Bobsleigh Canada is gearing up to host some of the globe's best bobsled and skeleton athletes in an event that promises a taste of the Salt Lake Winter Games a year from now.
Women's bobsled world championship races are slated for Friday morning at the Canada Olympic Park on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics. (The men's bobsled world championship was held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Sunday, with Mike Dionne of Alpharetta, Ga., and his team placing ninth in the four-man race.)
On Saturday and Sunday, Calgary will host world championship skeleton races for both men and women, two heats apiece.
The World Championship is "the premier event in the calendar season for each discipline, so those are bid for and awarded four years in advance," Jeff Hugill, managing director of Bobsleigh Canada, told the Deseret News in a telephone interview. "We've got the full field of those who are eligible to race in world championships."
These include 26 men and 25 women skeleton athletes, as well as 28 sleds for women's bobsled competition representing 17 nations.
The Calgary track is more than 0.9 of a mile, slightly longer than the 0.8 mile of the Utah Olympic Park Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton Track at Bear Hollow.
"Ours is a very safe track, technically challenging, so the leaders are hundredths of a second apart," Hugill said.
Despite low temperatures that reach close to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, the competitions are expected to draw crowds.
For Friday's races, "we're not anticipating a large crowd because it's a work day," he said.
But backers hope to attract 1,000 to 2,000.
For the weekend races, they may have more spectators, especially through advertising, he said.
Asked for predictions, he said, "In the men's skeleton, we certainly hope a Canadian is up challenging for the podium," and Japanese and Americans have done well in the competition.
"In women's, it would look like a Swiss," and, he quickly added, he hopes for a Canadian woman to take home a medal.
In women's bobsled, based on World Cup competition held last week, he said, "The Americans are going to be very strong, followed by the Germans, Swiss, and again, we hope, a Canadian."
E-MAIL: bau@desnews.com