Fourth Graders Bone Up

On Skeleton Racing

By Tanjua Damon

A few fourth grade classes from Sandy Hook School sat with looks of confusion on their faces when a guest speaker brought up Skeleton Racing.

“What is it?” some whispered.

Chris Soule came to speak about Skeleton Racing, which is a sport that involves a single person on a sled. Riders are head first and on their bellies. The sport last appeared in the Olympics in 1948, but will reappear this year at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Skeleton Racing uses the same track as bobsleds, and competitors travel at speeds of 75 to 85 miles per hour. The individual racer runs the sled down the track and then positions his or her body in the middle of the sled and uses the body to direct the sled down the track.

“I started about ten years ago with the sport. The program was kind of small,” Mr Soule told the students. “It has grown. There are probably about 100 people in the United States who race in it now.”

The students were interested in the different styles of tracks that Skeleton racers used to train and compete on.

“All tracks are different,” he said. “You have to learn how to handle the sled. You have to learn how to work the G-force [gravity force]. The more weight you have on the sled, the faster you are going to go.”

Mr Soule told the students that competing is not just about winning, but finding out what you are all about and enjoying what it is you are doing.

“It’s more about having a good time,” he said. “And wanting to be good at what I do.”

Skeleton racers train year-round and compete mostly during the winter months since they need an iced track for their sleds.

“The sport is year-round. We do a lot of weight training and sprints during the off-season,” he said. “It gets pretty technical. I visualize, post visualize, and have to know the equipment. You have to pay attention to everything because everything plays a role.”

Skeleton racing was created in the 1800s, according to Mr Soule. It was a competition at the 1928 and 1948 Olympics, but has not been a part of the Olympics since.