FIL Summer Luge Tour inspires in Estonia, Finland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland
Triesenberg (FIL/30 Aug 2024) As part of the FIL Development Program, a successful summer luge tour through Estonia, Finland and Liechtenstein took place in August 2024, in which athletes from Switzerland also took part. The tour, which was held on wheeled sleds, offered young sports enthusiasts the opportunity to experience the sport of luge up close.
The FIL Summer Tour was accompanied by Fred Zimny, Director of the FIL Development Program, and FIL coach Bogdan Macovei, who organized taster sessions at each stop.
The tour kicked off on Saturday, August 17, in Estonia with a FIL Luge Day, which was very well received. The team then spent two days in Finland, where more than 100 young athletes demonstrated their skills on the summer luge sleds on the very first day. FIL President Einars Fogelis, who did not miss out on the visit to Finland, was delighted: “By the end of the second day in Finland, we had let almost 300 children experience the sport of luge. It was a great experience and a lot of fun.”
The finale of the Summer Luge Tour took place on August 23 and 24 in Triesenberg (Liechtenstein), where children from Switzerland and Liechtenstein were able to take part in the taster luge. The long-time head coach Wolfgang Schädler, who was a coach in the USA, Russia and China after his active career, had built a start ramp for the luge sleds with his club, which was used during training.
The Triesenberg Luge Club, the second oldest winter sports club in Liechtenstein, was recently taken over by new sports officials and Wolfgang Schädler was elected club president. “Our luge club has been around for 66 years and used to be very active. Little has been done in recent years. My father was a founding member of the club and I firmly believe that we need to become more active again and can be successful in the long term,” said Schädler. He added that the club has already held several events and the response has been very positive. “The children had a lot of fun and we hope that we can motivate some of them through the start and roller training to start luge on ice in Bludenz (Austria) in the fall,” he reported enthusiastically.
The FIL Summer Luge Tour was a great success and an important step towards promoting the sport of luge in developing countries. The cooperation with committed clubs such as the Triesenberg Luge Club shows that the sport will continue to have a strong basis in the future.