LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and USA Bobsled & Skeleton (USABS) announced today, Monday, July 30, that Lake Placid, N.Y. has formally been awarded the 2019 Para-Bobsleigh World Championships. Lake Placid’s Olympic Sports Complex bobsled/luge/skeleton track was selected to host the prestigious event during the recently concluded International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation’s (IBSF) annual Congress, held in Rome, Italy.

“We’ve been proud to say, over the years, that Lake Placid has been the training ground to many of the United States’ para bobsled and skeleton athletes,” said ORDA president/CEO Mike Pratt. “Last year we were extremely excited to host the only para World Cup race in the United States and we are overjoyed to be chosen to hold this event.”

Last winter the sport of Para bobsleigh held its first-ever World Championship race, in Lillehammer, Norway, in which 19 athletes from 12 nations competed. The sport is expected to make its Paralympic debut in 2022, in Beijing, China.

“The IBSF is making history with the expansion of para-sliding, so it’s only fitting that one of the most historic tracks in the world host these great athletes at the Para World Championships. The USABS could not be more excited,” added USABS’s president/CEO Darrin Steele.

The 2019 world championship athletes begin arriving for training March 25 and racing is slated for March 30-31.

This race comes on the heels of the one-mile long track hosting the return of the IBSF BMW World Cup Bobsled and Skeleton race, Feb. 15-16. Last winter, leading up to February’s Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, 190 athletes from 23 nations descended upon the famed Mt. Van Hoevenberg course.

February’s World Cup action will feature racing in men and women’s skeleton, women’s bobsled and two and four-man bobsled. 

“We are excited that the Lake Placid track remains an annual stop on the World Cup tour,” noted Steele. “Traditionally, the U.S. team performs well on its ‘home track,’ and even though the next Games are four years out, it’s never too early to begin building momentum and confidence.”

The track’s general manager Tony Carlino added, “We’ll be ready. It’s going to be another busy winter season for the track, but the staff is always excited to see bobsled and skeleton racing return.”

Along with the United States bobsled and skeleton teams, fans can expect to see bobsled and skeleton athletes from other worldwide powers such as Austria, Canada, Latvia, Germany and Great Britain. China should also be represented as that nation looks forward to hosting the winter Games, February 2022.

Photos Courtesy of ORDA/ Whiteface Lake Placid, https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitefacemountain/albums/72157663400924032

-- ORDA --

Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface, Belleayre and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; the Olympic speed skating oval, Olympic jumping complex and Olympic arena. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectator and participants to the region, resulting in significant economic development.