Erzurum/Turkey (pps) The first luge training camp was held in Turkey at the end of May. FIL coach Karl Flacher welcomed 15 coaches and 24 athletes as participants in this event held in Erzurum in the east of Turkey. At Paladöcken, located about four kilometers from the city center of Erzurum, they trained on wheeled sleds, which had been imported especially for this purpose. The road, on which training was conducted at an altitude of 2,300 meters, was closed off by the police every day.
Erzurum governor Sebahattin Öztürk invited the President of the Turkish federation, Erol Özer, Karl Flacher and other representatives of the Turkish federation including Songül Göksu and Cakmur Levent to a reception. New sports facilites such as a ski jump and a stadium are currently being constructed in Erzurum, where the Winter Universiade will be staged next year. Governor Öztürk expressed his contentment that luge will become established in the region as a new sport.
Turkey is the most recent member of the International Luge Federation (FIL). At the end of April, Josef Ploner, the Chairman of the Technical Commission Natural Track, went to Turkey on behalf of the FIL in order to inspect the terrain for the construction of a luge track.
