What is Natural Track Luge Racing?

What’s a luge? The word "luge" comes from the French word for "sled”; in Germany and most of Europe it’s known as "rodel". Whatever you call it, the sport of luge is growing fast! The first known international luge race took place in 1883 with 21 competitors representing six nations. Most of us living in North America know luge racing as a sport in the Winter Olympics. However, luge racing is relatively new to the Games having made its debut in the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics.

There are two types of luge racing: artificial track and natural track. Artificial track racing is what you usually see on American TV. The course is a man made half-pipe that winds down a mountain, uses artificial refrigeration to keep the track coated with ice, and employs banked curves to keep riders in the “tube”.

Natural Tack racing is held on an unaltered natural track. The course is more like a trail complete with a series of turns and straight-aways. It cannot be artificially cooled and the turns are not banked. Consequently, the sleds used in natural track racing need to be more maneuverable since the rider must steer the sled through turns and avoid obstacles. The sled’s runners are similar in design and function to that of a downhill ski. The flat portion of the runner is used to build speed on straight-aways and the edges are used to carve turns. Natural track sleds also employ flexible sides and the use of a steering rein in order to affect a change in direction. See the United States Luge Association website for more details on natural track racing http://www.usaluge.org/index.php.

The explosion in the sport of natural track racing has created the need for sleds capable of navigating a race course under a wide range of surface conditions. The traditional Davos design which has served riders well in years past has given way to a newer, high-tech, more capable sled. With speeds approaching 60 mph, quality and engineering are paramount importance. Graf Sleds has answered this need with its Z-Series product line.

The Z-Series was designed from the ground up to be a natural track racing sled. A collaborative effort between Graf engineers and famous Swiss racer-designers, the Z-Series is manufactured using proprietary techniques along with the highest quality materials. For example, seasoned ash hardwood, the same wood used in baseball bats, provides the best weight-to-strength performance. Special steel alloy is used for the sled’s runners because of its sliding properties on snow and ice. Flexible couplers that connect the runners to the sled allow the rider to impart the correct amount of flexing needed for steering. It’s not by accident that world class natural track racers use Graf Z-Series sleds.