Bobsleigh

I

Introduction

Bobsleigh or Bobsleighing, competitive winter sport in which teams of two or four descend a specially prepared snow-covered track in a bobsleigh, also variously called a bobsled, sled, or bob. Each run down the winding, switchback course is timed and the winner is the fastest to complete the course. Generally, in competition, the times for two or four runs are combined to find the winner.

II

Equipment and Clothing

Bobsleigh riders wear protective helmets with visors (or separate goggles), all-in-one aerodynamic suits, and a form of running shoe with spikes. The bobsleighs, generally known as bobs, are usually made from fibre-glass and have a front and rear axle and two sets of independent runners (blades). The bob is open at the back to allow the team members to climb in once it is underway. The riders push the bob away from the start using push handles. There are two near the front, which are retractable once the run is underway and two at the back, which are not. The driver of the bob steers the vehicle using a set of rings attached to ropes inside the front of the hull. The brakeman at the back of the bob operates the brakes but only after the run is complete.

To make competition fairer the weight of the bob with and without a crew should fall within two measurements: a two-man bob should weigh a minimum of 170 kg (375 lb) without a crew and 390 kg (860 lb) with. The maximum for the women’s bob is 240 kg (529 lb). A four-man bob should weigh a minimum of 210 kg (463 lb) and a maximum with crew aboard of 630 kg (1,390 lb). (Women do not compete in a four-person bob.) Metal weights may be added to reach these limits. Two-man bobs can measure no more than 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) and four-man no longer than 3.8 m (12 ft 5 in).

III

Rules of the Sport

Bobsleigh runs are twisting courses with banked walls laid out on hillsides or on artificial slopes, and are around 1.5 km (1 mi) long. They typically have a number features to test a driver’s ability, including labyrinths (a continuously curving stretch of track), Kreisel (a curve that completes a circle by crossing over itself), tight bends, hairpins, straights, and so on. The skill of the driver is to take the quickest line down the course. Bobs derive their speed from gravity and the most critical part of a bobsled run is its start. Team members sprint while pushing the sled forwards, typically for about 50 m (165 ft), in order to gain momentum, generally hitting a speed of about 40 km/hr (25 mph). Before the first turn the sledders leap into their positions on the sled in rapid succession, and assume streamlined positions for the remainder of the run. The driver occupies the front position and steers the sled; the brakeman, in the rear position, operates the brake. On four-member sleds an important function of the two centre members is to help “bob” the sled. The three crew members “bob” their vehicle by leaning backwards at an extreme angle and then snapping forwards in unison. This action, which gives bobsleighing its name, sharply accelerates the speed of the sled, which can reach speeds of 150 km/hr (93 mph) and G-forces of 5.

The governing body is the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) (1923), with headquarters in Milan, Italy.

IV

History

The forerunners of the toboggans, bobsleighs, skeletons, and luges were the bark and skin sleds fashioned by early people to transport their food and supplies over snow. As a racing sport it can be traced to the mid-19th century when British tourists starting sledging on the snowbound roads of the Alps in Switzerland. One holidaying Briton named Wilson Smith is reported to have lashed together two sleighs with a wooden board in the 1880s.

The sport centred on the town of St Moritz and it was there in 1885 that the first purpose-built, and most famous, track was built—the Cresta Run, a 1.2-km (•-mi) run that descends about 153 m (500 ft). Shortly afterwards riders developed the headfirst prone style that developed into the skeleton event. Bobsleighs meanwhile developed from wooden into fibreglass vehicles that carried five or even six competitors, heavy ones at that to increase speeds on the descents.