History of Tobogganing

Toboggans are sleds without metal runners and with a curved lip at the front of the sled. The origin of the word "toboggan" is very contested. One camp believes that it comes from the Micmac language in eastern Canada, and another school of thought claims that it is from the Anishinabe word "nobugidaban." Anishinabe is a language spoken by one of the Canadian tribes that invented toboggans.

History

Early Canadian tribes were the first to use wooden toboggans. They used them mostly for transportation purposes in the winter.

Tobogganing Origins

The idea of tobogganing as a sport is believed to have started on the Mount Royal slopes in Montreal. The trend spread to the United States in the 1880s, and enthusiasts even built artificial chutes for races. Its popularity surged until the onset of skiing in the 1930s.

Bobsledding

The bobsled is one of three types of sleds adapted from toboggans. As such, the sport of bobsledding was also an adaptation of tobogganing, where teams of sledders race down twisting ice tracks for the fastest times. Bobsledding is the only adaptation where sledders ride as they do on toboggans--sitting up.

Lugeing

Lugeing is another adaptation of tobogganing. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Luges are small sleds where one or two people ride on their backs, feet first, down an iced track.

Skeleton Sledding

The skeleton sled is the toboggan adaptation that most closely resembles a toboggan, the only difference being the metal runners underneath the sled. Skeleton sledders race down the same bobsled and luge tracks, but racers ride on their stomachs, face first, down the hill.