Athlete Testing; "Are you surprised?"

Part of the Push Camp included the 4 item test that the Federation uses to evaluate skeleton athletes.

1) 30 meter sprint from standing
2) 30 meter sprint fly-in
3) Vertical jump
4) 5 hop (5 consecutive long jumps)

As expected, given my height and lack of formal training, my sprinting was not at the same level as the others. However, my long legs (that I curse on airplanes and in cars) proved useful in the jumping tests. All in all, out of 10 athletes, I ranked 5th after the tests...a rank I was proud of and did not expect after seeing the performance of the other athletes.

We spent the rest of the weekend at the outdoor push track. Essentially, it’s a sled on wheels, on a track. It’s meant to mimic the start on the actual track and does a fairly good job for sliding beginners. We learned how to push one day, with the coaching of Steve and Orvie, and participated in the “Push Championship” the next day. This would be another evaluative tool.

Again, no one knew what to expect since we’d just learned how to push the day before. We’d get critiqued by Orvie on the track and, later in the day, we watched video of our pushes. Quite comical, but very useful in figuring out the push...one of the most crucial elements to this sport.

We made it through our two “championship” heats and Steve read the rankings. 1st place is read, 2nd place is read, 3rd place – Todd Whiting. What? He must be joking. Turns out it was true. Apparently I can push a sled.

For all of us, the camp ended with a conversation. Steve sat each of us down, reviewed the results and indicated whether we would be invited back for Skeleton Driving School in November.

My conversation went like this:

Steve: The bad news is that this is an expensive sport.
Todd: Yeah
Steve: The good news is that we want you to come back in November.
Todd: (sigh of relief, with anxiety thrown in) Wow. Really?
Steve: Yeah, you certainly earned it with your testing rank of 5th and your push rank of 3rd.
Todd: Are you surprised?
Steve: Yes, I am to be honest.
Todd: Me too.