Let's talk about an ice-racing sport. This sport takes place on a refrigerated ice track.
No, it's not bobsledding.
Athletes in this sport get on a one-person, open-air sled and race down a hill reaching 70 or 80 miles an hour.
No, it's not the luge.
Men and women in this sport slide down these hills headfirst and see who can get to the bottom first.
Yes, the skeleton is a very strange sport.
The riders do not have a steering device. To maneuver, they must shift their weight or press their toes on the ground briefly. This act, however, increases drag and slows the sled somewhat.
Because of this, contact with the wall is somewhat common. Most of the time the result is nothing more than tears in the rider's suit.
On the other hand, serious and even fatal injuries can occur during the skeleton, as is to be expected in any sport where you go downhill headfirst at 70 to 80 mph.
That's right, if you skeletoned down I-65, you might get a ticket -- not that doing the skeleton down a highway sounds like the best idea anyway.
The injuries from the skeleton are comparable to judo or football, despite the fact that it is, in all senses, not a contact sport.
Obviously, racing is a big part of the skeleton. Most skeleton riders participate in one form of competition or another.
Competitive skeleton heats begin by racers pushing their sleds as fast as they can before getting on the sled, similar to bobsled racing. This run is the most commonly focused on and the most often improved area of the game.
The skeleton may seem like a frightening experience, but most skeleton is too fast and demands too much concentration to truly scare any of its participants.
Team USA has been practicing skeleton since 1982 on Lake Placid, NY, but just entered the Olympics in 2002. It had been featured in the 1928 and 1948 Olympics, and skeleton supporters eventually hope it will become a permanent fixture in the games.
Write to Will at wjohargan@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
