Oberlin on the Olympics

Although the Olympic games in Nagano are far away, traveling just a few miles (or more than a few) can bring you that much closer to the ice and blades of the Winter Olympic sports. Here is a look at a few ways you too could train to be an Olympian from an Oberlin base camp.

The highest point in Ohio is 1,550-feet above sea level. The lowest point is 433 feet. Do the math and get 1,117 feet total elevation difference. Slalom racers need pitch, and pitch is what Ohio ain't got.

"There is no place in Ohio where an Olympic skier could train," Men's soccer coach Chris Barker said. Barker is an avid skier who sponsored the skiing Winter Term project this year. "Most train out west," he said.

According to Barker, Slalom and Giant Slalom (GS) courses need a good pitch. The steeper the slope, the faster the racers can go, which is the object of the game.

The GS is about 10 gates longer than a slalom race and is even more inhibited by Ohio's small hills.

Barker said Stowe, Vermont was a popular ski area for Ohio skiers. Scott Griffith who works at an inn near Stowe, said they get some Ohio customers but, "it is a low percentage. Most of our market is Boston and New York," he said.

Some selected Ohio ski areas include Snowtail in Mansfield, OH. Its vertical is a stunning 300 feet. Mad River Mountain is truly mad, matching Snowtail in vertical feet, but Alpine Valley in Chesterland stacks with only a 240 foot drop.

Skating in its purest form. Competitors race on a 400m oval track in distances ranging from 500m to 10,000m. Speed skaters rely on raw power from their legs to propel them across the ice. Subsequently, speed skaters have massive, tree-trunk type legs. This sport does not require the strategy of short track skating, nor the artistry of figure skating, but relies on the skaters endurance and might. .

Senior Joe Friedman has some experience in speed skating. "I won a few races back in the day," said Friedman. Unfortunately, Friedman did not stick with the sport long enough to reach the international level. "I love to skate, I only stopped because I knocked all my front teeth out," said Friedman.

The casual spectator might confuse this event with speed skating, but that label would gravely underestimate this sport.

In short track, 4-6 skaters compete on a 111.12m oval. . Short track can be very physical as skaters jockey for position on the ice, through tight corners.

Competitors wear helmets,and padding due to the physical aspect of the sport. Short track skaters rely upon strategy more than athleticism. Skaters study opponent's characteristics before each race, and rely on their wits rather than speed.

With the contestants competing in a tight pack, this sport somewhat resembles a roller-derby.

Representing the United States as a member of the 1,000m relay team will be Cleveland resident Scott Koons.

A spicy element of drama presents itself in figure skating, amidst the athletic ability and artistry of the participants. Barring the random attacks in this sport, contestants compete in four different competitions, including pairs, ice dancing, and lady's and men's singles. This sport can sometimes be marred by officials, as it is a judged event. More so than any other sport, the athlete's personality reveals itself in through their artistic expression, and choice of music and attire. This results in head to head contest, as personalities clash on the ice, and broadcasters trump up the rivalries.

At the turn of the century Ohio will get a close-up look at figure skating. The figure skating world championships will be held at Cleveland's Gund Arena in the year 2000. Sophomore Rebecca Egeland is no stranger to figure skating. She won four championships at the junior level in Pennsylvania. "I started training when I was seven, and I did it till I was 13, when I tore my knee apart," said Egeland. Egeland does not compete anymore, but channels her skating knowledge into education. She is currently teaching an ExCo on ice skating.

The average Oberlin student can skate at Williams Ice Rink.

Men's ice hockey should prove to be an exciting showcase of talent, as professional NHL hockey players play in the Olympics for the first time.

The North American players may have trouble adjusting to the larger ice surface, which will favor the savvy European skaters. The tournament sports no clear favorite, which should make for some amazing games. Sweden won gold in the1994 Winter Olympics, and features highly skilled players like NHL scoring leader Peter Forsberg.

The United States will also put the gold medallions. The last time these powerhouse hockey countries dueled was in the World Championships in 1996.

Another first will also occur in Nagano: women's ice hockey will make its Olympic debut. The one striking difference between women's and men's ice hockey is that virtually no checking takes place in women's games.

Oberlin is no stranger to the game of hockey. The OC Plague have been spreading their disease at Williams Ice Rink for years.This player run squad always puts up a good fight. Flocking all over the ice in a ballet of blood and brute force, the Plague play with pride for Oberlin.

So you still haven't luged? Neither has the president of the Adirondack Luge Club.

"My daughter tried it," said Carolee Heller, club president. "It's not such a mainstream sport."

Heller isn't kidding. The faithful few who are willing to pour themselves into bodysuits and glide feet first down an icy course are forced to travel thousands of miles to the closest luge track.

"Lots of people come up here to Lake Placid just to try it," Heller said. Although the track in Lake Placid was constructed for the Olympics, it's now used by junior high athletes, Olympians in training and middle-aged rookies alike.

Although Heller concedes that learning to maeneuver the meandering course can be tough, luging can be addictive.

"Some people give up their careers and do it every day," Heller said.

Lake Placid is the nearest luge course to Oberlin.Call (518)523-2071 for more information.

Trudging through 12 miles of knee deep snow drifts might make a man want to shoot himself. Fred Minnick shoots at targets instead.

Minnick, a resident of National Mine, Michigan, is an avid fan of the sport that is often singled out as one of the Olympics' most bizarre offerings. Biathalon, an intriguing combination of cross-country skiing and marksmanship, is the steeplechase of the Winter Games.

"Biathalon has two big problems," Minnick said. "It's hard to find a range, and you can't get by with a cheap rifle."

The biathalon was once a glorious event. During the second World War, Finland held off the Russians by cloaking their biathletes in white and sending them to the front.

Minnick said military men still make the best biathletes.

"They know the proper way to fire the rifle," Minnick said. "I've seen hunters try the biathalon, and a lot of them are pretty pathetic. They can't ski."

The skiing component of the biathalon is no walk in the park.

"It's the most aerobic sport there is," Minnick said, "and then you add the rifle. You don't want to fall with the rifle on."

Minnick practices at the National Mine Biathalon Area. Most cross country skiing areas don't take kindly to skiers with guns.

"You've got to have a range where you can shoot," Minnick said. "You need officers, and you need a licence."

You don't need a gun. Most rookies can borrow a rifle at the course.

"It's not as hard as you'd think," Minnick said.

The National Mine Biathalon Area is the closest biathalon area to Oberlin. Call (906)485-1029 for more information.

Granite rocks can be used for sidewalks, or they can be played with on slidewalks. In curling, the latter is preferred.

The vertical requriments of most Olympic Sports prevent most Ohioans from becoming true pros at downhill skiing. Despite this hinderence, though, the flat-lands can enjoy some fame in the way of winter sports.

Curling brings Oberlin that much closer. Shaker Heights is home to one of the few curling facilities in the region, and its rarity is no wonder.

According to vetran Curler Stuart Hays of Cleveland, a set of granite Curling stones costs upward of $4000. In addition to the stones, curling requires special ice preparation, special shoes and brooms.

"The granite comes from one of two special quarries in Scotland. One does not exist anymore," Hays said.

Today, stones have to be repaired rather than replaced because of their scarcity.

The ice preparation is extensive. Pebbling, for example, is a process by which ice dropplets are spread along the ice and then smoothed. Normally, ice is prepared with a Zamboni, but Zambonis leave a large enough groove in the ice to affect the stone's slide.

For a smooth enough surface, an ice cutter is required. Shaker Heights Ice Club uses a Zamboni, though because its ice is not dedicated soley to curling.

It is estimated that the sport of curling dates back to 1511, but it became an official Olympic sport only this year. Despite its increased attention, Hays has seen the number of curlers at his club decline.

He attributed this decline to the high cost of equipment, competition for ice time and the hectic pace of life today.

"It'll grow again," he said reassuringly.

"If you don't curl, you're going to think you're having the same fun at the post office putting mail in the box," Hays said. "But there is a tremendous amount of strategy. Once you curl, you see, 'oh yes, I know what's going on.'"

To become a curler, just call the Cleveland Skating Club at (216) 791-2800 and keep your Wednesday nights free.

Ski jumping is a crazy sport. At least that's what people from Ohio might say if they had to travel the 10 hours to the nearest ski jump. Lake Placid, New York, houses the closest ski jumping facility to Oberlin, and according to media representatives at the White Mountain, not many Ohioans pay visits.

Lake Placid is one of three U.S. Olympic Training centers, thus its facilities are state-of-the-art. Most of its customer base is originally from the New York/New England area and if one is potential Olympic material she moves to either Lake Placid or Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Ski jumpers can sail up to over 125 meters on some jumps if the wind is right. But most Ohio ski areas aren't quite that long.

You can now race down a bobsled track at 80 miles an hour. You can now feel the bugs in your teeth and the slush in your face. You can now experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. But at $125 a minute, reservations are going fast.

"We have very, very, very limited availablity," Michelle Gleich of Utah's Winter Sports Park in Salt Lake City said. Gleich accepts amateur reservations in October.

"If you miss it, you're out of luck," Gleich said.

Bobsleds come in both the two- and four-man variety. Dressed in protective suits and helmets, teams of bobledders glide down the track.

"It's a very physically demanding sport," Gleich said. "You have the g-force."

Rookies unaccustomed to the g-force are sandwiched between two professional bobsledders. The braker and driver in every sled are Olympic veterans.

"No one's ever gotten hurt," Gleich boasted.

The track in Salt Lake City is one of only three artifical ice tracks in the Western hempishere. Gleich claims it's the mecca of serious sledders.

"It's the newest, best and fastest track in the world," Gleich said.

Before buying a bobsled, measure the distance to Salt Lake City. Utah's Winter Sports Park is the closest course to Oberlin. For more information, call (435)658-4200.

The glamour sport of the Winter Olympics: Downhill skiing.

In downhill racers are in a tuck for most of the race, reach speeds of up to 75 miles per hour and soar over 300 feet in the air off knolls. All this on a 2.9 km course which takes about two minutes to complete.

CBS webpage states: "The Downhill stakes its reputation on speed and danger."

Junior Liz Churchill raced competitively from age six to fourteen.

"I got knocked out once," Churchill says describing her fall on a downhill once. She got up not realizing that she had been down for over a minute, and continued down the course until a gate keeper forced her off the course.

"When I got older all my friends started busting their knees," Churchill said. "Then I decided I didn't want to do it any more."

In Nagano, cross country skiers took 40-50 minutes to complete the 10 km course. The athletes were in top shape, yet many of them collapsed in the snow after they came to the finish line.

Cross country skiing is not for the faint of heart. Hearty souls in Oberlin can try out their skis at the Oberlin Golf Course, provided it's covered with snow and no one is watching. The nearest official cross country ski area is the Bunker Hill Golf Course in Medina.

Oberlin's Winter Olympics connections may be non-existent, but we have had some representatives perform in the Summer Olympics. According to College Archivist, Kenneth Grossi, Dan Kinsey OC '35 won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics. President of the College W. E. Stevenson also brought a gold medal home that year as part of a relay team. Kinsey was the son of Alfred Kinsey who started the sexual revolution with his studies on adolescent sexuality.

Tommi Smith won a gold medal in 1968 for the 200 meter dash, but made greater Olympic history when he and a fellow team-member made a Black Panther salute in protest. Smith was the Assistant Athletic Director at Oberlin and taught in the Physical Education Department.

For more information on the Winter Olympics of 1998, go to CBS Sportsline.