Editing Bobsleigh (section)

==Modern era==
===Tracks===
{{further|List of bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks}}
[[Image:Bobbahn-Altenberg-4.JPG|thumb|[[Altenberg bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track|Altenberg track]], Germany]]
Modern tracks are made of [[concrete]], coated with ice. They are required to have at least one straight section and one labyrinth (three turns in quick succession without a straight section). Ideally, a modern track should be {{convert|1200|to(-)|1300|m|ft}} long and have at least fifteen curves. Speeds may exceed {{convert|120|km/h|mph}}, and some curves can subject the crews to as much as 5 [[G-force|''g'']].

Some bobsleigh tracks are also used for [[luge]] and skeleton competition.

Some tracks offer tourists rides in bobsleighs, including those at [[Sigulda bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track|Sigulda]], Latvia; Innsbruck-Igls, Austria; [[Whistler Sliding Centre|Whistler]], [[British Columbia]], Canada; [[Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track|Lillehammer]], Norway; [[Cesana Pariol]], Italy; [[Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run|Lake Placid]], US; [[Utah Olympic Park Track|Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], US; and [[La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track|La Plagne]], France.

===Sleighs and crews===
[[Image:Army Bobsleigh on a wall.jpg|thumb|Team USA on a wall, [[Shauna Rohbock]] (pilot) and [[Valerie Fleming]] (brakes) during their [[2006 Winter Olympics|2006]] silver run on [[Cesana Pariol]], Italy]]
[[File:Maeflower 2 bobsled.png|thumb|''Maeflower 2'', a bobsleigh used by the [[Nigeria bobsled team|Nigerian team]]]]
Modern-day sleighs combine light metals, steel runners, and an aerodynamic composite body. Competition sleighs must be a maximum of {{convert|3.80|m|ft}} long (4-crew) or {{convert|2.70|m|ft}} long (2-crew). The runners on both are set at {{convert|0.67|m|ft}} [[Rail gauge|gauge]]. Until the weight-limit rule was added in 1952, bobsleigh crews tended to be very heavy to ensure the greatest possible speed. Nowadays the maximum [[weight]], including crew, is {{convert|630|kg|lb}} (4-man), {{convert|390|kg|lb}} (2-man), or {{convert|340|kg|lb}} (2-woman), which can be reached via the addition of metal weights. The bobsleighs themselves are designed to be as light as possible to allow dynamic positioning of mass through the turns of the bobsleigh course.<ref>{{cite news |last=Elliot |first=Danielle |title=Team USA's bobsled, luge and skeleton get high-tech tune-up |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/winter-olympics-2014-team-usa-bobsled-luge-and-skeleton-get-high-tech-tune-up/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=7 February 2014 |access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref>

Although bobsleighs once were ridden by five or six, crews were reduced in the 1930s to either two or four people. The four-person crew consists of a pilot, a brakeman, and two pushers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bobsleigh: Technique |url=https://www.thebbsa.co.uk/the-sports/bobsleigh/technique/ |work=British Bobsleigh & Skeleton |publisher=British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association |access-date=5 February 2022}}</ref> Athletes are selected for their speed and strength, which are necessary to push the sleigh to a competitive speed at the start of the race. Pilots must have the skill, timing, and finesse to steer the sleigh along the path, or "line", that will produce the greatest speed.

In modern bobsleighs, the steering system consists of two metal rings that actuate a pulley system located in the forward cowling that turns the front runners. For example, to turn left, the pilot would pull the left ring. Only subtle steering adjustments are necessary to guide the sled; at speeds up to {{convert|80|mph|km/h}}, anything larger would result in a crash. The pilot does most of the steering, and the brakeman stops the sled after crossing the finish line by pulling the sled's brake lever.

Women compete in women's bobsleigh (which is always two-woman) and men in both two- and four-man competitions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fibt.com/ |title= FIBT the international home of Bobsleigh and Skeleton Sports |access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref> Women were confirmed as being able to compete in any four-"man" bobsleigh event, as from 25 September 2014, either as part of a mixed-sex team or an all-female team. However, because women are on average lighter than men (and thus at a competitive disadvantage in a gravity sport), and because most sliding nations have fewer women able to compete than men, this option has not proved popular with teams.

===Monobob===
A single-person bobsleigh is called a "monobob". Single-person sleds were introduced into international competition for both adaptive bobsleigh (for athletes who are able to drive a sled but not push) and as a youth sport (for younger athletes who have not yet developed the ability to push a heavy two- or four-person sled).  After the [[2018 Winter Olympics]], the International Olympic Committee and the IBSF agreed to add women's monobob as an Olympic sport for the [[2022 Winter Olympics]], so that there would be an equal number of women's and men's events in bobsleigh.

Prior to the 2020–21 competitive season, monobobs were traditionally constructed on one-piece chassis. Starting with the 2020–21 season, competitors in IBSF-sanctioned races must use articulated (two-section) monobobs manufactured by the IBSF's sole source sled builder, iXent. The sled must weigh a minimum of {{convert|162|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} without the athlete (but including timing equipment and any ballast weights) and a maximum of {{convert|247|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} including the athlete; runners are the same as for two-person bobsleighs.<ref name="monobob-rules-2020">{{cite web | url = https://www.ibsf.org/images/federation/Rules_and_Regulations/IBSF_International_Womens_Monobob_Rules_2020_E.pdf | author = International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation | title = International Women's Monobob Rules 2020 | date = October 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210122114852/https://www.ibsf.org/images/federation/Rules_and_Regulations/IBSF_International_Womens_Monobob_Rules_2020_E.pdf | archive-date = 22 January 2021 | url-status = live }}</ref> This implies a maximum athlete weight limit of {{convert|85|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}.

===Racing===
[[Image:USA-1 in heat 3 of 4 man bobsleigh at 2010 Winter Olympics 2010-02-27.jpg|thumb|USA-1 in heat 3 of 4-man bobsleigh at 2010 Winter Olympics, 27 February 2010]]

Individual runs down the course, or "heats", begin from a standing start, with the crew pushing the sled for up to {{convert|50|m|ft}} before boarding; though the pilot does not steer, grooves in the ice make steering unnecessary until the sled leaves the starting area. While poor form during the initial push can lose a team the heat, it is otherwise rarely, if ever, decisive.  Over the rest of the course, a sleigh's speed depends on its weight, aerodynamics, runners, the condition of the ice, and the skill of the pilot.

Race times are recorded in hundredths of seconds, so even seemingly minor errors – especially those at the beginning, which affect the remainder of the heat – can have a measurable impact on the final race standings.

The men's and women's standings for normal races are calculated over the aggregate of two runs or heats. At the Olympic Winter Games and World Championships, all competitions (for both men and women) consist of four heats.