Summary: <p>Welcome to the New Year. Each week we go over a new sport on Mondays and this year will be no different. Featured this week is the Olympic sport of Skeleton. Shoot down the course as fast as you can, head first on your stomach and don’t crash. Finish as the fastest racer and you win. Easy as that. For the latest sport of the week, subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast listening app.</p> <h2>Raw Notes</h2> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Quick overview of what it is </span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like Luge, but head first on your belly. </span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Where/When did it start</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><del><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kind of started with Native Americans using the sled as a way to transport cargo</span></del></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">First used to race in the mid 1800s in the Swiss Alps</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Cresta Run in St. Moritz Switzerland has been open for 150 years and is best known for helping propel Skeleton forward</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Took a break between 1948 and 2002 Olympics</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Deemed to be too dangerous</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sport was dubbed “skeleton” after the first metal sleds introduced in 1892 were said to resemble a human skeleton.</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">How do you win?</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crucial to start the race holding the sled with the hand closest, then you transfer as you lie down </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Timed down to hundredths of seconds</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Be the fastest and stay on the track</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">All about that start – spiked shoes (similar to luge spiked gloves) help you at the start</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you see feet dragging, chances are that racer is not doing well. This is a method of slowing down to avoid flying off the track on the next turn.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2 runs</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stay hard to that inside line. Hitting a curve at the outside makes you go way high</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Events </span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> Men’s – 30 men will compete</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Total weight of rider and sled may not exceed 253 pounds (115kg)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sled may not weigh more than 94 pounds (43kg)</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Women’s – started in 2002 – 20 women will compete</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Total weight of rider and sled cannot exceed 202 pounds (92kg)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sled may not weigh more than 77 pounds (35kg)<br> </span></li> </ul> </li> <li>Update from <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/freyaviv">/u/freyaviv via Reddit</a> <ul> <li>They missed a big asterisk in the weight rules. The sled can weigh below the minimum 29 kilos (women) / 33 kilos (men) and if it does, there is no combined (sled + athlete) weight limit. The athlete an</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>
