Luge - Gloves

LUGE is one of the fastest sliding sport performed in the Winter Olympics. This sport always mesmerizes every person in the audience and leaves a mind-blowing impression on them.

The Luge Track is either natural or artificial. The average track length is about 1.5 km long, with several turns over the sheer ice.

Luge is also a dangerous sport as it requires a speed of 125 kilometers per hour to travel down the ice.  Therefore, it becomes even more necessary to use proper equipment as standardized by the International Luge Federation.

The equipment used in this sport includes sled, helmet, speed suit, shoes, and gloves.

Why are gloves so necessary in Luge?

As we know, Luge is one of the fastest sports, and it is the athlete’s race against the clock. This sport is measured to a thousandth of a second (millisecond). The glove is also the game changer as Athletes wear gloves in their hands to increase the initial speed by gripping the ice with spikes on them. In this way, an Athlete covers six meters within three seconds which in itself is a great start.

Luge Gloves Specialty: The racing gloves specialized for Luge are designed to give a firm fitting to the athlete’s hands and provide comfort.

Material Used: The materials used for manufacturing these gloves are of thin quality, ideally leather with minor stretching properties.

Parts of Luge Gloves:

Spikes: The spikes used in these gloves are usually hardened steel and are added to provide maximum grip while paddling on the start. The spikes used in the luge gloves are 5 mm or 0.196 inches (maximum). 

Fingertips: Spikes are taped to the three extended fingers (the Index finger, Middle finger and Ring finger) on each glove to increase the grip.

Palm: The palm area is the primary contact point which is extra padded to add comfort to the athlete while gripping the sled.

Cuff: It is that part of the glove that covers the wrist and prevents it from abrasion.

Velcro Grip: This Velcro grip fastens the tight-to-fit elastic present at the end of the cuff.

Standard Luge Gloves Specifications:

According to the International Luge Regulations, here are the gloves specifications:

• The material of the gloves must conform to the body contour of the athlete.
• The length of the spikes should be a maximum of 5 mm, measured on the axis.
• The fastener of individual spikes must have an edge of a minimum of 2 mm on three sides.