Facts & Figures

Venue Description

The Whistler Sliding Centre hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and is also serving as a legacy for the enjoyment of local residents, visitors, and high-performance athletes.
The venue is situated on Blackcomb Mountain, complementing the other adventure-oriented activities the area offers. The facility operates as a centre for high-performance development, youth and recreational club programming, and tourist and public admissions (passenger rides and tours).

Track Statistics

Olympic Winter Games Events

• Bobsleigh (3 events): Four-man, Two-man, Women’s  
• Skeleton (2 events): Men’s,  Women’s
• Luge (3 events) : Men’s singles, Women’s singles, Doubles

Bobsleigh

• Part of the official competition program since the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924
• Women’s bobsleigh was introduced in Salt Lake City in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games
• The five-man bobsleigh was contested for the first and last time at the St. Moritz 1928 Olympic Winter Games
• Following a sprint start, the bobsleigh travels down the track on four highly polished steel runners. Bobsleighs are equipped with brakes.

Luge

• Luge made its Olympic Games debut in 1964 in Innsbruck.
• Luge athletes start in a seated position, gripping start handles to propel them down a steep start ramp. They use gloves with small spikes on the fingertips to push themselves along the ice before laying feet first on their backs.

Skeleton

• Skeleton first appeared at the 1928 Winter Games and then again in 1948, both times in St. Moritz. The sport returned to the Olympic Winter Games program in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
• Skeleton athletes steer with their shoulders and knees by applying pressure to the sled
• There are no brakes on a skeleton sled.

Sustainable Attributes

• Smart site selection adjacent to previously developed areas within a major ski area (such as ski trails, parking lots)
• Site designed to minimize required vegetation clearing and to reduce facility footprint (such as soft edging and tree islands)
• Ammonia refrigeration system: ammonia is one of the most energy-efficient refrigerants producing no chlorofluorocarbons (which contribute to ozone layer depletion and global climate change)
• Track shading and weather protection system
• Tree retention to cast shade
• Track painted white to minimize heat absorption
• Capture and reuse of waste heat from refrigeration plant

Sport Governing Bodies

• International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT)
• International Luge Federation
• Canadian Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association
• Canadian Luge Association