Now That’s Slick ... Olympic Experience For Luge Enthusiast Charlie Poarch

Charlie Poarch, a seventh-grader at Newtown Middle school, was invited to attend luge screening camp in Lake Placid, NY, April 6-13.

After attending a slider search over the summer, Poarch was invited to attend the luge screening camp. He had the opportunity to live the life of an olympic luge athlete. He stayed at the United States Olympic Training Center, the primary training site for many of the top US olympians. He had a rigorous daily training schedule: time in the gym with a trainer, start training, 2 hours sliding on the actual olympic luge track, and 2 hours a day study hall to make up missed schoolwork. Poarch was taught proper start technique on the indoor, refrigerated start ramps at USA Luge’s headquarters, one of only two indoor refrigerated start ramps in North America. He got to experience the sport firsthand, reaching speeds up to 45 miles-per-hour, down the 1,360-meter long Olympic Sports Complex course, on Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid.