Icing tracks: Lillehammer in Norway started in ice-season, Altenberg to follow into 40th ice age on 5 October

Berchtesgaden (FIL/05 Oct, 2022) Since 3 October 2022, luge has again been taking place in Hunderfossen, Norway, on the Olympic track of Lillehammer 1994. From early in the morning until late in the evening, the teams from Europe and North America are there on ice for the first luge training of the season.

But already on Wednesday, 5 October, Altenberg in Germany will follow in an anniversary winter. Ice master Ralf Mende will start the icing of the luge and bobsleigh track in Altenberg's Kohlgrund at 6 p.m. for the 40th time. Since last winter, the challenging artificial ice track in Saxony has been made fit for the new season and for the future. 

Structural changes to the SachsenEnergie ice track in Altenberg

Outside the season, the focus in summer 2022 was on the infrastructural renewal of the track body and the grounds. In order to be able to present the SachsenEnergie-ice track in a modernised guise by the time of the 2024 Luge World Championships at the latest, a comprehensive concept was developed, for which Jens Morgenstern, Managing Director of the track operator Wintersport Altenberg (Osterzgebirge) GmbH (WiA), is in continuous discussion with the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge as the track owner as well as with the federal government and the Free State of Saxony as funding providers.

"The 2024 Luge World Championships will once again be a sporting highlight in our district," explains District Administrator Michael Geisler. "To improve the infrastructure at the facility, we are therefore in intensive exchange with Minister President Michael Kretschmer. The goal is to comprehensively prepare this event in order to present the Altenberg sports region in a professional and modern way."

Various construction works were also on the agenda this year. Due to the abrasion of the protective layer of the track concrete body, a renewal and gradual renovation of the concrete sealing was urgently required. 

In the crossing from curve 12 to 13, there is now also a so-called "forced entry", as it was already realised in front of curve 11 a year ago. This is intended to prevent the athletes from entering curve 13 too late and thus avoid serious crashes. Such a plastic covering had already been installed between bends 10 and 11 last year and proved its worth at this point. 
This year, the replacement construction of a youth starting height in curve 8 was completed. This offers more safety for the young luge athletes and facilitates the systematic training build-up. The doubles will start from here in the Luge Junior World Cup and even monobobs can now descend the track from this starting height. In addition, the children's starting height in curve 13 was optimised and, in the course of extensive earthworks, the medium-voltage cable, which runs underground across the entire site, was renewed. Furthermore, potholes were repaired and parking areas for emergency vehicles were renewed. "For a large part of these important construction measures, we are of course also dependent on subsidies," says WiA Managing Director Jens Morgenstern, "so a big thank you goes to the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the Free State of Saxony and the federal government for their support for the further development of the Altenberg luge and bobsleigh track."

Well equipped for the winter despite the energy crisis

The topic of energy is currently on everyone's lips and also represents a major challenge for track operations. WiA Managing Director Jens Morgenstern: "We went the renewable energy route even before the 2020 World Cup. We only use green electricity from the region, release zero percent emissions and have certified all of this. In addition, there are one or two small levers for savings. Modern control technology, for example, gives us the option of cooling only at special points on the track during ice removal. And we've installed more LED lighting, so that in future all light sources will have been replaced with the more energy-saving variety." All in all, the SachsenEnergie ice canal is well equipped for the upcoming winter. 

The main sponsor and simultaneous energy supplier SachsenEnergie comments on its commitment as follows: "We invested in renewable energies together with WiA at an early stage. For example, we supply 100 per cent of the electricity needed to ice the canal from renewable sources. A good half of it is generated in the region (regional electricity product) and comes from the Klingenberg hydropower plant and the Mohorn wind turbine. The remaining share comes from other hydropower plants (green electricity product). In addition, a photovoltaic system for generating electricity from solar energy was commissioned in 2020 on the roof surfaces in the starting area of the Altenberg track. The electricity flows into the public grid. The developments on the energy markets and the associated increase in procurement costs for gas and electricity pose major challenges for us and our customers. Nevertheless, we stand by our commitment as the main sponsor and name giver of the luge and bobsleigh track. Young and competitive sports are close to our hearts and at the same time it is important to support the economic and tourism locations of the region. We have a long-standing and trusting partnership that can be relied on," says Claudius Rokosch, Head of Corporate Communication at SachsenEnergie AG.

2022-2023 season has many sporting highlights to offer

The new season will start with a "double" IBSF European Cup Bobsleigh. From 14 to 17 December 2022, the Junior World Cup in luge will be held in Altenberg. The 44th FIL Junior European Championships will also be held in the "Race in Race" mode. 

The new year will start with a double World Cup as part of the IBSF Bobsleigh & Skeleton Series. At the end of January 2023, the world's best lugers will then travel to the Osterzgebirge. Altenberg is the 7th stop in the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup of the post-Olympic season. The competitions on 4 and 5 February 2023 will not only be about the coveted World Cup points for the women's, men's and men's doubles, but also for the women's doubles, who will also be competing in the EBERSPÄCHER World Cup for the first time next winter.
Spectators welcome: Advance ticket sales start on 10 October 2022 and VVO combination ticket

After two winters in which all races at the Sachsen-Energie-Eiskanal had to take place under exclusion of the public due to corona, organisers and athletes alike are looking forward to the fact that in all probability there will be fans at the track again.

Tickets for the international competitions - both for training sessions and races - will be available in advance from 10.22 a.m. on 10 October 2022 via the website www.SachsenEnergie-Eiskanal.de. 
In cooperation with the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) and the Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (RVSOE), there will again be a combined ticket that includes the use of public transport in the transport network.

Photos: 1x SweSliding (icing Lillehammer), rest: SachsenEnergie-Eiskanal Altenberg