ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — The USA Luge is looking for future Olympians in the area this weekend!
It's part of the USA Luge off-season recruiting tour. The slider search starts Saturday in Ashwaubenon (and wraps up Sunday). Clinics are for boys and girls, ages 9-13.
Clinics are scheduled daily from 9-11 AM, 12-2 PM and 3-5 PM. Attendees need only to participate in one session. They will be on Centennial Street between South Ridge Road and Allied Street. COVID safety protocols will be in place.
Over the years, USA Luge says more Wisconsinites have been added to their roster as a result of these searches
In recent years, the USA Luge roster includes more youngsters from Wisconsin as a result of the slider searches in that state. Meet a bunch of locals on their national teams in the video above!
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (PRESS RELEASE) - The USA Luge off-season recruiting tour - the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search - will begin its national search for new talent on the weekend of May 15-16 in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon, Wis. The free clinics, for boys and girls 9-13 years of age, will be held on Centennial Street between South Ridge Road and Allied Street.
This year's schedule, featuring sleds on wheels, will be conducted with COVID safety protocols in place. Clinics are scheduled daily from 9-11 AM, 12-2 PM and 3-5 PM. Attendees need only to participate in one session. In recent years, the USA Luge roster includes more youngsters from Wisconsin as a result of the slider searches in that state.
Subsequent sites in May have been secured in Duluth, Minn. and in White Castle's home town of Columbus, Ohio. The Duluth location is on Junction Avenue from E. Niagara to W. College on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In Columbus, great sliders will be found at the Soap Box Derby Course at Big Run Park, 4205 Clime Road.
Other locations will be announced later in the spring.
These complimentary sessions include a White Castle USA Luge Slider Search T-shirt for each participant. Pre-event registration is mandatory and can be completed by calling 1-800-USA-LUGE X 107 or log on to https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Luge/SS-Registration-Form [te amusa.org].
At all locations, the organization will deploy cleaning and sanitizing protocols that were instituted last summer. USA Luge's five rings of safety protocols during the recruitment season will include:
1. A strict policy of social distancing (six feet at all times)
2. Wearing of face masks is mandatory
3. All sleds, helmets and registration items (pens, clip boards, tables, etc.) will be disinfected after each use with OSHA recommended cleaning products
4. USA Luge will provide hand sanitizer for all participants
5. Attendees are restricted to two adults per youth
"We're very happy that White Castle is once again partnering with us to find more luge talent for our future teams," said Gordy Sheer, Olympic silver medalist and Director of Marketing and Sponsorships. "And as we did last year, we have safety procedures to ensure that all will be safe, and will all get ample attention from the coaching staff."
Once the participants master the ability to maneuver the sled in both directions, they will then slide from the White Castle USA Luge ramp onto the road surface to negotiate a shallow, gentle cone course.
Under the guidance of national team coaches, the event will give these youth an opportunity to learn luge and qualify to join the USA Luge Junior Development team. This is the first rung on the ladder to national and Olympic team status. Children selected from the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search will be invited to learn the sport on ice next winter in Lake Placid on the same track where national team athletes train and compete each season.
Over 250,000 youngsters have been introduced to luge in this program since its inception over 35 years ago.
An Olympic sport since 1964, luge consists of athletes sliding down a track of ice on sleds at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. The White Castle USA Luge Slider Search clinics will have kids luging at much slower, more introductory speeds on the wheeled luge sleds. Participating "sliders" (a name given to luge athletes and the iconic White Castle burger) will ultimately be considered for the USA Luge Junior Development Team. The coaches guiding each clinic include National and Olympic team athletes, giving each young participant professional instruction and inspiration.
More information can be found at https://www.teamusa.org/usa-luge/slider-search [teamusa.org], including the full schedule of summer and fall slider search locations. Additional sites will be added in the coming weeks.
