The Canada Olympic Park bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

, and

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

track located in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Part of

Canada Olympic Park Canada Olympic Park (COP), formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill, is a ski hill and multi-purpose training and competition facility located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, owned and operated by WinSport. It is currently used both for high performance ...

, it hosted the

and

competitions at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

. This track is one of only two of its type in the world to be featured in a non-documentary film when it was part of the 1993

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

film ''

Cool Runnings ''Cool Runnings'' is a 1993 American sports comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael Goldberg, and a story by Siefert and Michael Ritchie. It is loosely based on the debut of the J ...

'' which loosely followed the

Jamaican Bobsled Team The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The men's team debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games four-man bobsleigh in Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces ...

during their competition in bobsleigh at the 1988 Games (The other was the 1981

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

film '' For Your Eyes Only'' which included scenes from the bobsleigh track in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.).

History

In 1981, Calgary was awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics over

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and Cortina d'Ampezzo. The track was constructed on a fast-track program running from fall 1984 to spring 1986.1988 Winter Olympics official report. Part 1.
pp. 114-9. - accessed February 10, 2008. This was done with the help of

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

technology and a consulting firm from Canada. It was the first combined track in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and only the second of its type on the continent (

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

bobsleigh and luge tracks were separate when Calgary's construction was completed in spring 1986 though the Lake Placid track would be rebuilt as a combination track in January 2000.). During the 1988 Winter Olympics, the bobsleigh team from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

debuted at these games, but crashed out during the third run of the four-man event. The story of the team would later be part of the 1993 film ''Cool Runnings'' with scenes done at the track. Skeleton was introduced to the track in the late 1980s with the track hosting the

FIBT World Championships The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since FIBT World Championships 1930, 1930. Starting with 2002, no Wo ...

for skeleton in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

.FIBT men's skeleton world championships results since 1989
An indoor iced push facility near the track opened up in 2001.
- accessed February 6, 2008] When competition does not occur on the track, it offers programs for bobsleigh and luge open to the public. On 5 February 2019, WinSport Canada, WinSport (the operator of the track) announced that due to an $8 million CAD funding shortfall, the track would cease operations after the completion of the IBSF World Cup that year. On 3 March 2019, the track closed indefinitely, pending the funding of a $25 million CAD renovation. While the sliding facilities have closed for winter operations (due to the refrigeration system needing total replacement), the track would still be available for summer training and tourism, and the Ice House would remain open. Calgary Olympic Park Bobsleigh Luge Skeleton Track

Calgary Olympic Park Bobsleigh Luge Skeleton Track

Track technical details

Costing C$ 27 million to complete, the track consisted of 48

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

sections with five separate starting points. The facility is designed of that like a

tuning fork A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs ( ''tines'') formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it ag ...

with separate bobsleigh and luge start houses, selected to lessen construction and

maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

costs. The two portions of the track merge at turn five prior to the

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

combination curve. Lined with of

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

coolant, the track can hold ice at air temperatures up to 20 deg C (68 deg F). Sunscreens were installed on curves directly exposed to the sunlight to keep the track smooth and prevent melting. Electronic timing systems include double photo sensors at the start and finish positions of the track and artificial lighting is used to allow for night runs on the track. Lighting was adjusted at the request of the host

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcaster (

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

) prior to the games to ensure proper

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

coverage for the 1988 games.

Renovation

On 5 April 2017 a $20 million CAD renovation was announced as part of WinSport's ongoing intention to operate the track in addition to Calgary's potential bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Despite a referendum rejecting Calgary's 2026 bid and subsequent closure of the track, WinSport announced renovations will begin and proceed as funding becomes available. On 9 October 2019 the first phase of the renovation project for the track began with the demolition of the bobsleigh/skeleton start portion of the track (curves 1–5). The bobsleigh/skeleton start is being removed to reduce operating costs and make the track more exciting for those athletes who will now start on the luge portion of the track. Until the renovation of the track is complete—including the replacement of the entire refrigeration system, the track will remain closed. Demolition of the track is scheduled to be completed by December 2021.

Statistics

Men's start at the tower start house (currently demolished) at the top of the track while the women's is at the regular start house at the top of the track. The turn names were initially given during the 1988 Winter Olympic broadcast (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in the

). All curves shown are bobsleigh curves. The luge section joins the bobsleigh and skeleton section at turn five. Turns 1 through 5 do not have turn names.

Championships hosted

(skeleton),

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

,Bobsleigh two-man world championship medalists since 1931

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

(Women's bobsleigh, men's and women's skeleton),Bobsleigh two-woman world championship medalists since 2000

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

FIL World Luge Championships The FIL World Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place on an almost annual basis in non-Winter Olympics years since 1955. These championships are shown for artificial tracks. See FIL World Luge Natural ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Incidents and accidents

6 February 2016 - In the early hours of the morning of 6 February, 8 teenagers broke into the Canada Olympic Park's track and, using

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

s, began a slide down from the Bobsleigh start. At turn 5, the teens struck a large track switching element that had been used to configure the track for Luge. The impact with the track switch and the chains holding it in place resulted in death for two of the teens, and serious injuries to the other 6. In November, 2018 a provincial court judge who had been leading an investigation into the incident ruled it to be an accident. The judge also recommended a slew of security enhancements (including: motion-triggered alarms and lights, better signage and barriers, and more effective training of staff) to help prevent another incident of this nature—several of which WinSport had already adopted prior to the ruling.

References

External links

Operating organization. No track info.IBSF track profile
{{coord, 51, 04, 47, N, 114, 12, 57, W, type:landmark, display=title Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsleigh venues Olympic luge venues Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks Sports venues in Calgary