USA Luge is doing a "Slider Search" here in Schenectady Saturday June 24th 9a - 12p and 2p - 5p Central Park on Fehr Ave.  Between State St and Golf Rd.

"The White Castle USA Luge Slider Search is the official nationwide athlete recruitment tour of USA Luge, targeting young athletes, ages 9-13. The mission of this grass-roots program, established in 1985, is to identify, train and qualify young athletes for the USA Luge Junior Development Team. Athletes who may progress through the team development ladder have hopes of one-day becoming members of the National and Olympic Luge Teams."

We were joined by USA slider Tucker West to explain the event and it's purpose:

Tell us about the Slider tour? Yeah, I mean, luge is kind of one of those new sports that’s kind of hard to get into, but it’s such a cool sport that people should try this thing out. So our biggest avenue for getting kids into this is what we call the “Slider Search.” This is a tour, and it goes around the country. We put kids on little wheel sleds. We have them run through a physical test, and if they show promise, we bring them back to Lake Placid, and they can try the real thing on the ice, and then maybe, hopefully, make the team one day.

What would help a kid become a slider  Yeah, you know, it’s crazy. I went through “Slider Search” like one coming to Schenectady. Mine was actually in Richfield, Connecticut. I went through that when I was 11 years old, and seven years later, I was walking into the opening ceremonies of an Olympic Game. So, it’s truly possible for anyone to make the Olympic team. You just have to be a good athlete, you have to be willing to put in the hard work, and you have to have enthusiasm for the sport.

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