 to the sports playbook where we discuss solutions to issues that impact sports. I'm your host, Angela Hazelett. Today's guest is Erin McWire, the CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton, also known as USABS. Today we are gonna discuss Bobsled and Skeleton raving down the crack. Welcome Erin. Thanks, great to be here. Excited to talk with you a little bit today. Start off with some foundation though of Bobsled and Skeleton. And how would you describe these sports? How are they similar? How are they different? What can you tell us so we understand what these sports are? Well, most people know the sport of Bobsled from Cool Runnings. And so that's a great way to learn about the sport. It's a Disney movie from years ago, but it tracks the Jamaican Bobsled team, a very unlikely group of folks that took a Bobsled, got involved and competed at the Olympic Games. And so the two sports, Bobsled and Skeleton, our national governing body, USA Bobsled and Skeleton, oversees the sports in the United States, the promotion of the sports, recruiting athletes, developing athletes, and ultimately putting a team together to represent the United States at the Olympic Games. And so Bobsled, both sports are available for men and women. On the Bobsled side, for men, you've got two men and four men. And so it's a little bit like NASCAR on ice or IndyCar on ice, where you have athletes at the very start that are pushing the sled. And all the tracks around the world are roughly a mile long and it takes about a minute to get down. And the athletes, the teams are going anywhere from 70 to 80 to 90 miles an hour. And so on the men side, you have two men and four men. On the women side, you have a two woman competition, two women in the sled. And most recently, at the 2020 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, they introduced a new event called the Monobow Bob, where it's one athlete pushing the sled and getting in the sled and driving down the track. On the Skeleton side, you're not in the sled, but you're on the sled. And so athletes described as going down the track, the same track on a cafeteria tray on your belly. And so just like Bob's sled, at the very start of the track, they're pushing the sled as fast as they possibly can and getting in the track and then driving down. That's actually really interesting, the analogy of the cafeteria tray. And that's probably how a lot of people get their start as children, right? Sledding and getting that experience and then translating to a track is probably quite different. I think that's really interesting that you mentioned the athletes are traveling 70 to 90 miles an hour. That's faster than most vehicles are traveling, no seat belts involved. Tell me, what is that experience like? Well, it's an adrenaline rush every time you go down. The track itself, like I mentioned, is about a mile long. You said there's no speed seat belts and that's absolutely true. No airbag, very little cushioning. And so you have four, in my case, I had a chance to represent Team USA on the World Cup and the World Championships back in the early 2000s. And so for me, we had four big guys that are all about 220 pounds, pushing the 600 pound sled as fast as you possibly can. And then in a matter of a second or two, jumping in the sled and then getting down for aerodynamics. Wow, timing is incredible with that and coordination, lots of practice. You really have this unique perspective, as you mentioned, being one of the athletes, the former athletes on the USA National Bobsled team. You've at one point in your career have been responsible for the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center, where Bobsled and Skeleton does do some training and now the CEO of USA Bobsled and Skeleton. So in your long history with the sport, what has changed since you've been an athlete? You know, there's a lot of things that have changed, a lot of things that stayed the same. The tracks have been around for years and years and years. The sleds themselves have stayed relatively the same, although technology is a huge advancement within both the Bobsled and Skeleton sleds. And so we're talking about aerodynamics, the design of the sled, and we're talking about the runners like the blades that the sleds go down on the track. And so there's a lot of similarities between Bobsled and NASCAR or IndyCar, where you have similar specs or similar designs that you have to work within, but every country can design their own sled. And so every sled around the world is a little bit different. And so we spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel. We spent a lot of time working with engineers and designers to say, how do we take our sled and redesign it to make it faster, to make it more aerodynamic, to really give our U.S. athletes a competitive advantage against the rest of the world. And I would imagine the manufacturers of these sleds are, you probably have a limited choice, limited selection of who you can work with, right? So... That's correct. We unfortunately can't go down to the sporting goods store and pick up a Bobsled or Skeleton sled. And so there really... There aren't necessarily manufacturers in the United States. In fact, there aren't any in the United States. Back in the early 90s, a NASCAR driver, the name of Jeff Bodine, got interested in the sport of Bobsled. And he went to Lake Placid, where one of the two tracks in the United States is, and tried out a sled and went down the track. And everybody was excited because there was a NASCAR driver there. And so he went down the track and his second time down, the sled flipped. He crashed the sled and it broke. And he got out of the sled, he felt very sorry about it and said, hey, can I replace your sled? Can I buy you a new sled? And so the athletes at the time said, okay, here's the company in Germany that you can buy the sled from. And he said, no, no, I want to buy you an American sledder. And they said, well, there aren't any manufacturers. Nobody in the United States makes Bobsleds. And so that got him really involved in the sport of Bobsled and said, this is ridiculous that the United States sends a team to the Olympic Games and they're using Germany's equipment or other equipment from overseas in Europe. And so he started a project called the Bodine Project. And so he led it with some of his engineers that worked with him on the NASCAR team. And throughout the early 90s or the mid 90s and the early 2000s, designed a fleet of two-man and four-man sleds. And the U.S. had gone through a number of Olympic Games without earning a medal or without learning a gold medal. And so with his help and his team's help through the Bodine Project was able to design a sled that the U.S. team won medals and ultimately won a medal in the four-man Bobsled. And can you now say that these sleds are manufactured in the U.S. of A? We're bringing it back. We are, we are. So we were fortunate to have those sleds and be part of that project. But since that time, those sleds have, we're still using them, but the rest of the world has designed much faster sleds. And so we're now in the process of redesigning and starting a, made the USA sled project again. That's primarily based out of North Carolina, which is home for NASCAR. And so we work with a lot of partners that are based in North Carolina to be building the next generation of Bobsleds that we'll be using in 2026, the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, and then 2030. I imagine transporting the sleds are probably pretty challenging. And you get used to the sled that you're used to dealing with, used to practicing in, and how do you actually get it from one competition to the next? Yeah, it's not an inexpensive sport because the equipment's expensive. Shipping, shipping costs are extremely expensive. And so we've been fortunate to have a partner in the United States called JRC, who does all of our shipping for the team domestically. But internationally, it can be expensive. And so we get these giant containers that you'll see at shipping yards. And our athletes, one of the things that people don't necessarily know about is you think of NASCAR, IndyCar, and there's a whole pit crew that travel around with the team. And so the pilot, the driver shows up and the car's sitting there and it's ready to go and they climb in and they do their training and they do their race. For us, our athletes are the pit crew. And so they're the ones that are responsible for getting all the equipment together, loading it up into the shipping containers. And when they arrive in Europe, the first thing they do, they don't go to the hotel and sleep and get a good night's sleep. They go right to shipping and receiving. They pick up their own vans and they unload the shipping containers and unload the sleds into the trucks and they drive to the first race. They get to the first location, they unload everything unpack it, then they get their first night of sleep and they start training the next morning. I guess then they don't have to entrust the responsibility for the care for getting it from the shipping destination to the venue, the race venue. So you mentioned technology is one of the things that maybe has improved since you were an athlete, but you've also, your sport and everyone in the world have gone through the COVID-19 pandemic. And I know you took the helmet as the CEO of USA, Bob Slutton Skeleton, right about that time. And you had to spend some athletes to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games under some strict COVID protocols. You mentioned kind of going to Mono. Mono Bob is one of the options of what happened during the pandemic, but talk to me about the biggest challenges navigating through COVID. Yeah, you're right. I started during COVID and this is a time that obviously nobody expected it. And so it was a challenge for everybody, but coming into a new role, learning the new role, understand the organization was certainly a challenge. And so one of the challenges that really presented itself was, how do we continue to raise awareness of the sport and recruit new athletes? Because most people know about the sports, Bob Slutton Skeleton during the games, but they don't necessarily think about it during the off years. And we'll often have folks come up to us Olympic year and say, oh, is the Bob Slut team starting to train? And I'm thinking, oh, they've been trained for the last four years or eight years. And it's a full-time commitment for the athletes and the coaches and for the organization. So we're working on it every day, 365 days a year. And so we knew that we had to bring new talent into the program. We knew that we had to identify athletes and so we couldn't just stop our recruiting efforts. And so historically, we would travel around the United States and host combines similar to the NFL where we invite athletes to come out, they do a series of tests, springs, jumps, really testing tower speed and explosive athleticism. And those are really the key elements of both Bob Slutton Skeleton. And so we looked at some different platforms that were out there, looked at some potential partners and connected with one that was called GMTM Game Time. And at the time, they were doing online recruiting for the sport of football, where athletes could upload a profile, upload videos for football and they could have scouts look at those football, potential football athletes. And so we had the idea of working with them is let's take the same platform and apply it to the sport of Bob Slutton Skeleton. And so when faced with COVID, we were able to take what we had traditionally done in person and make it virtual. And that really opened up a lot of doors and a lot of opportunities for athletes, no matter where they lived. And you often think, oh, you know, there's two tracks in the United States, Lake Plast in New York and Park City, Utah. So all the athletes are from those two locations. Well, the reality is most athletes that come into the sport of Bob Slutton Skeleton actually did a different sport beforehand. Nobody really grows up being a Bob Slutton. You know, very few athletes grow up being a Skeleton athlete. Most of them played football or ran track and field or played volleyball, played baseball. And they did it throughout high school and many went on and competed at the university level. And so a lot of the athletes that we work with were training for the sport of Bob Slutton Skeleton their entire life and they don't necessarily even realize it. And so by being able to push out the virtual combine, we had athletes all over the country applying and we were able to assess what their background was, where they were as an athlete, what kind of training. And then eventually, once we were able to get back in person, start training in person, they were able to attend the training camps and become part of the team. And you're kind of recruiting people from other sports. There's not really this grassroots program that people are growing up participating in the sport. So other than like the physical attributes that you mentioned or the power and physical things that you're looking for in your combine competitions, what other backgrounds have lent the success for athletes? What else have you looked for in recruiting athletes? Well, for our push athletes, I mean, those are the powerhouse athletes of the Bob Slut team. I mean, the start, there's really three components to being successful in the sport of Bob Slut, the start, the technology which we talked about and the ability to drive a sled down the track. And the difference between first and second place or first and third place is 10th of a second, sometimes 100th of a second. So a little bit of the aerodynamics, 10th of a faster start time or a better track down the runway has an impact on whether you're getting a medal or not. And so for our push athletes, we're definitely looking for big, strong, fast athletes for our pilots that drive the sled going down. And a lot of times people say, oh, you just kind of sit in and it's like sledding when I was a kid. You just sit in and just go down for the ride. There's a lot more to it. And especially for our pilot because they've got to know every single track around the world and they're all different. They got another number of turns. They turn left, do they turn right? When do you come into a turn? When do you come out? And so we have had some success with downhill ski racers making that transition because they understand curves, they understand going around turns, they understand getting apexes within those curves. And so we've had some downhill ski racers that have gone into Bob Slut and Skeleton and been very successful in win medals at the Olympic Games. And what about for the sport of skeleton? Is there a certain type of athlete that has come from a different sport that has been found to be successful? Well, Skeleton athletes come from a lot of different sports as well. But the same components are just as important. So the start, the technology of the sled and being able to steer. It's an individual sport. So a lot of athletes that get into Skeleton have a track and field background because they're used to that individual sport. And then you gotta be willing to take on some thrills because unlike Bob Slut, you're laying on your belly and you're going head first down the track. And so we've got some athletes that come out to the track for both Bob Slut and Skeleton. They do it the first time. And some athletes say, how can I get back to the top of the track as quickly as possible to do that again? And we have other athletes that say, how can I get back to the airport to go home as quickly as possible? It's a defining moment. It really is. It really is. So those at the bottom of the track are thrilled and you can see it light up on their face. Those are the ones that will be in the sport for a while. And for those who stick with it, mental health is a really important piece of the puzzle while they're training. Like you mentioned, sometimes the public at large tend to forget about the sport without the Olympics approaching and talk to me about mental health of athletes while they're training and then of course, once they retire and leave the sport. Yeah, so mental health is very important just like all sports there. And you're right. For three of the four years, we're primarily under the radar. Now, we'd like it to be front and center and we promote ourselves and promote the athletes and the team and the sports as often as possible. But like most sports, athletes have defining moments within their careers. Injury is a big one. End of the season is another. And then at the end of their career, that's a challenge as well. And so during each of those times, athletes will kind of be asking themselves and looking inward to say, is this during injuries in the end of the season, this thing that I want to continue and how they bounce back after those two times in their athletic career really have an impact on who they end up being as a person and how they handle that transition. And so you think about an athlete who, like I mentioned, it's a full-time commitment. And so their identity is wrapped up a lot of times in what they do and being a boss that are skeleton athlete and trying to be the best in the world. And so for many of our athletes, we're during the off season, we're encouraging them to get out and do a lot and have friendships, spend time with family, take up hobbies, because that does help with those transition times. And then one of the things that we've done as an organization, and this is one of the things that we've heard a lot of feedback from athletes. And it's a difficult one for all sports. And that's that retirement or that transition of being an athlete to kind of life after being an athlete, whether that becomes, you become a parent or you start a new career, you start your professional career or get into coaching or stay within the sport, it's a challenge. And so one of the things that we've recognized or that we know helps out a lot is really recognizing the athletes themselves and what they put into the sport. And while we recognize and we know that not all athletes can be Olympic medalists, we know that all athletes can take something positive from the sport. And we work with the athletes and a lot of times you'll talk to an athlete and you say, well, what did you learn while you were a bobsledder? And they say, well, I learned how to flip sleds, I learned how to sand runners, I learned how to push a sled, how to go down a track. The technical pieces. Yeah, absolutely. And I hear what you're saying, but what I hear is that you learn hard work, work ethic, you learn a technical skill of flipping a sled or driving a sled. You learn how to work as a team, you learn how to set goals. And those are all qualities, those are all skills that no matter what you get into after being an athlete, you can take and apply to being successful as a parent, being successful as in your professional career, being successful as a coach. And so it's reframing that and talking about those positives that can set you up for success. You mentioned being a competitor in the early 2000s, did you have the same kind of support and guidance to help you transition from the sport? You know, I was fortunate that I made a quick transition from being an athlete to working at USA Track and Field. And so I didn't have a whole lot of downtime in between. And so that helped out with my transition. But one of the things, that we really like to do is recognize those athletes, thank them for their commitment, their involvement in the sport. And then we're fortunate to have a great alumni system of athletes that were sliders, dating back to the 80s and 90s. And so what we try and do is present opportunities for those folks to get together, talk about their experiences, relive some of the glory days and tell some of the stories and share that and provide some resources for athletes to help with that transition. Kind of like the reunion centers that they have at the Olympics. Now I know, I know there's not a lot of places where athletes can actually get on a track and train in the United States. And climate change is threatening the future of your sport, including the Winter Olympics. There was an article in NPR that talks about how most of the places that have recently held the Winter Olympic Games in the future and up into the 2080s may not even have the right climate to host the Winter Olympics in the future. So talk to me about climate change and the conditions and how are you all planning and preparing for what's happening with global warming and climate change? Yeah, unfortunately, climate change is having a negative impact on winter sports and you think about much more broadly than Bobsled and Skeleton. You're talking about the Winter Olympic Games and downhill skiing and all those outdoor sports. And so you're absolutely right, the IOC is taking a look at where venues have been placed and where host countries have been. And they are recognizing that some are falling into a place where their winners are so short that they're either unpredictable or just not sustainable. And we're fortunate in the United States with the two cities who have hosted Winter Games in the past, Park City and Lake Placid to be northern enough that they're not in that danger zone just yet. But the IOC and the Olympic movement is looking at how do we ensure sustainability within the sports? One of the things that they're looking at is as opposed to continuing to add new cities to host Winter Olympic Games because the cost is certainly a, so that they have to think about as well, but to limit the number of locations around the world. And they essentially move into a rotation where every four years one of those four to five cities hosts those Winter Games and ensure that there are an elevation that's sustainable for the future. For us specifically, one of the things that we've had to do is take a look at when do we start our season? And in the past, we started it early October and now we're starting to shift that back later into, later October, early November and shift the season back. Fortunately, we haven't had to shorten the season yet and hopefully we don't have to get to that point, but we're definitely shifting it throughout the year. Would the future potentially be training in other countries because there may not just not be the seasons too short for athletes to get enough time and practice on the tracks? What do you foresee changing in the future? Well, I'd say for us, we are prepared for the future. We're fortunate that the area around Lake Placid, the state of New York has invested funds into Lake Placid and the legacy of those facilities and they built what's called an indoor ice push track. And it's an indoor freezer about 100 yards long that replicates the start of a bobsled or skeleton track. And so that allows athletes to train on ice year round. And so we have athletes in June, July, August that are pushing bobsled and skeleton sleds on ice in Lake Placid. And that's good for practice, right? But they can't get a full run. You can't have a full competition in that indoor type of environment. Do you see the sport of bobsled and skeleton moving to an indoor option? Or do you potentially see the sport becoming more of a summer sport where there's a set of ice or using just a track and maybe wheels or something of that nature? Potentially, we're not there yet. And I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a giant like hamster tunnel of a mile long track that's refrigerated. So I think the cost could be prohibitive there. But I like what you were thinking there, but hopefully we don't have to go there any time soon. I think as a first step, we would have to reconsider and potentially shorten the season. Right now we have eight World Cup races with a World Championships or an Olympic Games at the end of the season. We may have to shorten that season, but hopefully we get this climate, climate change under control before that happens. Optimistic about the future there. Talk to me about optimism for Parabob sled. I know that's one of the sports that you sponsor. It's for athletes with disabilities, but it's not yet recognized as an Olympic sport. So talk to me about the future of Parabob sled. Yeah, we've been fortunate. We've got some, we were one of the first countries to push for Parabob where we have Paralympic athletes in Bobsleds. And it's a really cool sport because they sit in the sled, all the sleds are the same. And they had this mechanical arm that pushes the sled to very start. So every athlete gets the same start, same equipment and it all comes down to driving. And so it's the best pilot wins the competition. And so right now we compete with a number of other countries around the world. And we're all pushing for Parabob to be part of the Paralympics. And it's not there yet, but we're hopeful that it will be coming up soon in the Paralympics. Do you recruit athletes the same way for Bobsled and Parabob sled? We do. And so a lot of times it's word of mouth. So you have one Parabob athlete, Parabob athlete who has a great time and they reach out to their friends, hey, yeah, check this out. And so they're recruiting not necessarily athletes who have come from other sports. Some of them have. We've got some athletes who have competed in multiple Paralympics, but in other sports who are highly competitive in Parabob. But we are looking for athletes who are interested. And again, we'll take that trip down the track, go on 80, 90 miles an hour and say, how fast can I get back to the top of the track? Sounds awesome. Well, good luck with the future development of Parabob. And thanks for your time today and sharing with us about Bobsled and Skeleton and racing down the track. I appreciate your time, Erin. Well, great. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Thank you to our viewers for joining us today on the Sports Playbook. Our next episode will be Winky Day who will discuss the sport of dragon boat racing. We will see you then. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please click the like and subscribe button on YouTube. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our website, thinktechawaii.com. Mahalo.