I got side tracked last post and went off on a personal story from my past. I have other Olympic stories but they will wait for a later day. Anyway, if any of you had been paying attention you know where the fibt comes from. I know I want to do a little piece about bob sleighs but the fibt part may just be riling you, so . . . .
FIBT is the worldwide governing body for all the sports in the bob sleigh style. It stands for International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (whose abbreviation is actually IBTF) Makes no sense. So . . . it stands for Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. Established in Paris, France in 1923 and yes, that's French.
The bob sleigh hales from Switzerland around 1897. Basically 2 toboggans bolted together end to end riders crouched down and blasted over the icey streets of St. Moritz. Refinements to the sleighs and dedicated tracks of ice gradually replaced crazy Swiss wizzing past horse drawn carriages. The name bob sleigh refers to the back and forth bobbing of the riders as they tried to squeeze every ounce of speed out of the steeds. The bobbing didn't do shit for speed but the name stuck. Once customs sleighs and tracks showed a governing body came into existence, the FIBT.
The 4 man bob sleigh debuted at the 1924 Winter Olympics where the Swiss won gold. Surprise. After that the format moved around from 6 man crews with 1 women member, back to 4 and then 2 and 4.
Wooden sleighs remained the norm until the 50's when molded fiberglass and steel rails took over. They are most like the sleighs we see now. A very old winter sport it remains one that has the enduring appeal rivaling the most "extreme" modern sports. Not for the faint hearted its been described as the "champagne of thrills".
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