The Fastest Push

My entire summer consisted of training hard and preparing for the October testing camp during which the coaches test our push start times in the Ice House.

The Canadian Skeleton team is blessed to have the Ice House in Calgary. It’s a building that contains about 200m of straight track replicating the starting portion of the Skeleton track. In the Ice House, we are able to practice our push starts all summer long when there is no ice on the outside track. The ‘push start’ consists of about 30m of sprinting, and the clock starts recording your time from the 15m mark to approximately the 50m mark.  Your ‘push’ time is determined once you pass both these timing eyes.

For this testing camp, we were required to make three attempts to push start our sleds with a time of 4:85 or better in order to be eligible to compete for a spot on the World Cup circuit.   If your push start was not 4.85 or less, you could not compete for a World Cup spot this season.  For example, if an athlete wins the Team Selection Races but did not push the ‘standard’ (4:85), s/he is not eligible to compete on the World Cup circuit.  So, to say the least, this testing day was very important!

Last season, I pushed a time of 4:86, missing the camp “standard” by 0.01. As a result, I was not eligible for any funding even though I qualified for – and competed on – the World Cup circuit. That 0.01 cost me upwards of $15,000 since I had to self-fund the World Cup circuit. I trained hard this entire off-season to ensure I wouldn’t miss the standard this time.

The Canadian National Team Push Testing Camp occurred on Oct 7, 2015. I was ready and pumped to perform and show the coaches what I was made of.  I wanted to prove not only to myself that I could run the standard, but to impress the coaches, earn my spot on the team, and claim some funding along with it.

I got called to the line, put my sled on the ice, took a deep breath and sprinted my heart out. I hopped on my sled, got to the end of the track to look up and see that I ran a 4:74!  Not only had I achieved the standard, but also I blew my personal best time out of the water!  A tenth of a second may not sound like very much, but I assure you, it is huge in the sport of Skeleton where hundredths of a second matter. After all was said and done, I had the fastest time of the day, and am currently the fastest pusher in Canada. I couldn’t be happier!

Unfortunately, we have since been advised the fee to compete on the World Cup circuit this year is $22,500 – all completely self-funded. Add in the equipment upgrades required to be competitive, this season will cost almost $30,000.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me through the off-season and cheered me on. I’ve proven that I can be competitive, but I require financial support in order to continue to compete for Canada.  If you are able to donate to my upcoming season  - or know anyone who can - please do so by clicking "donate" or contact me for further information.  Any and all support is appreciated.

The next races are the Canadian Selection Races, to determine who makes which team. These races are the 23^rd and 24^th of October in Calgary, and the 5^th and 6^th of November in Whistler. Stay tuned for my results! Thanks for the support.

Cheers!

Barrett Martineau