The side push athletes load after the pilot and make themselves small at once. What sequence, rules and injury risk mean and why a coach is needed.
After the push comes the most delicate moment of the start: the crew loads into the moving bob. In the four-man bob that happens in a fixed order, and the two side push athletes are in the middle of the chain. The honest answer to "How hard can loading be?": very. You get into a tight sled at high speed and have to make yourself small at once without disturbing the bob.
Clinical literature describes it thus: beyond the crest of the start section, gravity and the speed already reached exceed the athletes' ability to add much more momentum. Then first the pilot, followed by the other push athletes, load from front to back into the sled, in a planned sequence that influences the speed as little as possible [2].
Rules come with it: after the start the specifications of the bob may not be changed, and the push bars of the driver and side push athletes must be fully retracted. Non-compliance may be punished [1]. Also, only the pushing force of the team at the start and gravity may propel the bob [1].
Loading is teamwork in fractions of a second.
Entry criteria (practice standard):
According to the specialist literature everyone loads from front to back [2]. You know who comes before and who after you and what the person in front does. Whoever sits in the middle of the four-man bob has two teammates nearby who need room.
Milestone: You explain the order and what task your seat has.
Loading is choreographed [2]. There is a signal: by position, speed or call, which your coach shows you. A "feel for the moment" arises in practice runs, not on a screen.
Milestone: You recognise the signal safely in practice runs and react without hesitation.
The side push bars must be fully retracted after the start [1]. That is not just a formality: the IBSF construction rules expressly serve the safety of athletes and fair competition [1]. How to retract the bar your coach shows you on the sled on the ground. Practise the movement until you find it blind and with gloves.
Milestone: You retract and extend the bar in the sled on the ground safely.
After loading you sit with the head tucked and the trunk maximally flexed [2]. The rest is stillness. Because there are further teammates behind you, your place is fixed. How exactly you sit in the sled is technique you learn with a coach. Note: your head stays down even if you want to see what happens. Curiosity is a risk here.
Milestone: You sit in the practised posture and stay still.
After every practice run you discuss: where was there room? Where was there contact? Who had to move aside? The sports physio literature stresses team management: integrated support from coaches, medicine and physio [2].
Milestone: You get feedback and implement an improvement on the next run.
Loading carries injury risk, and the evidence shows it. In 12 athletes over a World Cup season 1900 head acceleration events were measured, with peaks averaging about 12 g [3]. A systematic review names concussions in 13 to 18 percent of sledding athletes [4]. In Olympic data, injury rates for bobsleigh are 14 to 18 percent [2].
Have yourself filmed during loading practice and look at the sequence in slow motion with the coach. You see where you had room and where you lost time. That is coaching practice, not a study finding. It is important that filming is agreed with track management: under the IBSF rules electronic measuring devices on sleds and athletes are not allowed in training and racing (exceptions are granted by the jury); coaches' video devices beside the track are allowed if not remotely controlled or attached to the track [1].
From front to back: first the pilot, then the push athletes [2].
The IBSF rules require the bars to be fully retracted after the start. Non-compliance may be punished [1].
The studies give no times; it happens with as little loss of speed as possible [2]. You learn exact timing in training.
Bobsleigh is a risk sport: Olympic data collections name 14 to 18 percent injuries in bobsleigh [2]. So only with a coach and protective equipment.
No. You practise loading at a push track or on the track with a coach.
The Brakeman Loading: Last Into the Bob, With the Brake in Mind