Application, test order, scoring tables and what passing actually triggers: the complete flow of a bobsleigh tryout — and how to get invited to one.
A bobsleigh tryout is not a driving course but an athletic casting. You are tested on a single day, in a fixed order, with standard events: short sprints, standing long jump, shot toss, squat and power clean — and exactly those events demonstrably predict push ability [1]. Nobody asks whether you have ever sat in a sled.
That is the good news for career changers. The sport is not looking for bobsleigh experience. It is looking for an engine it can drop into a sled.
The test battery is remarkably consistent across federations: sprints over 15, 30, 45 and 60 metres, plus standing long jump, shot toss, a heavy squat and power clean [2]. A British tryout adds sport-specific elements — flying 30 metres plus single sled pushes over 5 to 40 metres, on both the side and rear handles [3]. And the scoring tables are openly available: 45 metres in 5.10 seconds (men) and 5.60 seconds (women) mark full points, as do a standing long jump of 2.21 and 1.85 metres and a shot toss of 18 and 15 metres [2].
In Germany there is a second filter many people overlook: before the season there is a central performance and push test, and only the best make the World Cup squad [4]. So the tryout opens the door — it does not guarantee a start.
Push athletes are recruited deliberately through combines and trials [3]. Coaches think in measured values. Send your four numbers, your body weight, your age and your previous sport — the largest talent transfer comes from track and field (sprint, jump, throw, combined events) and American football [3]. An email with numbers lands in a different category than an email with intentions.
Testing runs from fast to heavy: first sprints over 15, 30, 45 and 60 metres, then jump and throw performance, finally the strength values in squat and power clean [2][1]. That order is not harassment but physiology — speed needs a fresh body. Plan your warm-up accordingly instead of emptying yourself at the first station.
Some trials add flying 30 metres and single sled pushes over 5 to 40 metres on the side and rear handles [3]. If you have never been near a sled, that is where you lose ground. A single practice day on a push track changes that picture.
The federation marks — 45 metres in 5.10 or 5.60 seconds, standing long jump 2.21 and 1.85 metres, shot toss 18 and 15 metres [2] — are best marks for maximum points, not admission hurdles. What decides is your overall profile: sprint and jump/throw performance are the load-bearing predictors of push ability [1].
A good tryout day puts you in a training group, not in a race. Athletic and push training follow, and before the season comes the central performance and push test, after which only the best enter the World Cup squad [4]. Clubs such as the one in Magdeburg develop push athletes deliberately, often as a second career chance, in part from around 18 [4].
A test day is a snapshot shaped by weather, nerves and daily form. Anyone who narrowly misses the first time returns with a decisive advantage: they know the sequence, the surface and their own weak points. Treat tryout one as data collection.
A tryout day is one of the most injury-prone situations in the whole entry process: maximal sprints, maximal jumps and maximal loads, all on one day, all under assessment pressure. The classic cost centre is the hamstrings and adductors. Warm up completely even when the schedule pushes, and never start with a fresh strain.
Power clean and heavy squat [1] are technique-intensive maximal lifts. Anyone who has not trained them cleanly for months should say so honestly and continue submaximally — a back injury on test day ends the bobsleigh career before it begins.
This guide describes the process, it does not replace coaching. Sled pushes, loading and every contact with the ice track happen exclusively under the supervision of qualified coaches.
Simulate the complete test day once in preparation — including the waiting. Most athletes train each station individually and rested. On the real test day, however, 20 to 40 minutes sit between blocks and you cool down. So build one session where you sprint, wait, jump, wait, throw and only then go to the weights room — in exactly the order of the battery [2][1]. You will be surprised how much your squat loses after four hours of test day. That number is your honest tryout number.
From fast to heavy: sprints first, typically over 15, 30, 45 and 60 metres [2], then jump and throw performance, finally squat and power clean [1]. This standard battery demonstrably predicts push ability, with sprint plus jump and throw performance as the load-bearing predictors [1]. Some trials add flying 30 metres and sled pushes over 5 to 40 metres [3].
Through a club or the federation: in Germany there are 9 regional associations, around 80 clubs and roughly 7,000 members [5]. Push athletes are recruited deliberately through combines [3], and clubs develop them as a second career chance, in part from around 18 [4]. Send your measured values with the first message.
Federation best marks for full points serve as orientation: 45 metres in 5.10 seconds for men and 5.60 seconds for women, standing long jump 2.21 and 1.85 metres, shot toss 18 and 15 metres [2]. Those are top marks, not admission requirements — what decides is the overall profile of sprint and jumping power [1].
From track and field — sprint, jump, throw and combined events — and from American football; that is where talent transfer is statistically largest [3]. It fits the test battery, in which sprint and jump/throw performance are the load-bearing predictors of push ability [1].
You join a training group, not a race. Targeted athletic and push training follow, and before every season there is a central performance and push test, after which only the best move into the World Cup squad [4]. The tryout opens the door; the start position has to be earned again every year.
Neck, Back and "Sled Head": Targeted Injury Prevention in the Ice Track