Bobsleigh
Origins

Although sledding on snow or ice had long been popular in many northern countries, the origins of bobsleighing as a modern sport are relatively recent.

It developed after hotelier Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) convinced some wealthy English regular guests to remain through the entire winter at his hotel in the mineral spa town of St. Moritz, Switzerland. He had been frustrated that his hotel was only busy during the summer months. By keeping his guests entertained with food, alcohol and activities, he quickly established the concept of "winter resorting". Within a few years, wintering at Badrutt's St. Moritz hotel became very fashionable in Victorian Britain. However, with increased numbers this led some guests to search for new diversions. In the early 1870s some adventurous Englishmen began adapting boys' delivery sleds for recreational purposes.

However, when they began colliding with pedestrians in the icy lanes, alleyways and roads of St. Moritz, this led to the invention of "steering means" for the sleds. The basic bobsleigh (bobsled) consisted of two crestas (skeleton sleds) attached together with a board that had a steering mechanism at the front. The ability to steer meant the sleds could make longer runs through the town. Longer runs also meant higher speeds on curves. Local sentiment about these informal competitions varied, but eventually complaints grew so vociferous that Badrutt had to do something. His solution, in the late 1870s, was to build a basic natural-ice run for his guests outside the town near the small hamlet named Cresta. He took action because he did not want to make enemies in the town, and he had worked hard and invested a lot of time and money in popularizing wintering in St. Moritz, so he was not going to let boredom induce customers not to visit the area.
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