On the Scene: PyeongChang Sliding Center Gets Crash Course

(ATR) A crucial two week period comprising of training sessions and a World Cup stop is the ultimate test for the Alpensia Sliding Center ahead of the 2018 Olympics.

Top lugers from around the world are in PyeongChang for an International Training Week from Feb. 9-14. After designing testing for the training runs, the venue management will shift operations to accommodate a Luge World Cup team relay event.

Jeeyoun Lee, the PyeongChang 2018 Luge Sport Manager, told Around the Rings organizers are approaching each event as a way to learn the ins and outs of running a top-tier sliding center. For example, the operations team is working to manage shifts for workers and instructing medical staff on how to react after crashes. Also, throughout the training week organizers had tested athlete and sled transportation to ensure a smooth competition when the time comes.

"It is still a process of building the experience and knowledge," Lee said. "We are still coordinating with the teams and our workforces and I think it is going better and better."

After the training week concludes, operations will transfer to a totally different test required for the World Cup. Broadcasters, media, and spectators will all be present for the first time at the sliding center, creating new challenges for the staff.

"During World Cup we can test all things on top of the sports and athletes and test the surrounding things to prepare for the Olympic Games," Lee said. "Now athletes and teams know the venue. Some of the rooms will change during the Games, but now they are a bit familiar with the venue, as it’s a way to go for the Olympic Games."

For many of the athletes in PyeongChang, this is the runs ever runs for them on the Olympic course. On the way up to her run Madeleine Egle, from Austria, told ATR with a smile that the track was "interesting." Like, most participating in the training, track conditions were not the only thing on her mind.

"[The track] is a good interesting," Egle said. "It is just very cold!"

Lee said that a cold spell had been on the staff’s mind, but regardless conditions were much better than during the pre-homologation runs in October. Athletes told Lee that the track is "much faster," than it was months before.

"The refrigeration plant is running well and all the recommended items have been done," Lee said. "All requests made before [the training week] have been done. It has been working and the ice is there and the track is operating well."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Alpensia

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