Lake Placid to Host ISU 2020 World Synchronized Championships

press — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 13:14:59 +0000

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- U.S. Figure Skating and the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) today announced that the International Skating Union (ISU) World Synchronized Skating Championships 2020 has been awarded to Lake Placid, N.Y.

The April 3-5, 2020 event marks the first time that the two-time Olympic village has been selected to host the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships and the fifth time the United States has staged it.

"The Olympic Center staff and Lake Placid are extremely excited to be hosting this prestigious event," said ORDA president/CEO Mike Pratt. "Lake Placid has played an important role in enriching the sport of figure skating. So many stars have graced the Olympic Center's ice including Sonja Henie, Gustave Lussi and Scott Hamilton. We're thrilled to welcome the world's best synchronized skaters as they compete for world titles."

Through the years, Lake Placid and the Olympic Center have held a number of prestigious national and international figure skating competitions, most recently Skate America, in November 2017.

"We are thrilled that the ISU has once again chosen the United States to host this prestigious synchronized skating event," noted U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director David Raith. "Lake Placid has a storied history in the sport of figure skating and in the Olympic community. We are eager to welcome the international synchronized skating community to this historic town for the first time ever."

Held since 2000, the World Synchronized Skating Championships is an annual event organized by the International Skating Union and attracts the most elite senior-level synchronized skating teams from around the world. Traditionally, the top teams have been from Finland, Sweden and Canada. Finnish synchro teams have combined to win 23 medals, while Swedish and Canadian skaters have claimed 12 World Championship medals each. American synchronized skating teams have won six medals.

Championship Weekend Field set for Lake Placid

press — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 14:21:15 +0000

Monday, March 18, 2019

Buy Your Tickets Now for ECAC Championship Weekend

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- The ECAC Hockey semifinal field is set, and Brown, Clarkson, Cornell, and Harvard will all be making their way to Lake Placid, N.Y. for Championship Weekend on March 22-23.

The matchups for Friday's semifinals are as follows
• No. 2 Cornell vs. No. 8 Brown (4 p.m.)
• No. 3 Clarkson vs. No. 4 Harvard (7:30 p.m.)

Puck drop for Saturday's Championship game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

All three games will be available for streaming via ESPN+ (US Viewers) and Stretch Internet (International Viewers). Game links will be available later this week.

All-session tickets can be purchased by calling the Lake Placid Olympic Center box office at 518-523-3330, or by visiting tickets.com. Adult All Tournament tickets are priced at $55, while the Junior and Senior All Tournament tickets are available for $45. Single day adult ticket prices are $35 and the junior and senior single day ticket is $30.

ECAC Hockey Tournament First Round Matchups Set

press — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 19:16:17 +0000

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

ECAC Men's Hockey Championship Tournament Returns to Lake Placid, March 22-23, Tickets on Sale Now

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The 2018-'19 regular-season has come to a close and the playoff seeding is set for the upcoming ECAC Hockey Tournament. Quinnipiac and Cornell have each finished the regular-season with 30 league points, earning a share of the 2018-'19 Cleary Cup.

With the tiebreaker over Cornell, the Bobcats earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time since 2015-'16, and with it a first round bye. Cornell (No. 2), Clarkson (No. 3), and Harvard (No. 4) also earn opening round byes and will wait to see who they'll play in the Quarterfinal round on March 15-17, 2019.

Dartmouth earns the No. 5 seed after defeating RPI Saturday night, and will host No. 12 St. Lawrence in the opening round this weekend. The Big Green went 1-0-1 against the Saints in the regular-season, with the tie coming in the matchup two weeks ago in Canton, N.Y.

No. 6 Yale will play host to No. 11 RPI, as both schools drop one spot in the standings after losses Saturday night. The Bulldogs swept their season series against the Engineers, though both games were tightly contested.

Union moves up one spot to No. 7 after sweeping its weekend series against Dartmouth and Harvard. The Dutchmen will square off with No. 10 Colgate at Messa Rink. Both of the games between these two teams were lopsided this season, though each team took home a victory.

The final first-round matchup will feature No. 8 Brown hosting No. 9 Princeton. The Tigers surged from the 11th spot in the league standings to ninth with seven points in the final four games of the season. The Bears have been hot in the second half of the season as well, making for an exciting opening round series.

All ECAC Hockey post-season games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (U.S.) and Stretch Internet (International). Links for streams will become available later this week.

On March 22-23, the conference's top four post season teams will come to Lake Placid, N.Y. to play in the ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament. The winner of this tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament. The two semifinal games will take place Friday, March 22, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and the championship game will be played Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m.

ECAC Hockey Regular Season Concludes this Weekend

press — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 15:33:59 +0000

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

ECAC Men's Hockey Championship Tournament Returns to Lake Placid, March 22-23, Tickets on Sale Now

ALBANY, N.Y. --- ECAC Hockey's regular season champion will be crowned by Saturday. Going into the final weekend, Cornell continues to lead the 12-school conference with 27 points, while Harvard and Quinnipiac are just a point behind, with 26, followed by Clarkson, with 25 points.

Cornell (16-8-3, 12-5-3), Quinnipiac and Harvard (16-8-3, 12-6-2) close out the season on the road, while Clarkson (21-10-1, 12-7-1) hosts ninth-seeded Colgate (10-19-3, 7-10-3) Friday evening, before its season ending match-up with Cornell, Saturday. The Big Red meet up with 12th-seeded St. Lawrence (4-26-2, 2-16-2), Friday night.

Quinnipiac (23-7-2, 12-6-2) rounds out the regular season traveling to Providence, R.I., to face seventh-seeded Brown University (11-11-5, 8-7-5), Friday, before squaring off squaring off against number-five Yale (13-11-3, 11-8-1) at the Ingalls Rink, the following night.

Harvard will spend Friday and Saturday in New York's capital region. The Crimson face10th-seeded RPI (10-19-3, 7-11-2), Friday, and number-eight Union (15-11-6, 8-10-2), Saturday.

The first round of the ECAC Men's Hockey post season tournament begins March 8-10, with the quarterfinals slated for March 15-17.

ECAC Hockey Standings Remain Cluttered with Just Two Weeks Remaining in Regular Season

press — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:58:21 +0000

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

ECAC Men's Hockey Championship Tournament Returns to Lake Placid, March 22-23, Tickets on Sale Now

ALBANY, N.Y. --- Two weekends remain in the 2018-'19 regular season and the ECAC Hockey standings remain as jumbled as ever with five teams separated by only three points.

Cornell (15-7-3, 11-4-3) leads the 12 team conference with 25 points, one ahead of Quinnipiac (22-6-2, 11-5-2) and two in front of Yale (13-9-3, 11-6-1). Clarkson (20-10-0, 11-7-0) and Harvard (14-8-3, 10-6-2) share fourth place, each with 22 points.

The standings may become a little bit clearer after this weekend. Cornell hosts ninth seeded RPI (9-18-3, 6-10-2), Friday, before eighth seeded Union (15-9-6, 8-8-2) visits, Saturday.

Harvard plays host to seventh seeded Brown (10-10-5, 7-6-5), Friday, before Yale, who squares off against sixth seeded Dartmouth (9-12-4, 8-7-3), Friday, comes to the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, Saturday. Earlier this season, these two schools skated to a 3-3 tie.

Clarkson can't overlook Princeton Friday night, since they face Quinnipiac on Saturday. The 11th seeded Tigers (7-16-2, 5-12-2) have lost two in a row, but topped the Golden Knights, 3-1, in their first meeting of the season.

As for Quinnipiac, they can't look past their Friday night opponent, St. Lawrence University. The Saints (4-24-2, 2-14-2) have only two conference wins this season, but one of those came against the Bobcats, 7-2.

IBSF World Cup Bobsled/Skeleton Returns to Lake Placid Feb. 15-16

press — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 20:17:38 +0000

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The 2018-'19 IBSF World Cup Bobsled and Skeleton season is beginning to wind down. Just two races remain on the schedule ahead of the 2019 World Championships, in Whistler, British Columbia.

After months of traveling Europe, the series returns to North American soil when Lake Placid, N.Y., plays host to the tour's seventh stop, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16. More than 200 athletes from 24 nations are expected to compete on the famed Mt. Van Hoevenberg course.

Germany's Friedrich Francesco headlines the men's bobsled field. The 29 year-old has won 10 times in 12 races, with six, two-man victories and four, four-man wins. He carries a 146-point lead in the chase for the overall two-man World Cup crown and has a 73-point edge in the race for the 2019 overall four-man title.

Elana Meyers Taylor and her U.S. teammates are looking forward to returning to Lake Placid and competing on their home track. For the most part, it's been an up-and-down campaign, however; Meyers Taylor raced well throughout the European leg, capturing five women's bobsled podiums and her first win of the season, Jan. 26, in St. Moritz, Switzerland. That victory snapped Germany's 24-race winning streak in World Cup and Olympic bobsled races dating back to last season.

The men and women's skeleton athletes should bring plenty of drama to Lake Placid and its mile-long track.

The race for the overall men's skeleton World Cup title could not be any closer. Only 76 points separate the top three sleds and just a single point separates first and second place. Olympic champion Yun Sunbin, of South Korea, carries a mere single point lead over Russia's Alexander Tretiakov and is 76 points ahead of Tretiakov's teammate, Nikita Tregubov, who sits third.

Just like the men, a slim 76 point margin is the difference between the top three women. Russia's Elena Nikitina is trying to hold a pair of German sliders, Jacqueline Loelling and Tina Hermann, who sit second and third, respectively.

Tickets for the IBSF World Cup bobsled and skeleton race are available on-line by visiting www.WhitefaceLakePlacid.com. Two-day adult tickets are available for $26, while two-day junior and senior tickets are being sold for only $16. Adult single-day tickets are $16 and single-day junior and senior tickets are $10. Admission is free to children six and under and for guests who purchase the Olympic Sites Passport.
Schedule:
Friday, February 15th, 2019
8:30 a.m. Women's Skeleton Race – Heat #1
10 a.m. Women's Skeleton Race – Heat #2
11:30 a.m. Awards: Women's Skeleton
1 p.m. 2-woman Bobsled Race - Heat #1
2 p.m. 2-man Bobsled Race - Heat #1
3:15 p.m. 2-woman Bobsled Race - Heat #2
4:15 p.m. 2-man Bobsled Race - Heat #2
5:30 p.m. Awards: 2-man and 2-woman Bobsled

Saturday, February 16th, 2019
9 a.m. Men's Skeleton Race – Heat #1
10:30 a.m. Men's Skeleton Race – Heat #2
11:45 a.m. Awards: Men's Skeleton
1:30 p.m. 4-man Bobsled Race - Heat #1
2:30 p.m. 4-man Bobsled Race - Heat #2
3:30 p.m. Awards: 4-man Bobsled

2019 U.S. Aerials National Championships Jan. 26 in Lake Placid

press — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 13:59:11 +0000

Monday, January 21, 2019

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Lake Placid plays host to 65 (30 women & 35 men) of the nation's best aerial freestyle skiers when they compete for the 2019 national title, Saturday, Jan. 26.
The Olympic Jumping Complex is one of aerial skiing's most iconic venues and has hosted freestyle World Cup events every year since 1985. Last year's champions were Harrison Smith (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Morgan Northrop (Haymarket, Va.) and Northrop will look to defend her title in 2019.
The results from the U.S. championships will have a direct impact on the 2018-'19 competition season. The outcomes from this event will be weighed with results from Saturday night's World Cup event and will help determine the U.S. Aerials World Championships team.
Saturday's event begins with ladies' qualifications at 9:35 a.m., while the men's qualification round gets underway at 12:50 p.m.
Admission to the U.S. Aerials National Championships is $16 for adults and $12 for juniors and seniors. Those who purchase the Olympic Sites Passport receive free admission. Children 6 and under also receive free admission.
Event Schedule:
9:35 - 10:20 a.m. - Ladies' Aerials #1
10:35 - 11:20 a.m. - Ladies' Aerials #2
12:50 - 1:40 p.m. - Men's Aerials #1
1:55 - 2:45 p.m. - Men's Aerials #2
3 p.m. – Awards

MEDIA ADVISORY: Media planning on covering the 2019 U.S. Aerial National Championships must be credentialed. To apply for credentials, contact Jon Lundin, ORDA's director of communications, Email: JLundin@orda.org, Cell: 518-637-6885, no later than Thursday January 24, 2019.

U.S. Long Track Junior Championships Coming up to Lake Placid Friday-Sunday

press — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 15:35:45 +0000

Monday, January 14, 2019

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The best long track junior skaters in the country will compete in the American Cup Speed Skating series and U.S. Long Track Junior Championships on the historic Olympic speed skating oval in Lake Placid, N.Y., Friday through Sunday, Jan. 18-20. At stake is a spot on the U.S. Long Track Junior World team that will compete at the ISU Long Track Junior World Championships in Baselga, Italy, Feb. 15-17.

Registered for the event is the reigning Men's Junior Champion Ethan Cepuran (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), who's been competing at world cup events during the 2018-'19 season. Cepuran recently won the U.S. National Title for the Men's 5000m and the Men's Mass Start. He will compete at the World All-round Championships in Calgary, Canada, March 2-3.

Other athletes competing at the junior championships include U.S. National Team Member Casey Dawson (Park City, Utah) and Blair Cruikshank (Delafield, Wis.), the daughter of Olympic speed skating parents Bonnie Blair and Dave Cruikshank.

Event Schedule:

Friday, Jan. 18
American Cup Long Track Speed Skating Series Race #3/U.S. Junior Championships
10 a.m. – Ladies' 500 -Meters
11 a.m. – Men's 500 -Meters
Noon – Ladies' 3,000 -Meters
2 p.m. – Junior C Men's 3,000 -Meters

Saturday, Jan. 19
American Cup Long Track Speed Skating Series Race #3/U.S. Junior Championships
10 a.m. – Men's 1,500 -Meters
11 a.m. – Ladies' 1,500 - Meters
Noon – Junior A & B Men's 5,000 –Meters

Sunday, Jan. 20
American Cup Long Track Speed Skating Series Race #3/U.S. Junior Championships
9:40 a.m. – Ladies' 1,000 –Meters
10:30 a.m. – Men's 1,000 –Meters
11:30 a.m. – MS Junior Ladies' 10L
11:40 a.m. – MS Junior Men's 10L
11:50 a.m. – MS Senior Ladies' 16L
Noon – MS Senior Men's 16L
12:40 p.m. – Ladies' Team Pursuit
12:50 p.m. – Men's Team Pursuit

Give Back Sundays at Whiteface & Belleayre

press — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 15:53:15 +0000

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Take your Family Skiing at Gore

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Spread the holiday cheer and save on the price of a single-day lift ticket when you ski or ride Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, or Belleayre Ski Resort, in Highmount, this Sunday, Jan. 6.

Whiteface has partnered with the Ecumenical Charity Program's Lake Placid Food Pantry to re-stock their shelves after the holiday season. Donate a grocery bag of non-perishable food items, of at least $10 or more, to the mountain's ticket window and ski or ride the Olympic mountain for just half-price.

Guests can purchase a single-day lift ticket at Belleayre for just $42 when they donate a new, unopened toy, of $15 or more, to the resort's Overlook Lodge guest services desk, Discovery Lodge guest services desk or rental shop. The toys will be distributed by the Community Christmas Project in Margaretville and Shandaken to a child in need.

Meanwhile, Gore Mountain, in North Creek, is offering free skiing and snowboarding to youngsters, ages 19 and under, when accompanied with a full-paid parent. Throughout the week of January 7-13, it's Take Your Kids to Gore Week, an affordable getaway for families to start off 2019 in a fun and healthy way.

Don't forget that every Wednesday, excluding holidays, it's Why Not Wednesday at each resort. Present any unopened Dasani or Coca-Cola product on Wednesdays to the mountain's ticket window and get a one-day discounted lift ticket (Limit one ticket per Coca-Cola product).

Snowmaking Begins at the Summit of Whiteface

press — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 18:42:54 +0000

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

WILMINGTON, N.Y. (December 18, 2018) --- Snowguns are at the summit of Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, N.Y. Crews are blasting snow on both Riva Ridge and Parons Run. The two trails are expected to open for skiing and snowboarding this weekend.

Saturday and Sundays, take early morning "First Tracks" runs before the lifts open. Limited to 14 skiers and riders of intermediate and above skill levels, this is a great way to get on the new snow before everyone else. Skiers and riders should be suited, booted, ticketed and ready to go at the resort's guest services desk by 7:45 a.m. to participate. Email ski@whiteface.com for details and to register.

This Saturday, you can also join former Whiteface Mountain general manager Bruce McCulley on an Olympic history tour of the mountain. Beginning at 10 a.m., the tour takes guests on the slopes for an insider look at what it took to get the trails ready for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. Skiing and riding will be on the Olympic trails, so expert ability is required. Email ski@whiteface.com for details and to reserve your spot.