BOBSLEIGH AND SKELETON are two winter sports not normally associated with Ireland but, in 1992, the tricolour was represented on the slopes for the first time with a four-man bobsleigh squad.

Since then, the Olympic Council of Ireland has backed a number of teams and individuals sliding down the ice, training talented athletes from rowing and athletics backgrounds in the icy disciplines.

For the 2022 Games, the Irish Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association are widening their nets and looking for talented athletes from any sporting background, such as rugby or GAA, to apply as a lot of the physical attributes transfer well across.

“You can get cut from a rugby academy and you’re still a top-class athlete. We would love to get that person”, says Simon Linscheid, recruitment officer for the Irish Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association.

Linscheid, who competed in the bobsleigh himself at the 1998 Winter Olympics, is on the lookout for both men and women to apply for the squad but has a particular focus on developing female athletes to take part in bobsleigh, skeleton and monobob – a new female-focused event being introduced in the 2022 Games.

Although training for winter sports in Ireland can be a challenge, parts of the discipline can be recreated without ice. The successful athletes will train using a bobsleigh on wheels and custom-built skeleton track at home, before getting driving experience on tracks around the world.

We visited the open tryouts in Abbotstown this week, where a number of athletes put themselves forward for consideration.

Further tryouts will be held at later dates, according to Linscheid. Anybody that’s interested in putting themselves forward for consideration can get in touch with the association through the contact details on their website.