Rink rat parents sick of overflowing hockey bags stinking up the station wagon and taking over the basement, take comfort: at least your kids aren't bobsledders.
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Bobsled is an expensive hobby, kids
- February 25, 2010 1:36 AM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
By Gillian Grace, National Post
Rink rat parents sick of overflowing hockey bags stinking up the station wagon and taking over the basement, take comfort: at least your kids aren't bobsledders.
All those gloves, skates, helmets, and Hayley Wickenheiser commemorative water bottles are hefty, sure, but they've got nothing on bobsleds.
A four-man bobsleigh must weigh a minimum of 210 kilograms (without the crew), and up to 630 kilograms once the sledders and their gear are on board.
(Bobsled weights are strictly governed by the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing, as heavier sleds are capable of higher speeds once gravity takes over.)
And, while a good pair of skates can be had for a few hundred bucks, bobsleighs such as the ones used by the Canadian team typically cost from $50,000 to $100,000, according to Chris Dornan, a spokesman for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, the sport's national governing body.
The sleds are mostly made in Europe. Favoured designers include Germany's Singer, run by a pair of brothers who also manufacture race car parts.
Sadly, their mastery of the aerodynamically sleek doesn't extend to their website, which looks like it was made in 1995 and has the German version of "under construction" next to a drilling Bavarian worker.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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