Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) has announced the list of events on the Whiteface Lake Placid fall/winter 2018-2019 calendar. Dates and schedules are subject to change.
The list of events as follows:
Oct. 17-21, 2018 – North Atlantic Regional Figure Skating Championships. This is the first step in the U.S. Figure Skating qualifying competition structure. The top four skaters in each level – juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior and senior – will advance to the Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships. The top four at sectionals in each level will then advance to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January.
Nov. 24, 2018 – Thanksgiving Faceoff. ECAC Men’s Ice Hockey. Conference rivals St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University square off on the famed Lake Placid Olympic Center, Herb Brooks Arena ice. The Saints are looking to rebound after a difficult 2017-’18 season, while the Golden Knights are trying to build upon last season in which they participated in the 2018 NCAA Championship Tournament.
Dec. 11-16, 2018 – Viessmann FIL Luge World Cup. International luge racing returns to Lake Placid. The men and women’s races are Saturday, Dec. 15, while the doubles and sprint competitions take place, Sunday, Dec. 16.
Dec. 29, 2018 – Stars on Ice. North America’s premier skating show returns to Lake Placid’s Olympic Center. The show brings together Olympic, world and national champions for an exciting and unforgettable evening of figure skating.
Jan. 6-11, 2019 – International Children’s Winter Games. Modeled after the Olympics, the International Children’s Winter Games were created in 1968 with the goal of promoting peace and friendship. Each year, athletes ages 12 to 15 from about 60 cities around the world, compete with their peers. The 2019 Games include alpine, freestyle, cross country skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, figure skating, speed skating and hockey.
Jan. 16-20, 2019 – FIS Freestyle World Cup Skiing. The world’s best freestyle skiers return to Lake Placid and Wilmington to compete in the FIS Freestyle World Cup. Action takes place at the Olympic Jumping Complex and Whiteface Mountain. The jumping complex will host the men and women’s aerials competitions, where athletes twist and soar as high as 60 feet in the air before landing, while Whiteface (the Wilderness Trail) will be the site of moguls.
Feb. 11-16, 2019 – BMW IBSF Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup. Racing starts Friday, Feb. 15, with two-man and women’s bobsled and women’s skeleton. Saturday, Feb. 16, features men’s skeleton and four-man bobsled.
March 16, 2019 – Lake Placid Nordic Festival/Loppet. Lake Placid has a well-deserved reputation for world-class alpine skiing, but it also has some of the best Nordic skiing in the United States. The Lake Placid region has plenty to offer Nordic skiers and winter enthusiasts of all ages and abilities with its vast array of cross country trails. So whether you’re a beginner skier or an experienced racer, the place to be is in Lake Placid for its third Nordic Festival. Lake Placid Loppet and Kort Loppet. Nordic skiers will converge on the cross-country ski trails at Mt. van Hoevenberg to compete in the 34th Lake Placid Loppet. Open to classical and freestyle skiers, the Loppet is a 50k race (31-miles) through the 1980 Olympic ski trails. The vertical climb is just under 3,700 feet.
The 25k Kort Loppet, also open for classical and freestyle skiers, features a vertical climb of 1,850 feet. The Lake Placid Loppet is part of the American Ski Marathon Series.
March 22-23, 2019 – ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship Tournament. The ECAC Hockey championships return for the sixth straight postseason. The winner of this tournament receives an automatic bid to play in the NCAA championship tournament. The ECAC Men’s Hockey championship tournament will be played on the famed Herb Brooks Arena 1980 Rink.
March 25-31, 2019 – IBSF Para-Bobsleigh World Championships. With its high-speed descent down a frozen twisting ice chute the sport of bobsleigh and skeleton tests an athlete’s strength, finesse and courage. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation now offers this same challenge to elite athletes with an impairment through its Para-bobsleigh and Para-skeleton sport disciplines and World Cup races. Para-bobsleigh will make its Paralympic Olympic debut in 2022, in Beijing, China.
March 31-April 4, 2019 – Lake Placid Miracle on Ice Fantasy Camp. Join players from the gold medal winning 1980 USA Hockey Team and participate in their fifth annual fantasy camp in wondrous and magnificent Lake Placid, host city of those historic 1980 Winter Games. Connect with the greatest sports moment of all time. Enjoy the competition. Meet and get to know players from that greatest of all teams in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that is Lake Placid. Skate in the 1980 Rink-Herb Brooks Arena at the Lake Placid Olympic Center where we beat the Russians and shocked the sports and political worlds.
Other events this fall and winter include Flaming Leaves Festival, Oct. 7-8; Mt. Van Hoevenberg Combined Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton Track Opens for Season (weather/conditions permitting), Oct. 8; USA Bobsled & Skeleton Teams Selection Races, Oct. 23-27; IBSF North American Bobsled & Skeleton Racing, Nov. 23-Dec. 3; Whiteface Opens for the 2018-’19 Skiing and Riding Season (weather/conditions permitting), Nov. 23; Miracle Holiday Classic Mite Jamboree Ice Hockey Tournament, Dec. 8; Miracle Holiday Classic Ice Hockey Tournament, Dec. 14-16; New Year’s Ski Jumping, Dec. 30; AmCup Speed Skating (America’s Cup, Jr. World Trials, Jr. National Championships), Jan. 17-20; USSA SuperTour, NENSA & NYSRRA Junior Qualifiers & Harry Eldridge XC Races, Jan. 19-21; U.S. Freestyle Aerial Championships, Jan. 22-26; 38th Empire State Winter Games, Jan. 31-Feb. 3; NorAm Freestyle Skiing, Feb. 15-18; NorAm Biathlon, Feb. 16-17; USA Bobsled & Skeleton National Championships, March 22-23.
For more information on ORDA’s Olympic venues and events, click here.
Photo of Whiteface Mountain courtesy ORDA.
Of course we never know what tomorrow will bring and we’ll see if ice and/or snow will meet Whiteface/Lake Placid’s demands but if all goes as the past few winters went we’re sure to have some extended cold and snowy days….especially right when we think spring has arrived!
Around this time of year I start looking at the events calendars on the Whiteface, Lake Placid and Mt. Van Ho websites, but they are always slow to post these winter events. I have to search the IBSF, team USA and other sites to make sure I get these events on my own calendar. A couple of times I called the venues and they didn’t have any info on the events I was calling about. When I attend the events I am often surprised at how few other spectators are there. With better promotion I have to believe these exciting events would draw more winter sports people like me, my wife, and kids.