From Professional Rugby to Amateur Skeleton Racing, ENS Talks to Bill Calcraft
It
is often said that if you are good at one sport, the chances are that
you can turn your hand to most. This adage has been proved true on
numerous occasions - Formula 1 driver, Jenson Button, is also a fine
triathlete, Ian Botham is often remembered for his services to English
cricket but Scunthorpe United also valued him as a defender, while All
Black Jeff Wilson went on to pursue a fine cricketing career.
As ENS works extensively in not only Football PR but also Cricket PR we decided to research further...
One
of the less well-known sporting transitions has been that of London
based former Wallaby, Bill Calcraft,who reckons he is one of the fastest
Australians on a bob skeleton. Bill does smile and admit that at the
last count there were very few male Australians in the world who could
ride a skeleton. ENS asked Bill about his snowy sporting ambitions...
Q: Going from rugby to skeleton isn't the most obvious leap, how did it happen to you?
A:
Almost 10 years ago I was invited to Innsbruck, Austria by businessman
Michael Naylor and lawyer Alistair Crellin, ostensibly to discuss our
respective involvement in the wind energy industry. Both of them are
veteran sliders and, within hours of arriving, I found myself on the
two-time Olympic Games ice track in the nearby village of Igls. After my
first harrowing experience luging (that's feet first), I immediately
insisted on riding the skeleton (that's head first!). The required body
position is remarkably similar to body surfing on Sydney's northern
beaches. I was hooked immediately.
Q: Rugby and Skeleton would
appear to require diametrically opposed skills - could you bring any of
your former sports experience to bear?
A: Actually there are more
similarities than you might think. Aside from being very competitive,
you frequently finish a day's racing (that's four to five runs) every
bit as bruised as if you'd gone 80 minutes with the All Blacks. Like all
serious sports, it is as much about mental toughness as physical
preparation. It's mentally exhausting and you need great concentration
to race down the Igls 1220m track at speeds in excess of 100 kmh. Few
people are still competing seriously in most sports when approaching 50
but fortunately for me skeleton is accessible to a more mature age group
if you join the right club. Believe me, age is the last thing on your
mind once you are out of the starting block and rapidly accelerating
with G-force down the ice towards the 360 degree Kriesel turn on the
Igls track.
Q: What is the most physically demanding element of skeleton?
A:
There is a short 10 metre sprint at the start of the course which I
have to admit favours the younger sliders, then it's all about precision
- and you can expect to be punished for small errors in judgement. On
every start you are hoping for that perfect clean run all the way to the
safety of the finishing bay; I can tell you, clipping the ice walls at
over 100 kmh hurts! If you can break a minute from the top of the Igls
track then that's a serious time for an amateur and it really is the
"human bullet" type of experience. You get tossed about the track, you
have just split seconds to adjust your line, negotiate the many bends
and twists of the track, deal with the substantial G-forces and get to
the bottom as fast as possible. You will limp away at the end of the day
exhausted but it is a thrilling and compelling sport.
Q: A lot of
people imagine that going head first down a skeleton track just
requires huge amounts of courage, how fair a perception is that?
A:
Clearly having the guts to give it a go and giving it your all is an
advantage but Skeleton is actually a connoisseur's sport. Competitors -
or sliders as we are known - need to be very precise and measured,
despite hurtling downhill at great speed. Since the initial shock of my
first experience I have raced with the International Sliders Club every
year. I was attracted to the sport and found real solace in its
similarity to body surfing. It's a rare analogy but growing up on Manly
beach in Sydney meant I felt used to that kind of experience. Skeleton
is not actually that dissimilar from body surfing in terms of body
position and how you steer.
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