LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- There’s now no denying it, autumn is officially here. The days are shorter, mornings are cooler, leaves have changed color and the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex sliding track, in Lake Placid, N.Y. opens for the season, weather permitting, Saturday, Oct. 18, for U.S. luge athletes. American bobsled and skeleton athletes will wait two days, Monday, Oct. 20, until their first training runs down the track.

The 2014-’15 sliding season is setting up to be a very busy one for the famed track.  In December, the mile-long, 20-curve course will play host to FIL luge World Cup racing and FIBT World Cup bobsled and skeleton action.

“We’re very excited to welcome these two World Cups to Lake Placid. Our crews will be hard at work to prepare the best track conditions possible for the world’s best to compete. The Mt. Van Hoevenberg track, long known for being one of the most technical, will provide the perfect setting for athletes and spectators alike,”  said New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) president/CEO Ted Blazer.

Luge World Cup racing returns to Lake Placid for the first time since February 2012, when the world’s top sliders tackle the track, Dec. 5-6. The race is the second event in the nine-event series, which begins, Nov. 29-30, in Igls, Austria. This will mark the 13^th time that Lake Placid has hosted a luge World Cup event.

“We are extremely happy to be hosting again in Lake Placid. It is great competition for the athletes and great exposure for the facility,” remarked USA Luge CEO Jim Leahy.  

Action will be held in men and women’s singles, doubles and the fan favorite, team relay. Team relay racing made its Olympic debut last February in Sochi, Russia.  

Once the world’s top luge athletes leave town, the world’s best bobsled and skeleton athletes will pull in for their World Cup event, the following weekend, Dec. 12-13. This race opens the eight-race FIBT World Cup season, which will take its athletes through seven different countries this winter.

“We are thrilled to kick off the 2018 quadrennial in Lake Placid. Starting the 2014-‘15 World Cup season at home is a great way to keep the momentum going from our success in Sochi (Russia), which is one of our goals,” added Darrin Steele, the United States’ Bobsled and Skeleton Federation’s CEO. 

Athletes competing in this World Cup event will race in two and four-man bobsled, women’s bobsled and men and women’s skeleton.

Additional events on the track this season will include North American bobsled racing, Jan. 12-18, and the 34^th Empire State Winter Games, bobsled, luge and skeleton racing, Feb. 5-6. Plus visitors to the Lake Placid region can enjoy bobsled passenger rides.  With a professional driver and brakeman, rides begin at the half-mile point of the track and can reach speeds in excess of 60 miles-per-hour.

For more information about all of the events being held at ORDA’s Olympic venues, log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Media interested in attending the first day’s training should contact the respective National Governing Body media representative to make arrangements. For those interested in attending USA Luge training, please contact Gordy Sheer at 518.523.2071 ext. 102, gordy@usaluge.org. For U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton, please contact Amanda Bird at 518.354-2250, abird@usbsf.com.

Attached are the media credential request forms for the FIL Luge World Cup and FIBT Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup races. Please complete the forms and return them to Jon Lundin, ORDA public relations, jlundin@orda.org, Fax: 518-523-9275.

-- 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.