Cool Runnings lets Calgary be both the setting and the star, and you can still stand on the hill where it happened.
The story came from the Jamaican bobsled team’s debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the film came home to shoot much of itself here. According to WinSport, filming happened in the winter of 1993 and the movie reached theatres later that year. Canada Olympic Park hosted the sliding scenes, every one of them, on the same track built for the ’88 Games. That track was decommissioned in 2019. The memories are still rolling.
Locals filled the set. Many extras were volunteers from the 1988 Olympics who turned up in their own volunteer uniforms. Working bobsledders signed on too, so the crowd really knew how a sled behaves. Chuckwagon racer Jason Glass worked as a brakeman for the sliding scenes and rode the track about 50 times with cameras rolling. Fifty times. Your last roller coaster looks modest next to that.
The funniest part is the weather. The winter turned out unusually warm, which is a lovely irony for a film about a Jamaican team in the snow. The filmmakers used fake snow blankets and picked spots where real snow remained, including a riverbed scene with a bridge. Lunch has a story too. A food truck from Vancouver fed the crew at the top of the track, and the bobsledders reportedly ate most of the food meant for the cast and director.
The film roamed well beyond one hill. WinSport says scenes were also shot at Calgary International Airport, the Olympic Oval, Ranchman’s and Sandy Beach along the Elbow River. Travel Alberta lists Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall among the Calgary stops as well. John Candy’s daughter has recalled spending her 13th birthday in Calgary, visiting the zoo and going skiing, and director Jon Turteltaub went to a Saddledome hockey game with Candy. That sounds like a crew that took in the whole city.
Behind the camera, local talent did a lot of the work. A scout visited Calgary the autumn before filming began, and Calgary grip Allan Belyea was hired for about two weeks of daily help on the big race scenes. Any shoot runs on people who know the city, the gear and the weather, and who show up before sunrise with a thermos. The film industry here has always leaned on neighbours with the right skills.
One of the film’s bobsleds now sits outside the Day Lodge at WinSport, and Visit Calgary lists WinSport among the region’s famous filming locations. Head up to Canada Olympic Park, find the sled, snap a photo, then press play on the film at home that night. You’ll spot the hills and the old track in a new way. For more on how Calgary shows up on screen, read Set in Calgary Is Not the Same as Shot in Calgary.
If this one hooked you, try Want to Work in Film? SAIT and UCalgary Are Your Starting Points, then The Last of Us Turned Calgary Into Boston and Beyond.
More from the archive: Legends of the Fall Borrowed Its Montana From Alberta and Superman Left Its Cape Prints All Over Alberta.
Quick answers
The sliding scenes in Cool Runnings were shot at Canada Olympic Park, now WinSport, on the track built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. WinSport also lists Calgary International Airport, the Olympic Oval, Ranchman’s and Sandy Beach along the Elbow River.
According to WinSport, Cool Runnings was filmed in Calgary in the winter of 1993, and the movie reached theatres later that year. The story came from the Jamaican bobsled team’s debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Many extras were volunteers from the 1988 Olympics who showed up in their own volunteer uniforms. Working bobsledders signed on too. Chuckwagon racer Jason Glass worked as a brakeman for the sliding scenes and rode the Calgary track about 50 times.
You can still visit the hill at WinSport, the former Canada Olympic Park, where the sliding scenes were shot. The original bobsled track built for the 1988 Games was decommissioned in 2019, but the site is still part of the film’s Calgary story.
Sources: WinSport, untold stories from the filming of Cool Runnings; Travel Alberta, 10 Hollywood blockbusters filmed in Alberta; Visit Calgary, 9 famous filming locations.
