USA Luge, College for Creative Studies and White Castle Team Up to Design Luge Bootie of the Future

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CCS’ "Soleology: Footwear Design" ClassTakes on Bootie Design as a Class Project

October 2, 2019 (Detroit, Michigan) – Members of the global luge community, including the USA

Luge Team, may soon be wearing the racing shoe of the future if a team of Detroit-area

students can come up with the right high-performance design.

USA Luge asked the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit if students in its Soleology

Footwear Design course could take on the bootie concepting and redesign as a project in the

semester-long course. CCS jumped at the chance to give its students real-world experience.

"Design students learn a lot in the classroom, but the real-world experience they get by working

on real projects for real organizations is what makes the education at CCS so exceptional," said

Kate Lees, associate director of communications at CCS. "We really appreciate USA Luge

giving our students this wonderful opportunity."

The design project kicked off last night with a special event at the White Castle® located across

the street from CCS. The 14 students in the design class met with Gordy Sheer, an Olympic

silver medalist in luge and now director of marketing and sponsorships for USA Luge. The

students also watched point-of-view videos of luge athletes racing down icy tracks, lay on a luge

sled, and tried on helmets, booties and other luge gear. The activities were meant to immerse

the students in the sport of luge so they understand what luge athletes need in a luge boot.

"We would like to see a few modifications to the current shoes, including improved adhesives

and function and better construction methodology," Sheer said. "We’re happy to give the

students this opportunity, and we look forward to seeing what they come up with."

Any significant findings and developments will be presented to the International Luge Federation

for consideration in future luge shoe design.

White Castle® has been a partner with USA Luge since 2017, sponsoring the annual "White

Castle USA Luge Slider Search," an off-season athlete recruitment program critical to the

growth of the sport. The search program was responsible for discovering 65% of all current

junior athletes in the USA Luge system and three of six athletes competing in the 2019 Luge

World Championships. White Castle wanted to support the shoe design initiative, as well.

"We’re both slider experts, so our partnership makes sense," said Jamie Richardson, a vice

president at White Castle. "But more important, we’re both committed to supporting the growth

of our young people. Given our White Castle vision to ‘feed the souls of craver generations

everywhere,’ this is an especially good fit. All puns intended!"

-end

About The College for Creative Studies

Located in the heart of Detroit, the College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a world-class institution

that educates artists and designers to be leaders in the creative professions. A private, fully

accredited college, CCS enrolls more than 1,400 students pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts and

Master of Fine Arts degrees.

About USA Luge

USA Luge is an Olympic class member organization of the United States Olympic Committee

and is the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of luge in the United States. A not-forprofit organization, USA Luge – the official American representative to the International Luge

Federation – is based in Lake Placid, New York, with a western office in Park City, Utah.

Chartered in 1979 as a direct result of the Congressional Amateur Sports Act of 1978, USA

Luge is responsible to recruit, prepare, train and equip the United States National Luge Team

for international and Olympic competition, as well as promote the growth of the sport

nationwide. For more information on USA Luge, visit teamusa.org/USA-Luge.

About White Castle®

White Castle, America’s first fast-food hamburger chain, based in Columbus, Ohio, has been

making Bold Moves™ as a family-owned business for more than 98 years. Cravers on the go

can access sweet deals by using the official White Castle app (iTunes App Store or Google

Play) to place a pick-up order any time. They can also satisfy their cravings by picking up

Sliders at grocery stores nationwide. www.whitecastle.com

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Mac Joseph, Paul Werth Associates Kate Lees, College for Creative Studies

P: 614-224-8114 or C: 858-775-1267 P: 313-664-7919

mjoseph@werthpr.com klees@collegeforcreativestudies.edu

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