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These night shots of the Viessmann Luge World Cup competition were taken at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Nov 2001. See also... 2002 World Cup Luge Pictures --- Bike Downhill Racing and Ski Jumping at COP.
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The luge track start is 1251 metres above sea level, and the vertical gain is 121 metres, both of which can cause breathlessness in the average adult. The climb warms you up, gets you to the interesting events around the start house, and lets you amble back down to the refreshment area in time for the break between heats. Very roughly, you can allow a minute per competitor for estimating the duration of each heat. While going up, get to the west side of the track by using one of the tunnels under the track above the long straightway.
At the start house, take time to walk all around the building. You can't go in, but you will be able to see teams preparing sleds and warming up. (tip: Never get in the way or approach an athlete. They are often performing mental exercises by thinking about every curve in the track. Also, give sleds a very wide berth, because they are finely tuned instruments with a shine on the metal runners that takes hours to polish). In the lower rooms, you can see the home team's sled preparation area through the east window. Our pictures show some of the complex procedures that take place inside the start house. In a nutshell, the officials are measuring sled runner temperatures, sled weights and athlete weights to prevent unfair advantages. The officials must work quickly and efficiently to keep the race tempo. The coaches use their experience to optimize the temperatures and weights to get the fastest run. But they risk disqualification if they go beyond the limits laid down by the Federation Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL). A jury of senior officials arbitrates if there are complaints.
The multipurpose track is a "Y" shape, with the luge component on the west side. The men's start is at the top, followed by the women's start, and then two other start houses used for juniors and tourists. At the men's and women's start, the best viewing is on the downhill side of the track, just below the ramp. You can see up into the start area and watch the paddling technique used to gain speed down the ramp. Just at the beginning of the first curve you will see a digital readout that shows the times taken to reach various points on the track, right to the finish. For example, the winners of the men's doubles took 44.186 seconds to get down the track. The second-place team's time was two tenths of a second longer.
You can walk down the track on either side, using underpasses to cross. At the curves, see if the lugers follow a smooth arc, as too many corrections slow the sled. If the arc is too high or low, watch how the sled "wobbles" or even touches the side as it goes into the next section. Photography is very difficult because the sled speed rapidly builds to over 100 kph, and you have to pan very rapidly to avoid blurring. DO NOT USE FLASH, as this can cause an accident. Notice in the photographs how the lugers shape their bodies to get smooth air flow. They steer the sleds with very subtle movements of their legs and shoulders. Their heads are laid back, as the best lugers "see" the track in their mind, using peripheral vision to check their position in the track.
The next stop is the Kreisel (pronounced locally as "cry -zell"), where the track curves back under itself. This slows the sleds down for the final part of the run. The crowds usually gather on the east side of the track at the end of the straightway before the curve. This allows you to see most of the curve, as well as the downhill curves as the athlete passes beneath your feet. You can usually see the average line taken by the sleds through the curve, by looking for an extra glossiness in the ice. You can also go inside the big curve, but it tends to get a bit dizzying after a while as you spin to follow the sled round. (Tip: The best place for photographing speeding sleds is in the Kreisel).
As you follow the track downhill, stay inside the track so you can see the inside of the big finish curve. At the end of the curve, look across the track to see the control tower as well as the finish line. Thereafter, a long, uphill ramp leads to the finish house after passing under the pedestrian bridge. The finish house is off-limits to the public, but you can see into the area if you stand on the bank on the south side of the finish ramp. The officials make more measurements at the finish, including the use of a jig to check that the sled meets the size regulations. The finish house is awash with adrenalin, and is a favorite place for the media photographers to gather.
Note that there is a long break between heats, while officials prepare a starting order for the final heat, based on the results so far. Track workers use this time to maintain the track. This sometimes includes "spritzing" - a light misting with water to create a slightly "nobbly" surface, which allows the sleds to run faster.
There's lot's more to it, but you get the idea. As a final comment, the crowds at COP are sometimes too quiet. At european tracks the enthusiasts cheer and ring bells as each sled passes. So don't be afraid to make some noise, (except near the start houses). If you have any questions, ask the people in the Ice House, just west of the control tower.
Peter Reath
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