How Someone Becomes a Luger

When the Olympics are on, people from all over the world gather around their TV sets and get swept up by the power of the Olympic spirit.

Each person then asks, “Luge? How the heck do you get involved with that?”

It’s one of the sporting world’s greatest mysteries, and the same question applies to sports like bobsledding and skeleton.

Luckily, Canadian Olympian Regan Lauscher came to our aid and helped us out with these pressing questions. She finished 15^th in women’s singles luge this year, which was Canada’s best finish in the event.

LM: So Regan, how were you introduced to luge?

RL: I was told about the sport through my band teacher when I was in Grade 7.  He was involved with the Natural Luge Club [luge on a natural snow or ice track, which is much slower] in Camrose, Alta. and told a group of us kids about it. We all went to the local tobogganing hill in Red Deer, where I grew up, and he showed us how to steer the sled, et cetera.

LM:What about it was appealing to you?

RL: At first... nothing!  But after I got onto the Olympic track, bound with padding and protection, I remember laughing the whole way down and thinking that it was the most fun I had ever had! 

LM: What made you pick luge over doing something “more practical”?

RL: Honestly, I made the decision to continue with luge and put volleyball and dance behind me for the simple motivation of possibly traveling to Europe and being able to get the Sunice team jacket! The Olympic Games weren't even on my radar.

LM: Was it a difficult decision?

RL: I definitely missed playing volleyball and competing in Highland Dance competitions, but I also liked how I was constantly being challenged physically, emotionally and mentally in luge. I was away from my family and friends a lot and learned early on that I had to make sacrifices and some tough choices if I wanted to become really great at luge.

LM: How many hours per week do you train?

RL: In the summer months, when we do all of our dry-land training, we are busy in the weight room, at physio, at the track, in the arena or in the sled shop an average of seven to eight hours a day. In the winter months and during competition, it seems like we are at the track or doing something well before the sun comes up and drop into our beds long after the sun is down by the time we get everything done. I would say that it is more than a full-time job!

LM: How does the luge system work when you’re a teenager trying to “make it”? Do parents play a large role like they do in hockey?

RL: Teenaged kids are racing on the junior team or the junior development team. They, too, will do most of their racing and training over in Europe – primarily in Germany and Austria. Parents’ jobs are getting their kids to the hill to train and make the team in the first place! If they fail to make the team, they most likely will stay home and train until the next team selection is made and they have another chance to travel.

LM: Do you find many people you meet are puzzled about what you do when you tell them?

RL: Not really puzzled... more surprised and then shocked! I get a lot of “you’re crazy” comments!  People are generally in awe about how fast we go down the hill, with no brakes and no pads to top it off. It’s understandable how that would scare a lot of people.  But once I explain to them how much steering and the control that we have with our sleds they start to come around. Any extreme sport is shocking to people... and for us there is just no way to adequately describe how addictive the adrenaline rush is that we get when we are on the ice.

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More on Lauscher can be found at reganlauscher.com.

Photo by David McColm