Sigulda (pps) The International Luge Federation (FIL) reacted quickly to the demand of various athletes to get more training runs on the Olympic track for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. Following new consultations with the Organizing Committee (TOROC), FIL President Josef Fendt was able to get an additional training day. After clarifying all legal problems as well as finding a solution about the issue relating to accommodation, the training week will now start this coming Thursday (November 10th).
At the first FIL athletes’ meeting which was amazingly well attended and which took place in Sigulda before the start of the Viessmann World Cup this past week-end (November 5-6, 2005), athletes led by both athletes’ representatives Mark Hatton (GBR) and Brian Martin (USA) had requested more runs last but not least for safety reasons. The FIL spoke successfully for an additional day of training.
In addition, Fendt assessed as a success the fact that for the first time since many years, a World Cup on the Olympic track is scheduled during the Olympic season. A World Cup race on a prospective Olympic track was staged for the last time during the 1983/1984 season in Sarajevo.
The dilemma about the insufficient number of training runs is basically due to the interruption of the training week in the past season as a result of some crashes with to some extent serious injuries as well as to the postponement of the World Cup from February to November.
Not only the athletes’ representative Mark Hatton welcomed the first staging of an evening with the athletes. „This should become a permanent feature” said Hatton. With this meeting, the World Federation would like to establish a closer dialogue with athletes.