Bobsled/skeleton/luge invite international homologation delegation

Track checks take place in Park City ahead of bobsled/skeleton and luge world cups this winter. Photo: Michele Roepke

PARK CITY, Utah — On Tuesday, the Utah Olympic Park hosted a three-person delegation to certify the bobsled/skeleton/luge track for the upcoming winter world cups. Certifying an Olympic-level athletic apparatus is known as homologation.

Markus Aschauer from Konigssee, Germany; Giacomo Dariz from Cortina, Italy; and Olympian Tyler Seitz from Whistler, Canada, gave the track the white glove treatment. Seitz’s brother, Tracy, moved from Canada to Park City to help run the UOP’s track for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. He then returned to his home country to run its track for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Seitz and Dariz were in Park City this week to homologate the track on behalf of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), which is based in Switzerland, and Aschauer came on behalf of the International Luge Federation (FIL) in Germany.

The thorough inspections of the track revealed one or two minor modifications that were on the to-do list and are being addressed. 

R.J. Shannon, track manager for the UOP, said, “This is the first time the international sport federations have done a joint homologation. It’s always great to work in coordination with the IBSF and the FIL and team up to ensure the track continues to operate with the utmost safety.”

Homologations last five years; therefore, this process won’t need to be repeated until 2027.

The last time the UOP got to host sliding-sports world cups was in 2017 for bobsled/skeleton and 2016 for luge.

2022 WORLD CUP DATES:

• Bobsled/Skeleton: Nov. 29 – Dec. 4 
• Luge: Dec. 15 – 17