The last World Cup sliding event in North America was held in 2019. All three North American tracks lost events — including world championship races in Whistler and Lake Placid — because of the pandemic, with international officials relocating those events to Europe and Asia. American and Canadian sliders spoke out about a wish for more races on home ice and how having essentially the first half of the bobsled and skeleton World Cup seasons in North America should be a boost to both programs. And now this year, that finally comes true with the World Cup season starting November 22 in Canada before going to Park City, Utah, from December 1-3 and then to Lake Placid, New York, for the world push championships and World Cup event.

[article_sidebar]Aron McGuire was a member of the USA Bobsled national team from 2003 through 2006 and after his athletic career was completed, he worked for USA Track & Field and the USOPC, eventually becoming the senior director of Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers. He was named USA Bobsled and Skeleton chief executive officer in January 2020 and has since steered the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, a successful Olympic Winter Games performance in Beijing with new stars on the world scene and the return of international competition to North America. He also describes the process of how to become part of the USA Bobsled and Skelton national team and what they look for in an athlete.

In this conversation, SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub sits down with McGuire to talk about the upcoming events, how he has helped grow the sport, how athletes can become part of the bobsled or skeleton national teams and much more.