Athletes from around the world are at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid preparing for the America’s Cup Bobsled and Skeleton competition which begins Thursday. America’s Cup features men’s and women’s skeleton, as well as 2-man, 4-man and women’s bobsled. Many of these athletes are up-and-comers looking to gain sliding experience with their sights set on making their respective Olympic teams for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver. Schedule for America’s Cup competition in Lake Placid:
The deadline to purchase discounted 2008-09 ski and ride season passes for Whiteface and Gore Mountains is November 14.
Skiers and riders may purchase an interchangeable non-holiday pass good at both Whiteface and Gore Mountains for $649. This pass for adults (ages 23-64) excludes the Christmas Week, Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, and Presidents’ Week holiday periods. Seniors (ages 65-69) may purchase the same pass at the same price at any time for just $399. The adult full season pass is $799 and increases to $959 on November 15. Young adult (13-22) full season passes are available for $335, and junior full season passes are only $275 through Nov. 14. The prices increase to $449 for the young adult pass and $375 for the junior pass starting Nov. 15. Seniors 70 and over and children six and under pay just $40 for a full season pass until Nov. 14, with the price increasing $10 thereafter.
Kids Kampus is once again offering membership into the Cloudsplitter Club and Cloudsplitter Teen Club. The Cloudsplitter Club is for children ages 7-12 while the Teen Club is for teenagers 13-16, regardless of ability. Both clubs are committed to the development of young skiers and riders and focus on safety, fun and learning. The program coaching staff will focus on mileage and the non-competitive aspect of skiing and snowboarding to instill a love for the sport. Cloudsplitter Club membership is $1,020, while the Cloudsplitter Teen Club is $1,095 until Nov. 14.
The popular Snow Sampler – a group of four interchangeable Gore/Whiteface lift tickets that can be used at any time during the season – is just $225 until December 14. The Snow Sampler is not available for purchase after that date.
Whiteface will also offer time-honored programs such as the Play-n-Ski for children at Kids Kampus, the Snowboomers Club for the young at heart, NASTAR season passes and much more.
In addition, season passes for cross country skiing at Mt. Van Hoevenberg and skating on the Olympic Oval may be purchased at the same time.
The full menu of passes and programs, payment deadlines and online store may be found at www.whiteface.com or www.goremountain.com. Most items may be purchased online, or people may contact the mountains directly.
For a complete listing of ORDA activities, venue-by-venue, and web cams from five locations, please log on to www.orda.org.
USA Hockey and the Olympic Regional Development Authority will host a pair of international tournaments simultaneously at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., from Nov. 4-9, 2008. The Women’s Four Nations Cup will feature the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden, while the Men’s Under-18 Four Nations Cup will highlight the United States, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. The majority of the games will take place in the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena, the location of the historic “Miracle on Ice” victory. The remainder of the games will also take place in the Olympic Center, at the 1932 Arena.
Both tournaments will get underway Tues., November 4, with the men’s championship games set for Sat., November 8, and the women’s championship games to take place Sun., November 9.
On the men’s side, the U.S. National Under-18 Team will take part in the event, which is part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. For the women, the U.S. Women’s Select Team will play in the tournament.
Here are some photos of the helicopter placing lift towers for the new Lookout Mountain Triple Chairlift at Whiteface last Thursday. The lift will service three new trails on Lookout Mountain, Whiteface’s third peak. The area reclaimed a portion of the Cloudsplitter Trail that was a part of Whiteface in the 1950s. Lookout Mountain will open this season with two expert runs, one 2.5-mile long intermediate trail, as well as more glade skiing.
The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and Centerplate, in conjunction with OneWorkSource Workforce New York, will host a Job Fair at the Whiteface Base Lodge on Wednesday, November 5 from 9 am – 2:30 pm. Full and part-time positions for 2008-09 winter season employment at the ORDA Olympic facilities are available. The Olympic facilities include Whiteface Ski Center in Wilmington, the Olympic Center, the Olympic Sports Complex, the Olympic Jumping Complex, and the ORDA Store, all located in Lake Placid. Positions available for the upcoming winter season include events staff, photographers, nursery staff, guest services staff, ticket sales staff, lift operators, snowmakers, grooming staff, Snow Sports School Instructors, equipment operators, food and beverage staff, bar staff, catering staff, rental technicians, skate monitors, sports development coaches, maintenance assistants, laborers, and more.
The employment opportunities include limited benefit packages, resort restaurant and merchandise discounts, and employee access to ORDA sites – including complimentary skiing and riding at Whiteface and ice skating at the Olympic Center and speed skating oval.
All hiring departments will have a representative at the job fair. Applicants should bring a resume if possible, or be prepared to fill out a job application. Interviews and employment agreements may take place on the spot. ORDA is an equal opportunity employer.
For more information on ORDA venues and events and for web cams from five locations, please log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.
For the seventh time in his last eight competitions in Lake Placid, Anders Johnson [video] of Park City, Utah, ski jumped to the head of the field Sunday in completing a sweep of the Flaming Leaves Festival. After taking Saturday’s national championship on the 90 meter hill, Johnson returned to the same Olympic Jumping Complex 24 hours later, under similar sunshine and 65 degree weather, and captured the NYSEF 90 Meter Super Tour event.
Not to be outdone, Lindsey Van , also of Park City, took both ends of the Lake Placid doubleheader by winning Sunday’s women’s 90 meter on the artificial surfaces. “I’ve jumped here many times and have always jumped well,” said the past Winter Olympian. “I feel every time I’m here, I can do well.” For a struggling ski jumper, the six-foot-three-inch athlete appreciated the friendly confine of the 1980 Winter Olympic site. “The start of summer training wasn’t so good for me,” continued Johnson. “But I’ve jumped better since August.”
Then came a month in Europe where he performed better in summer Continental Cups and World Cups. “That got my confidence back. The jumps here this weekend were some of my best of the season. Now I feel confident for this winter.”
While vendors offered their goods and live bands performed under the tent, Johnson had the two best jumps of the day at 100.5 and 102 meters. His distance and style points totaled 263.5 for an easy victory. Eric Camerota of Park City was second with 249.5 points on jumps of 99.5 and 93 meters. Third place went to Nick Alexander of Lebanon, N.H. after jumping 99 and 92.5 meters for 246 points. Lake Placid’s Andrew Bliss was fourth on the strength of his opening jump of 97 meters. A second attempt of 89.5 gave Bliss 240 points.
Bill Demong of Vermontville, N.Y., sponsored by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), was eighth after placing third in the national championship ski jump and second in the Nordic combined nationals, both on Saturday. Demong is preparing to be inducted into the Saranac Lake High School Hall of Fame this week as part of the 1995 state high school championship cross country team.
The diminutive Van, trying to overcome a knee injury incurred last winter, posted jumps of 98.5 and 92 meters, picking up 249 points in the process. “I took myself totally out of the situation and told myself to worry about it (the injury) later,” said Van, who will now go west and seek the care of orthopedic specialist Dr. Richard Steadman. “This weekend was a lot better for me. I concentrated on my in-run position because the in-run here is a bit bumpy. Otherwise, I had stable conditions. It was a great weekend and I had lots of fun. Now I feel good about the winter and will try to stay healthy in the process.”
Jessica Jerome of Park City was next with 97 and 89.5 meter jumps for 237.5 points. Avery Ardovino, Park City, secured third by jumping 89 and 92.5 meters for 226.5 points. Sisters Nina and Danielle Lussi of Lake Placid finished 10th and 11th, respectively. Canadian jumpers came to the surface in the junior division as Calgary, Alberta’s Yukon De Leeuw grabbed the title ahead of teammate Matthew Rowley, also of Calgary. Brian Wallace of Woodbury, Minn. placed third, just a point from second place.
With the close of the Flaming Leaves Festival comes the start of a fall training camp in Lake Placid for many of these competitors. The winter version of this sport gets underway, on snow, next month.
For complete results, including event photos, please log on to www.orda.org.
Lake Placid Skater, the blog of a figure skater/speed skater living and training in Lake Placid, will be covering the Skating Summer Camp at the Olympic Center (OC). Here are some of her “bits of info about the coming week”:
* Lake Placid’s resident Olympic Champions, Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, are back! The Pairs champions will be available for lessons. See their signs in the OC for more information. * US National and International level ice dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov will be hosting a seminar on Friday, from 6-7 pm in the 1980 rink. They are also available for private lessons. See their sign on the bulletin boards in the OC for more info.
* The first Freaky Friday of the summer will be held this Friday (of course). Check the schedule for exact time and location.
* There will be two Skating Shows on Saturday. The first will be the Adult Skating Exhibition, where the adult skaters get a chance to perform. Come support them! Check schedule for exact time and location!
* The second show is the famous Saturday Night Ice Show, in the 1932 rink! Almost every Saturday night in the summer there is a show in which campers can perform, along with a different guest skater every week. The Show is at 7:30 pm.
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Athletes from around the world are at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid preparing for the America’s Cup Bobsled and Skeleton competition which begins Thursday. America’s Cup features men’s and women’s skeleton, as well as 2-man, 4-man and women’s bobsled. Many of these athletes are up-and-comers looking to gain sliding experience with their sights set on making their respective Olympic teams for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver. 
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