SLIDING Sports Australia is refusing to send a bobsleigh team to Pyeongchang despite it meeting international selection criteria and having the support of the Australian Olympic Committee.

The Olympics is “no place for inexperienced athletes,” the SSA said today, citing safety concerns and Breanna Walker and Ashleigh Werner’s failure to meet AOC-approved performance criteria.

SSA acting chief executive Adriana Di Piazza, a former Olympic bobsleigher, pointed out that the pair had yet to get International Bobsleigh Federation permission to compete in a top-tier world cup race.