Bobsled (or bobsleigh) is a winter Olympics/sport activity. The sport is designed for teams of two or four sliders. The objective of the event is to power the bobsled down a high banked narrow ice track, which has numerous twists and turns. The bobsled event starts with the crew pushing the sled for 50 metres before boarding. The sled is steered at this point by grooves in the ice. Once the crew is boarded and as the track is downhill, gravity will take its course and force the bobsled down the track.

The bobsled is similar to both the luge and skeleton events. Luge and Skeleton both use the same ice track but have different shaped sleds. The bobsled, luge and skeleton were all originally developed in Switzerland and were adaptations of toboggans.

The first ice track was built in 1870 in St Moritz, Switzerland. http://winterolympicgames.suite101.com/article.cfm/sports_of_the_olympic_winter_games This has been a Winter Olympics venue twice and is still in use today. Modern bobsled tracks are made of concrete and artificial ice. http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/bobsleigh-track-3d-model/448549 Requirements for a bobsled track are A) Must have at least one straight, B) Must have at least one labyrinth (this is three turns in very quick succession without a straight). C) A track length of between 1200 to 1300 metres long http://www.vancouvervibez.com/bobsleigh/ and D) Must have at least fifteen corners/curves.

The bobsled is a dangerous event, speeds can exceed 130 kilometres per hour and some of the curves can subject sliders to as much as 5G’s of pressure. http://www.healthline.com/blogs/exercise_fitness/2010/02/winter-olympic-games-and-bobsleigh.html

Competition bobsleds must be 12.5 feet long for a four man crew and 9.9 feet long for a two man crew. The maximum weight for a bobsled must be 630KG for a four man crew, 390KG for a two man crew and 340KG for a two woman crew. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Olympics/2006Turin/Bobsleigh/2006/02/07/1429698-sun.html

International bobsled competitions are governed by the FIBT (Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. The FIBT was founded on November 23, 1923 in Paris, France. http://everything2.com/title/Bobsled Today there are 14 national FIBT members for the Milan, Italy based federation, which is also the governing body for skeleton competitions.

Bobsled was accepted by the International Olympic Committee as an event in time for the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. http://library.thinkquest.org/J002862/bobsled.htm In these Olympics only the four man bobsled event was competed. The two man bobsled debuted in the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York State, USA. http://www.fibt.com/index.php?id=154&track_id=10&L=0 It was not until the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA that women’s bobsled debuted with the two woman event. http://2002.ksl.com/news-2968i.php?p=0

The FIBT have organized world championships in Bobsled since 1930. http://sports123.com/bob/mw-4.html These are currently held in each year except for the Winter Olympics year, i.e. 3 years out of every 4. The four man event has been staged since 1930, the two man event since 1931 and the two women event since 2000.