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Although the sport is sometimes thought of as being relatively new, sled racing is actually one of the oldest of all winter sports. The word luge comes from the French word for sled. In Germany the sport is known as rodel, and it is in the alpine countries of Europe that the sport began. References to sled racing first appeared in chronicles from Norway in 1480 and the Erz Mountain area in 1552.

The first international luge race took place in 1883 with 21 competitors representing seven nations, including the United States. The race was organized by hotels in the Swiss resort of Davos and took place over the 4-kilometer (2.5 mile) road from St. Wolfgang to Klosters. At the turn of the century, luge was actually governed by the International Bobsled Federation, which administered all ice-track sports. In 1953 the sport gained its own international governing body with the formation of the Federation Internationale de Luge de course (FIL), and in 1964 luge was inaugurated as an Olympic sport at the IX Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Having no formal luge program at the time, the United States' first Olympic luge team consisted mainly of American soldiers who were stationed in Europe at the time of the Games. Back in the United States, luge attracted a small number of athletes who were relegated to training on the 1932 Olympic bobsled run in Lake Placid, New York. With no formal national organization to support, develop and promote luge, American sliders remained in relative obscurity over the next couple of decades.

With the arrival of the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid came the construction of the nation's only refrigerated luge run in 1979. That same year, the U.S. Luge Association (USLA) was formed as the sport's national governing body. Since its inception, the USLA has overseen the selection and preparation of the U.S. National and Olympic Luge Teams. In addition, a national network of luge clubs as well as a comprehensive recruitment program has also been developed, giving the U.S. luge program tremendous depth at every level of participation.