Today officially started my career as a member of team Israel Skeleton. I flew in to Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday so that I could participate in an FIBT (International Bobsled and Tobogganing Federation) international driving school this week. This school precedes the first two America's Cup (AC) races of the year which will happen next week. I didn't have to participate in the school, but I decided that it would be good to get more practice time here in Utah before the races and so here I am.
This is the second time that I have been at the track in Park City. The first time that I was out here was when I first learned how to slide back in January of 2007. Although I don't remember the track really at all, what I do remember about it is that it's a lot faster than the one that I am used to now in Lake Placid. I am sure that some of that feeling comes from the fact that I had never done Skeleton before when I slid here and so everything seemed quicker, so I remember it being quicker. However, that not withstanding it is true that this track is designed to be faster than the one in Lake Placid. It's basically a vertical drop through the first three "curves" (using that term loosely) before a big left turn 4 which gets you up to top speed in time for curve 6, which I am told is one of the largest curves in the world. It does not twist and turn like Lake Placid does, instead featuring long straightaways between curves (which are virtually non existent in Lake Placid) and so you can generate a lot more speed because you really are just sledding downhill.
Honestly all I remember about this track is that it hurts, a lot. We took a "track walk" before we slid down and I got to see curves 6-15. The track here is definitely more sweeping and elongated than I am used to, so it will be a challenge to adjust to that this week and next. But I'll give more details on the track later this week as I get more accustomed to it and it gets closer to race day. I wanted to talk today about the general atmosphere of the camp, how I felt and what we did.
What continues to amaze me about this sport is how anti-climactic everything is. Here I am thinking I'm going to this big international Skeleton driving school, but it's really just 15 people, some of whom had never slid before, and one of my friends from Team USA coaching it. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it was much more low key then you would envision. That is just more of the usual from this sport though I guess. The most frustrating thing was learning that we were only allowed to go off of the junior start today, because then you aren't going fast enough to actually practice. So today was basically just a joyride down the hill, working on my form and staying "quiet" (relaxed) on my sled. I didn't even get to sprint it off (because there is no sprint at the junior start), but instead they actually PUSHED me (literally) into the track at curve 6 after I had lay down on my sled. This is exactly how my first ever run down the track began when I learned, so I found the whole thing funny, honestly. It was like taking a step backwards today, but I just went with it and had a good time. I did about as well as I could do in-track I guess and for what it is worth I feel more and more comfortable on my sled and that is a good sign. Tomorrow we are going off a little bit higher but still not from the top. Hopefully by Wednesday I'll get some real runs in.
The coolest thing about today was meeting the people from the different countries. My unofficial count is: 2 from Mexico, 2 from Canada, 1 from Belgium, 1 from Argentina, and a handful of Koreans. I spoke with all of them and they are all very nice (some of the Koreans don't speak English though, so I couldn't talk to them). I spoke a few phrases of French to the one from Belgium. He is Flemmish though and so doesn't speak French fluently and switched back to English pretty quick. The most interesting story was from the Argentine slider. She actually qualified last year for the Olympics in Luge, but was unable to go because of internal federation politics. She got so frustrated that she quit Luge and decided to give Skeleton a try. She was pretty nervous (which made me laugh b/c Luge is so much more dangerous than Skeleton) but I talked to her a bit about what she could expect and what she should be doing while in track. I even lent her my forearm pads, which she added to the virtual armor of assorted skateboarding guards that she was already wearing. Her first run her visor fogged up and so she didn't really get the feel of it too much. I lent her some anti-fog for her second run and I think she enjoyed it more. The two Mexican sliders were nice too, and liked it other than the fact that they were freezing cold. Their coach, who is competing in the AC race with me next week, yelled at them after their first run because they actually wore their jackets down the hill. An interesting note is that all three actually live in Utah, and so are representing countries that their families come from. It made me laugh that I am not the only one using lineage as a tool to try and get to the Olympic games.
That's pretty much all I have to report for today. I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow so that you can see some of what is going on. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog, and I hope that you will subscribe to it and come back to read it daily. Don't forget to also follow me on Twitter at @israeliskeleton and on the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Facebook page.
Talk to you tomorrow
-Bradley
In the land of sleds and fogging, Cat Crap is king!
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