Sliding Circuits: Moving Up the Ladder

There consist three levels of International Skeleton competition in the sport, each carrying a certain level of prestige and difficulty. They are:

America's Cup Circuit

Considered the first rung of the competitive ladder, the America 's Cup is made up of six races on the three different tracks in North America (Lake Placid, Park City and Calgary ). Competitions usually are won by sliders with a lot of experience on the particular tracks i.e. Americans and Canadians. The US generally sends members of the National Team ranked 9th -12th, but higher ranked competitors may compete if they wish. I am currently in this circuit.

• November 13-19: Calgary, Canada America 's Cup Races #1 and #2
• November 25-December 3: Lake Placid, NY America 's Cup Races #3 and #4
• December 13-21: Park City, Utah America 's Cup Races #5 and #6

Europa Cup Circuit

Generally, after finishing in the Top 10 overall on the America's Cup Circuit, an athlete will be ranked high enough to graduate to the Europa Cup. The Circuit consists of four to six races on various tracks in Europe usually in Austria , Germany and Switzerland . The Europa Cup is often viewed as exciting due to many unexpected outcomes and athletes rising out of obscurity onto the world stage. In the past US Sliders ranked 5th-8th have competed here.

• November 13-16: Igls, Austria Europa Cup Race #1
• December 4-10: Koenigssee, Germany Europa Cup Race #2
• December 11-17: Torino, Italy Europa Cup Race #3
• January 15-21: Winterberg, Germany Europa Cup Race #4

World Cup Circuit

The top of the competitive ladder ends at the World Cup. With 8 races total plus the World Championships, the World Cup Circuit competes in both North America and Europe . The competition here is amazing fierce with races being decided routinely by hundredths of seconds. The US sends its best four athletes to the World Cup and the Olympic Games always consist purely of World Cup sliders.

• November 27-Decmeber 2: Calgary, Canada World Cup Race #1
• December 4-9: Park City, Utah World Cup Race #2
• December 12-17: Lake Placid, NY World Cup Race #3
• January 10-14: Nagano, Japan World Cup Race #4
• January 16-21: Igls, Austria World Cup Race #5
• January 22-February 4: St. Moritz, Switzerland World Championships
• February 6-11: Torino, Italy World Cup Race #6
• February 13-18: Winterberg, Germany World Cup Race #7
• February 20-25: Koenigssee, Germany World Cup Race #8

Jr World Championships

• February 6-11: Altenberg , Germany