicki is a German bobsledder who competes for TuS Eintracht Wiesbaden 1846. She also representing the Germany national team since 2015 and won the silver medal in the two-woman bobsleigh event at the Bobsleigh World Championships in 2020 and 2021 with Kira Lipperheide and Ann-Christin Strack, respectively.
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