USA Luge is beginning its national talent search later this month, to find potential Winter Olympian lugers of the future ©Getty Images

USA Luge is set to begin its national search for talent later this month in Minn, with the recruitment event starting later than normal due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 250,000 youngsters have been introduced to luge as part of this programme since its inception nearly 35 years ago.

The governing body said it decided to proceed with the recruiting tour because of individuals desire to participate in outdoor activities.

Increased cleaning and sanitisation protocols will be deployed during all the clinics to keep participants safe.

The two-day recruitment tour in Duluth is designed for youngsters aged between nine and 13.

Sessions will take place on both days between 9am and 11am, midday and 2pm and 3pm and 5pm ET.

Sessions will feature up to seven youngsters, accompanied by three coaches.

All clinics are free of charge and each young athlete will be given a complimentary White Castle USA Luge Slider Search T-shirt.

Youngsters selected from the recruitment event will be invited to attend further development sessions at either Lake Placid or Park City ©Getty Images
Youngsters selected from the recruitment event will be invited to attend further development sessions at either Lake Placid or Park City ©Getty Images

The five main safety protocols that will be observed in each session are a strict policy of social distancing {six feet at all times}, the mandatory wearing of face masks, the disinfection of all sleds, helmets and other items after each use, the provision of hand sanitiser for all participants and a restriction of two adults per young person. 

"We’re very happy that Duluth and the university have partnered with us to find more luge talent for our future teams," said Gordy Sheer, Olympic silver medallist at Nagano 1998 and now USA Luge's director of marketing and sponsorships.

"Certainly, all of us have encountered new and different times in the past four months, but in reducing the number of children in each clinic, the silver lining is that they will all be safe, and will all get ample attention from the coaching staff."

The sessions will give youngsters an opportunity to try the sport and qualify to join the USA Luge junior development team. 

The junior development team acts as a stepping stone on the ladder to reaching either national and/or Olympic team status.

Youngsters selected from the recruitment event will be invited to further their development at either Lake Placid, host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, or Park City in Utah, the 2002 Olympic luge site.

More information about the talent search programme and scheduled sessions can be found here