ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — The 2024 Summer Olympics are just around the corner, but the U.S. Luge team is already looking for potential athletes for the next Winter Olympiad.
- The U.S. Luge team will be in Ashwaubenon through Sunday, hosting a luge clinic for kids ages 10-13.
- Selected participants will be invited to try out for the team in Lake Placid, New York.
(Below is the full transcript of the broadcast)
This is a sport that is usually played on ice, not on paved roads in the middle of summer.
Luge has been a staple of the Winter Olympics since 1964. The U.S. Luge team is once again on the road in search of their next potential star, with team development coach Aidan Kelly leading the search.
“There are only two places in the United States where you can do luge on ice,” Kelly says, so about 35 years ago, USA Luge realized it needed to introduce the sport to new athletes.
Kelly was recruited by USA Luge at a tryout event like this one in 2008, and after a career that included competing in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, he now helps kids get started in luge.
“It’s really amazing to be a part of people’s lives all over the place, from the day they started luging to years later,” Kelly said. “Like Talia here, I was there when she first did luge, and now she’s old enough to drive a car.”
The other kid, Mateo Guevara-Darber, 12, from Brillion, actually started luging by chance.
“Last year I thought it was going to be a skeleton, so I mixed it up,” Guevara-Darber said.
He explains that skeleton competition is similar to luge, except that in luge you lie on your back, whereas in skeleton you lie on your stomach.
However, Guevara-Darber found she had a good slider and received an invitation to join the USA Luge Junior D team.
Now he’s back in Wisconsin, where it all began.
What’s his biggest piece of advice?
“If you’re not sure if you should do it, just do it. Who knows, you might be the next Olympian,” Guevara-Darber said.
USA Luge says the best way for kids to get involved is to go to their website and read the instructions. Sunday, May 25th is USA Luge’s last day in Ashwaubenon before heading on to their next location. Those interested can apply here.
