Ex RACING ICE 2/3 Lillehammer Norway 2023

Firstly, before I start for those who don’t know what Luge is, Luge is a high-speed winter sport that involves an individual rider face up on a sled and racing down a track made of ice. Luge is a very fast and exciting sport that originated in the 19th century. It’s an Olympic sport and is very popular in many countries around the world. The word Luge comes from the French word for Athletes who use their body weight and subtle shifts in body positions to steer the sled as it reaches speeds of 90mph. It is one of the most thrilling and challenging winter sports, which requires strength, concentration and bravery.

On the 15 February 2023 I set off for a long travel to Lillehammer, in Norway, and after a long day travelling and a nice 2-mile cold walk in the snow I got to my destination.

I was first to arrive, so luckily, I had the choice of rooms and ended up with a nice room to myself. Soon after, the rest of the Army team arrived, which consisted of Sgt Squire REME, Capt Jacksons RE, LCpl Scott RE, SSgt Smith RLC, Maj Wyatt RE, Cpl Scott RTR and myself, REME, along with the Ex-organiser/Coach WO2 Holmes, and the amazingly knowledgeable Coach Mike Howard.

We assembled in the hotel that evening for a brief on the coming weeks training. After some nice food we then were dispatched for the evening to relax and get mentally ready for what was to come.

On a cold 16th of February morning, we woke up early and took a walk up the mountain to view the track for the first time. I am not going to lie seeing the track and having a walk-through talk through of all the corners, I was a bit apprehensive to say the least, but I was excited to get going. We were then given the rest of the morning to prepare our sleds for the up-and-coming practice runs the next day. Not much prep was need as WO2 Holmes and Coach Mike had already done most of it on the sleds, so all that was needed was to get one that fitted correctly and to get fitted into our amazing Army racing suits, and boots. They are slightly tight everywhere, but you need to be streamline for more speed and less resistance. We all got our kit and then went off to mentally prepare for the next day sliding.

On the 17th of February we got up early on a nice cold Norwegian morning and walked up the track to start our first runs; we started from turn 10, which is lower down the track. This enabled us to get to grips with the lower down corners at a slower speed. Once these corners are mastered at slower speed, we can then progress higher up the track.

After a few runs it was my turn to go. I got my sled into the track with the curtesy “it’s a bit Icy here” to WO2 Holmes and he would reply “yes that’s because its ice”. I entered the track anxiously in anticipation for what was to come, I put my visor and helmet on and laid on the sled. I gave WO2

Holmes the nervous nod, I was ready to go, he just let the sled go after about 5 seconds. I realised I was going a lot faster than I had been at our previous track in Austria.

The corners came quick and fast as did the walls. After a nice introduction to every wall at speed I made it to the finish line intact, with a massive smile on my face. I got out of the track and the transport gave us a lift back to the turn 10 to get ready and prepped to go again. I managed to complete my next two runs intact and still smiling. I started to learn each corner and wall very well. I was glad I had completed my first three runs and didn’t come off my sled and enjoyed every second of it. We finished for the day.

We headed down to the finish house for a warm coffee and a debrief with the team and the Medics who were always at hand to give us any first aid should we have needed it. That was us for the day and over the weekend we had a lot to take in and think about ready for the next weeks training.

20th February we headed back up the mountain to start the weeks training after a nice weekends rest. I was slightly nervous and excited to go again, it came around to my first run and off I went it felt slightly slower from Friday’s runs and I felt a lot more comfortable with the track and corners.

I completed my next two runs. They felt very much the same, I felt good and comfortable with it, and I wanted to move higher up the track the next day. With some good coaching from Mike, he convinced me to stay down for another day just to make sure I was comfortable with the corners and steering points lower down the track.

21st February, back up mountain we went, we conducted our track walk as the team did every morning. I was feeling confident about my three runs that day, how wrong I was. Even though it all felt slower I still managed to hit every wall in a long straight. Even after hitting all the walls I was still keen to move up the track. I still managed to complete two good runs, with some good tips from Mike; he advised me to move up for my last run to enable me to have a taste of higher up the track for the next day’s runs.

Off I went up to turn 7, I stepped into the track, lay on the sled, gave WO2 Holmes the nervous nod, and away I went. I thought I was going fast before, but the speed picked up an extra 20kph; the difference was huge but still I finished the run with a huge smile on my face. I could not wait for the next day.

22nd February. Back up we went for a track walk, but this one was different as I was concentrating a lot more on what was been said the day before. There was a huge speed difference, which meant I

Before submitting an article you are requested to read the guidelines on the inside front really needed to switch on and listen to everything that was said. I took notes and started to visualise the track as we walked it, this helped me to prep before each run mentally.

It made me feel like I had done a run before it even happened. Off I went on my first run. It went amazingly. A clean run for the first time, which made me feel confident for the next two. I was wrong, off I went on my next two runs, there wasn’t one wall I didn’t manage to hit on my way down… but each time I still got off with a smile on my face and couldn’t wait to go again.

We all had a nice weekend break and managed to do a bit of sightseeing around the local area. We took a short drive up to see some ice caves in the mountains; which was a sight to behold. It looked amazing, well worth the trip along the snowy icy roads. After the weekend we carried on the same as the previous week, walked the track every day and done our runs to mentally and physically prepare for the following weeks Novice championship race, the Army male open championships and the Inter-services Championships.

The day had arrived. The day that all the training was building up to, the Novice Championship race. For me, it was an opportunity to take home some silverware. The tone of the day had changed. There was a sense of anxiety and anticipation for the race that was to come.

The race itself consisted of two-timed run and the overall winner was the one with the fastest combined time. Lucky for me, my number was picked first. Off I went. I made my way to the start line, got on my sled, gave WO2 Holmes the nervous nod and the “it’s a bit icy on here” to which he would again reply “that’s because its ice”. The light turned green and off I went. I felt throughout the entire run that

I was going the fastest I had been all week and I was definitely feeling the G Force which was between 2 and 4 Gs’ in some of the corners.

Off went the other sliders on their first run. After the first run I was in the lead. I went and completed my second run with a similar time to my first. I made my way back to the top to nervously watch the other racers.

After everyone had completed their second run, I had done it and won the Army Novice Championship. I also took home runner-up in the Army Male Open Championship. That was an excellent achievement for my first year. There was no time to celebrate, as off we went to prep for the next day’s race the Inter-services Championship.

Waking up as the Army Novice Champion for the Inter-services Championship I felt at ease with the day and was determined to do the best I can. You could feel the tension again around the changing room. 5 sliders from each; the Navy, Army and RAF, all about compete for the Inter-services Championship.

The camaraderie amongst us all in the previous weeks was out of the window. Everyone was in their own headspace with headphones on, eyes closed and imagining the track. Just two runs to be the best that we could be. The conditions were perfect as the track had just been cut and the stage was set. Just to add to the other pressures we had the Chief of General Staff there to give us some encouragement just as we set off. Three weeks of build-up training, memorising every corner, applying the right pressure with your legs, rolling back out of every corner perfectly to keep your sled straight, keeping your form relaxed all while going at 110Kph and pulling in nearly 4G’s round certain bends. Nothing will ever compare.

In the end the Inter-services Championship title was taken by the RAF with the Army as runners up and the Navy last. The sport has pushed me and my fellow competitors to such extremes that you cannot replicate them with anything. Ice Sports is the epitome of adrenaline, courage, teamwork, determination and just sending it. The Corps offers great support and many opportunities to represent it; not just at Luge but at Skeleton and Bobsleigh. I would highly encourage to take up one of these sports and potentially one day be in the Olympics representing GB.