When the bob tips, preparation and posture help. What IBSF rules and Whistler data say and why there is no self-study guide for the real thing.
A crash in the bob is not an exception that can be excluded. The clinical literature puts it soberly: through the combination of speed and navigation on a curved, icy track, sled crashes in all three sliding sports are a realistic probability [2]. The honest answer to "What do I do when it tips?": you have hardly any time to decide, so your preparation decides.
The IBSF rules give you a clear basis. Athletes must have a hold in the sled in a crash, so every bob needs sufficient hand holds [1]. And: after a crash the whole crew must cross the finish line together with the sled; if the sled stops before, the crew is disqualified, help from third parties is not allowed [1].
What the figures say: at the Whistler Sliding Centre the overall injury rate in four years and more than 43,200 runs was 0.5 percent of runs, severe injuries under 0.1 percent. With more experience injury frequency fell, and the most severe accident, a fatal one, was the result of being thrown out of the track [4]. The clinical literature adds: in bob crashes there is a possibility that athletes are ejected and lose contact with the sled further up the track [2].
Staying in the sled is the task. Everything else follows from that.
Entry criteria (practice standard):
Because a crash comes suddenly, everything is preparation: posture, hand holds, helmet, equipment [1][2]. With a secure seat and firm hold the crew has the best chance of staying in the sled. (practice; the rules demand hand holds [1])
Milestone: You find the hand holds in the dark and with gloves.
The crouched seated posture with head tucked and trunk flexed is the posture of the push athletes in the sled [2]. In a crash you do not abandon it to see what happens. How exactly you behave when tipping is content of the track induction and emergency training, not of this guide.
Milestone: You know the posture and take it at once.
The risk of leaving the sled is real [2][4]. That is the reason hand holds are in the rules [1]. A bobsleigh track is no place for tests of courage. Whoever overestimates himself in training endangers not only himself but the whole crew, because a bob moves as a system. Voice uncertainties before the run, not after.
Milestone: You explain why being ejected is a real risk.
Under the rules the crew must cross the finish line with the sled [1]. That is a competition rule. It does not replace a safety decision: if someone is injured, health comes before scoring. Track management and rescue teams decide. (practice)
Milestone: You know the rule and know that health comes before scoring.
After a crash you wait for rescue and follow instructions. A moving sled is a danger to helpers and athletes, which is why medics watch the movement and position of the sled in the track [2]. If a neck or back injury is suspected the spine is immobilised before anyone is moved [2]. Report any dizziness; concussions affect 13 to 18 percent of sledding athletes per a review [3].
Milestone: You know the emergency procedures and report symptoms at once.
Do an emergency check before every season with the track and the team: who is where? How is recovery organised? Who has the track emergency number? The literature names as standard that medical teams stand ready at various points along the track so that care is prompt [2]. Knowing these teams are there brings calm. Also ask how the track interrupts the run in a crash and how you behave as a team when sleds are still coming after you. (practice)
The crew should get to the finish with the sled; help from third parties is not allowed in competition [1]. In practice health comes before scoring.
At the Whistler Sliding Centre in four years 0.5 percent of runs, severe injuries under 0.1 percent [4].
The sources name it as a real risk with a fatal case in Whistler [4], but no frequency by position.
A full-face helmet to ECE, OKM or DOT [1], a Kevlar vest against ice burns and a race suit [2].
Only in the track induction and emergency training with a coach.
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