New female bobsleigh weight restrictions expected to attract smaller athletes

Kaillie Humphries, foreground, and Heather Moyse of Canada start their first run of the two-woman Bobsled World Cup race in Koenigssee, southern Germany, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. (AP / Matthias Schrader)

The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) will reduce the maximum sled weight for two-woman competitions for the upcoming season, and further reduce the weight prior to the 2016-2017 season, in an attempt to ‘level the competition among nations’.

According to the IBSF, the current maximum sled weight of 340 kg (sleigh and crew) will be reduced by 15 kg to 325 kg for the 2015-2016 season. A reduction in the minimum weight of sleighs will account for five kilograms of the change (minimum weight reduced from 170 kg to 165 kg), while the combined weight of the two-woman crew must not exceed 160 kg (353 lbs).

In 2016-2017, further weight reductions will include:

The new weight restrictions are expected to draw women from a wider range of body types to the sport.

Quin Sekulich, lead strength and conditioning coach for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, believes the changes to the sport will help in the recruitment of Canadian girls who are fast on their feet but weigh less than the prototypical bobsleigh athlete.

Two time Olympic gold medallist Kaillie Humphries hopes the changes will increase the level of bobsleigh competition and get more women competing in the sport.

Humphries says lighter sleds are susceptible to skidding and sliding and will present new challenges for pilots.

Not everyone is applauding the move.

Paula Walker, a retired British bobsledder and former Olympian, criticized the move on social media stating many quality bobsleigh athletes will be left out in the cold in an effort to accommodate athletes from other sports (track and field).

Walker, who retired in 2014 from a bobsleigh career that lasted eight years, says she would not have been able to compete under these new restrictions.