The Luge
The origins of luge go way back to 800 A.D. when we find evidence of the luge being used in Norway, near Oslo, as a means of transportation and also a toy. We can bet that although there is no evidence to prove it, they raced their luges too.
Today a luge is small one or two person sleigh on which the person sleighs face-up and feet-first. Steering is performed by pulling straps attached to the sled's runners to flex them. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleighs to achieve the fastest time. The rules are fairly simple: the course is timed, and the athlete must depart from the start handles within a certain time, once the track is declared clear; the athlete is required to arrive at the finish with the luge - failing to do so means automatic disqualification; oddly enough athletes not disqualified if they stop during a run and continue their descent, with a push, after repositioning the sled on the track.
As in bobsleigh, there are weight restrictions on the sleds, as well as restrictions on the design and construction. The 'steels', which are the metal blades on the bottom of the runners on which the sled slides, must be within a certain temperature range relative to the air temperature to ensure they neither stick to, nor melt the ice.
There are also weight restrictions on the athletes, as well as many other constraints on the form and weight of equipment including speed-suits, boots, helmets, gloves and boot spikes.
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