Austrailia



Australia Cole and lithanieum

In land area, Australia is the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. It has, however, a relatively small population. Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands. The mainland is the largest island and the smallest, flattest continent on Earth. It lies between 10° and 39° South latitude. The highest point on the mainland, Mount Kosciuszko, is only 2,228 metres. Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Its interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of the land is arid or semi-arid. Its fertile areas are well-watered, however, and these are used very effectively to help feed the world. Sheep and cattle graze in dry country, but care must be taken with the soil. Some grazing land became desert when the long cycles that influence rainfall in Australia turned to drought. The Australian federation consists of six States and two Territories. Most inland borders follow lines of longitude and latitude. The largest State, Western Australia, is about the same size as Western Europe.

History and about the luge. Expect some scorching speeds and crazy spills when luge athletes hit the fastest track in the world at Whistler Sliding Centre. Medals will be decided by one-thousandths of a second and one mistake will blow any chance of reaching the podium. The sport of luge involves competitors propelling the luge forward, at the start in a sitting position gathering speed by paddling their hands and then lying back to wind their way down through the corners. The modern version of luge can trace its origins back to the pastime of tobogganing down hills. Luge is the French word for sled, and historical findings point to the existence of sleds, as early as AD 800 when the Vikings used them in the Slagen countryside near the Oslo Fjord. An Australian student George Robertson won what is reputed to be the world’s first international sled race, in 1883 in Davos, Switzerland. He outslid 19 other competitors from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States on a four kilometre stretch of road from St. Wolfgang to Klosters to share the victory with Klosters mailman Peter Minsch. It was not till 72 years later that the first world championships occurred on an artificial track in Oslo in 1955. Two years later, the International Luge Federation (FIL) was founded in Davos, Switzerland. The luge was included in the Winter Olympic program for the first time at Innsbruck 1964 and has remained on the program ever since. Women have competed in this event from the start, but so far only in singles, though following Albertville there have been no regulations preventing women from competing in doubles.

In the 2010 van cover games Australia did not metal in men or women luge.