USA Luge Slider Search to return to Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - If you have a nine to 13-year old with Olympic dreams, then this might be the story for you.

USA Luge is once again coming to Columbus for the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search, one of many stops across the country with hopes of finding future national team members. The recruitment opportunity is being held on June 4 and 5 at Big Run Park at 4205 Clime Rd., site of the soap box derby course.

The event is targeting boys and girls ages nine to 13, with sessions being held from 9 to11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., and 3 to 5 p.m. Participants are asked to only attend one of the sessions. Columbus is one of many stops on the summer and fall recruitment tour which includes locations across the country.

Sochi 2014 Olympian Aidan Kelly, a slider search graduate, will lead the weekend clinics for USA Luge. The team has six athletes from Ohio currently in the USA Luge team structure. All were discovered at past Columbus events. The majority of those young athletes will help run the clinics this weekend.

The sessions are free to attend and everyone receives a White Castle USA Luge Slider Search t-shirt.
Participants will be taught the basics of riding a luge sled at a controlled speed, including positioning, steering and stopping. Once these skills are developed, athletes take several runs down a paved luge course on wheel-equipped luge sleds.

Finally, athletes test their physical skills through a battery of fitness tests if time allows. Those who show promise in the summer program are invited to Lake Placid, N.Y. or Park City, Utah to try luge on ice at a USA Luge sanctioned training site. The top young athletes from this group are selected for the next year’s development team.

To view more information and sign up for the White Castle Slider Search, head to teamusa.org.