Grant-A-Week WINNER
Caitlin Blundell - Luge

When I got into luge I had no idea I would get this far. And let me tell you, it hasn't been easy. A lot of people think that luge is just fast tobogganing, lie down on your back and slide down a hill. Well, there is some element of skill involved with driving the sled with 4 g-forces pressed against your head. It hasn't been easy, but it's definitly been worth all the concussions, bruises, ice burn, and scars.

I guess the thing I love most about the sport is the thrill. It's a new adrenaline rush each and every time you head down the track. Then there's all the people- my friends from my old school call us some weird athletic cult, but as cultish as we may be, we're a team and no matter how often we see each other, we manage not to fight. Much. Well… And it's not just the team I like, we have awesome coaches. I would think from time to time they'd have some trouble seeing floppy feet on a figure blazing past them on the track at 90+ km/h, but I guess not. Much thanks to them.

Anyway, my name is Caitlin Blundell, and I'm on the National Junior Development Luge team. For those of you who don't know what luge is, it's down the same track as a bobsled, but with only one or two people feet first on their backs. I only do singles, I don't have enough experience to do doubles yet. I started luge only last season, but I've always been athletic. From when I was four till last year I played soccer, and I've also been through, in various stages of competition, basketball, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, wrestling, volleyball, and I play ultimate frisbee with a Calgary league.

Luge is a very European sport. There are 4 tracks in Germany alone, while there is one in Canada. If Whistler gets the 2010 Olympics, that will mean another track, so we all have our fingers crossed. There are a few tracks in the States- Lake Placid, Park City, and, of course, Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympics. The Olympics have always been a dream of mine. When the '88 Olympics were here in Calgary, me and my brother staged our own Olympic competition, and took turns standing on top of the podium.

Well, I still have that dream, and every opportunity to stand on a podium is fresh motivation to slide faster, lift more weight. Thanks once more to everyone who's helped me!

Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity contact us