Experienced luge athletes show participants the basics of accelerating, steering and stopping to adults and children aged 10 or older. Then, you can take practice runs on a recreational luge track.
Although it's primarily a recreational event, coaches will be scouting for athletes who show enough potential that they'll be invited to screening camps at the USA Luge Training facility in either Lake Placid, N.Y. or the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah.
Some of the Verizon Luge Challenges are a fairly easy drive from major metro areas. The dates for the 2007 winter include Thunder Ridge Ski Resort, Patterson, N.Y., Feb. 24-25; Waterville Valley Ski Resort, Waterville Valley, N.H., March 3-4; Ski White Pass, White Pass, Washington, March 10-122; and Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, Mt. Hood, Ore., March 17-18. Check the Verizon Luge Challenge website for each winter's dates.
If you're an athlete between the ages of 11 and 14 you might want to see if the excitement of a luge ride is for you. The Verizon-USA Luge Slider Search is the official nationwide athlete recruitment tour of USA Luge that targets this age group. Visit USA Lugeto learn more about the summer program.
