Brace yourself

Sliding the 'Chicane' - the longest straight section of track


So... we're getting faster. Maaaaybe sometimes a little too fast for our own good.

There have been 30 of us here for the Advanced Sliding Camp over the past 8 days. Though at different levels of sliding, we are all supportive of one another, share excitement for each other's achievements, and are sympathetic in one another's heartbreaks.

And heartbreaks...err..at least...breaks...there have been.

This sport is certainly not for the faint of heart. It's not a "wimp's" sport, as Coach Don says. There has been one broken finger, hundreds of bruises, a few swollen hands (which I'm certain tomorrow we'll find out one is broken), bloody noses, sprained muscles, swollen heels, pulled backs, bad headaches, a few bleeding chins, and several crashes... all in the past 4 weeks.

And crashes... ahhhh, crashes. It seems that daily there is an athlete who has taken a turn too late, and instead of having their sled follow the curve of the ice, they have no choice but to launch perpendicular to the curve, become airborne, and land shiny-side-up.

I haven't done that....... yet.

Coach Don says to get ready. It WILL happen.

Anytime I hear the call of "Eighty-One" (which is a code word for 'CRASH') over the announcements, I race over to the camera to see my fellow teammate emerging from one of the curves...often with a slight limp, and a head held in disbelief...or maybe it's in sadness... or maybe they're just looking down to make sure their legs are still attached...I'm not sure. But in any case, it's always a relief to see them walking... but boy does it get my heart racing for my next run!

Most of my fellow teammates say their body often feels like it's on fire after a crash. Upon looking at their skin on their shoulders, butt, legs, and back... you can find a bright pink irritation, caused from 'ice burn.' Doesn't look like fun to me..but I will say, most people come back up to the top with a great story, and have been ready to jump right back on the horse and show that curve who is Boss. I haven't met a single slider yet who I would categorize as a 'wimp'. I've got a lot to live up to when the day comes that I, too, crash.... but I'm also looking forward to writing my blog post of "My First Skeleton Crash" ... haha! Every crash is a good story :)

Tomorrow is the last day of our Advanced Sliding camp. I'll stay up here for the Skeleton World Cup (not to compete, but to forerun) and slide the 14-17th of December and then head home.

Sooooo..... let's just save that 'crash' blog for sometime in the New Year, K?


Advanced Sliding School with Kuk Sool Won instructors in the OTC gym