Globe and Mail reporter David Ebner makes his way down the track at the Whistler Sliding Center in Whistler February 8, 2011.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail/The Globe and Mail
It's unlikely international luge races will ever return to the higher start positions at the Whistler Sliding Centre, even though it's a move favoured by many athletes.
The mind-boggling speeds luge athletes can reach on the original Olympic track make the higher starts too dangerous, says Svein Romstad, secretary-general of the International Luge Federation (FIL).
"I do not anticipate ever going back to the start again," Romstad said in an interview during the weekend's luge World Cup.
"Most of the athletes do want to go from there but we have to look at the whole picture. The most prudent thing to do is remain where we are. The competition starts are legitimate that we have right now as far as the length and speed. It's really not an urgency and a need to go back up again."
The death of Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili during luge training on the opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics resulted in the start positions being lowered for the Games. The men started from what was the women's start and the women and doubles dropped to the junior start position.
Those same starts were used for this weekend's World Cup.
Canadian luge racer Sam Edney would like to see a return to the higher starts.
"Everyone feels confident on this track," he said. "It's something I think can be done in the future."
Olympic doubles champion Andreas Linger of Austria still favours the lower start positions.
"At the test World Cup in 2009 we went 142 kilometres an hour," said Linger, who along with his brother Wolfgang won the doubles race over the weekend.
"To be honest, this was a little bit too fast for us. Our opinion is it's safer to go from the lower start."
Kumaritashvili was travelling at speeds of more than 144 kilometres an hour when he lost control of his sled going into Turn 16. He flew off the track and slammed into a metal pole.
Luge sleds can reach speeds of 154 kilometres an hour when starting from the top of the Whistler track. That's about 18 kilometres an hour more than the designer's original calculations.
Romstad said he received positive feedback from athletes and team captains during the Whistler World Cup. It was the first major international luge competition held on the track since the Olympics.
The Canadian team had a successful weekend.
Canada won a silver medal in the first luge relay race held on Canadian soil Saturday night. The relay will be a medal event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Alex Gough just missed a podium in the women's singles, finishing fourth, while Calgary's Edney was fifth in the men's race. The doubles team of Tristan Walker of Cochrane, Alta., and Justin Snith of Calgary were sixth after their first run, but a mistake in their second dropped them to 10th.
Gough said the results show the potential of the Canadian team.
"We are getting better, we are getting more consistent," said the 24-year-old from Calgary who won a race last year and was third in the opening World Cup in Igls, Austria.
"Sam having a fifth was amazing because that men's field is super tight. The doubles are coming. They are young and getting better. When they put two runs together they will be fast."
The next luge World Cup will be next weekend in Calgary.
The track at the Whistler venue has undergone subtle changes and safety features have been improved since the death at the Olympics. Teams were also given extra training time on the 1,140-metre-long track leading up to this year's competition.
"Since the Olympics there have been quite a bit of changes on the track, improvements and enhancements," said Romstad.
"It seems to be working very well."
One change the FIL wants to see before the luge world championships come to Whistler in 2013 is a shift in the position of the women's start.
The current start is too near a corner, Romstad said. This gives the sliders too short a period of time to make the turn, resulting in mistakes which cost precious time.
"The end result is too many times there are mistakes happening which determines the competition," said Romstad. "It's a fairness issue, not a safety issue.
"We want to make sure it's not one little stretch that determines the championship."
Romstad wants the start moved about 40 metres down the track.
It is the responsibility of the Whistler Sliding Centre to pay for the alterations. Romstad said talks with local officials have been positive.
One challenge facing the FIL is spreading nine world cup races among potential host venues.
Romstad, who raced luge for Norway but now lives in Roswell, Ga., knows the sport has the most support in Europe, especially Germany, but also wants to see it grow in North America.
"Our sport is very Europe centric," he said. "This is such a popular sport in Germany. Our sponsors are German."
One idea is to have a North American circuit within the World Cup.
"A cup within the Cup," Romstad said.
There are currently 16 luge tracks around the world with two more coming on line as Sochi, Russia, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, prepare to host the next two Winter Olympics.
Four of those tracks are located in North America. Besides Whistler there are venues in Calgary, Lake Placid, N.Y., and Salt Lake City, Utah.
"I think North America has a very strong case," he said. "With four tracks we really have to come back here.
"If we are back here, why not try and use all the tracks here."
In the future, Romstad would like to see the number of World Cup events expand to 14 or 15.