As you may remember, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed a month ago today, while making a luge training run hours prior to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Aside from a few minor glitches, his death seemed to be the one black spot of the otherwise well-done games.

I know that many people around the world are having difficult financial times right now. Not only are we in the middle of a global recession, but places like Haiti and Chile have been hit with devastating earthquakes. We want to give, but it seems like we don’t have much.

The International Luge Federation (IFL) is collecting donations for the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili. His family could use their help. They lost their home to fire a few years ago, and I guess they have never fully recovered. I know what it’s like to have my house catch on fire, it happened to me in 2008… it was not a fun experience, and I had fire insurance. I’m not sure if they have that kind of security in Georgia.

If you have a little extra money, please consider making a donation to the Kumaritashvili family. While the majority of us will go on with our lives, his family has been altered forever. If you don’t, that’s understandable, but if you could, then that’s wonderful. Thanks.

Kumaritashvili was sliding down the fastest part of the track, when he slid out of control, flew over a wall, and hit a steel beam. He was knocked unconscious, then died after he arrived at the hospital.

Georgia is considering dropping out of the Vancouver Olympics entirely, and are unsure of whether they will be participating in tonight’s opening ceremonies.

Some are calling for the cancellation of all sliding events after this tragedy. The Whistler track is dangerous; the athletes are achieving speeds that are faster than previous tracks. However, the Olympics only come once every four years. Not everybody will have the opportunity to compete in Sochi in 2014. Rather than cancelling the event, my take on it is that if anything is to be done, it would be better for everyone to either slow down the ice, move the starting gate further down the track, install safety measures, or move the event. If they can helicopter in mountains of snow, like they have been with Cypress Mountain, they can find a way to make the show go on.

Since the Winter Olympics began in 1924, Kumaritashvili has been the fourth Olympian to die in the winter games. The first two deaths occurred in 1964, after Australian skier Ross Milne struck a tree during a training run. During the same year, British luger Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki also died in a training run. Oddly enough, in 1964, the Olympics was also facing a lack of snow; the Austrian army trucked in ice from elsewhere. In 1992, Swiss skier Nicholas Bochatay died after crashing into a snow grooming machine.

While this event is a tragedy, the other athletes do have a choice over whether to compete or not. Engineers should do whatever they can to make the event as safe as possible, but it would be unfair to everyone else to cancel the event.