The Sliding Center Sanki (Санки) (a.k.a. the Sanki Sliding Center) is a

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Fe ...

, luge, and

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

track located in Rzhanaya Polyana,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Sochi. Located in the

Western Caucasus The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus. World Heritage Site The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western e ...

. The venue hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events for the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...

History

In 2006, it was announced that Russia would construct two new bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks. (23 November 2006 article accessed 20 February 2008) The first track was located near

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

while the second one would be located in Krasnaya Polyana. Sochi was chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics over

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of S ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 4 July 2007. By 2009, the location was changed to Rzhanaya Polyana, located not far from Krasnaya Polyana. (21 May 2009 article accessed 29 May 2009.)Sochi2014.com luge website mentioned the Russian National Sliding Centre.
- accessed 29 May 2009. On 26 April 2016, a fire damaged part of the track.

Track

The track length is 1365 meters for bobsleigh, skeleton, and men's singles luge and 1325 meters for luge – women's singles and men's doubles, with the finish height being at 1215 meters

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

. It features 19 curves for bobsleigh and skeleton, 20 turns for men's singles luge, and 17 turns for luge – women's singles/men's doubles. The maximum height difference (in the 1365m configuration) is 131.9 meters. The track will have permanent seating of 500, a temporary seating of 500, and a standing room crowd of 10,000 during the 2014 games. In their Olympic bid package, Sochi's track would cost RUB 135.7 million.Sochi 2014 bid package on sports venues. pp 14-7, 20-1, 24-5, 76-9. - accessed February 25, 2008. (Deadlinked as of 30 September 2010.) Post-Olympic usage involves international bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions and training for Russian athletes involved in those sports.

Controversies

Construction was scheduled to begin in 2007 and run until 2009 with testing events approved by the

International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing'' (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as ...

( FIBT) and the FIL in 2013 and 2014. There have been two issues with the track regarding location.

Downhill grades

Seven different locations were submitted to both the FIBT and FIL, but have all been rejected due to high downhill grades on the track. (30 November 2007 article accessed 25 February 2008.) The joint track commission of the FIBT-FIL expressed concerns over this issue. The head of the

Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track The Königssee bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a venue in Germany for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, located in Schönau am Königssee, Bavaria, near Königssee (German for "King's Lake") and the border with Austria. Completed in 1968, i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

stated that "the FIL is not to blame for the problems occurring in connection with the track location."

World Heritage Site proximity

The site where the track would be located has been under fire from

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth ...

Russia over its location near the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

of the

. Following Greenpeace Russia's official examination of the facility near the Sochi National Park, it was determined that about ten other places could be used outside of the park for track construction.6 June 2007 Greenpeace.org article on the environmental impact over facility construction for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
- accessed 21 February 2008. Controversy about the track also included the Northern Caucasus brown bear's location near the track for which the bear is an endangered species.

Resolution

Both issues were resolved after FIL President Josef Fendt expressed his support along with an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC) visit in Sochi on 21 May 2009.

References

External links

Sochi2014.com profile
- accessed 22 February 2010. {{coord, 43.667, 40.28857, region:RU-KDA_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympics Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks Environmental controversies Olympic bobsleigh venues Olympic luge venues Olympic skeleton venues Sports venues in Russia Buildings and structures in Krasnodar Krai Sport in Krasnodar Krai Proposed buildings and structures in Russia Buildings and structures in Sochi