The 40th Annual Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) is set to bring more than 2,500 traditional and adventure winter sports athletes to the Adirondack Region, January 30th through February 2nd.
Athletes of all ages from across the state and beyond will compete in more than 30 events.
New for 2020, the ESWG will feature a push para bobsled event and a collegiate ski jumping event. The winter bike event will also be returning for 2020. In addition, the ESWG is partnering with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) to host an Esports Overwatch competition, featuring the top four teams out of 60 regional colleges invited to participate.
For the 38th year, the world’s best elite freestyle skiers will head to New York state for the 2019 FIS Lake Placid Freestyle Cup, January 17-19, 2019.
Mogul competitions will be held at Whiteface on Thursday and Friday and aerials under the lights at the Olympic Jumping Complex on Saturday. » Continue Reading.
Several of the United States’ top up-and-coming ski jumpers are set to return to the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid to vie for U.S. Cup titles and for a spot on the U.S. Junior World Championship Team on Friday and Saturday, December 28th and 29th.
Spectators can watch the high-flying action as ski jumpers launch themselves from the top of the 90-meter ski jump and soar the length of a football. » Continue Reading.
“I really like the sensation of flying through the air,” said Will Rhoads, winner of the Art Devlin Cup. “There is nothing better than having a really good jump and having the feeling you are never going to come down.”
Rhoads was in Lake Placid for the U.S. Ski Jumping Cup, held on the 90 meter at Intervale on Wednesday, February 12 that included a Juniors and Open class. In addition, he an a number of the competitors were in the running for the Art Devlin Cup that combines the results of three meets, the US Cup, the Flaming Leaves, and the July 4th competition. The U.S. Cup was the next to last of nine meets held across the country with the final scheduled for Park City, Utah.
While the twin towers on the 90 and 120 (aka 100 HS and 134 HS) jumps in Placid remain icons of the village and the most dramatic emblem of the 1980 Games, they are sadly out of date and the 120 no longer meets FIS regulations. “Jumps are being designed flatter to make it harder to jump further,” said Blake Hughes, assistant coach for the US Ski Jumping team. “Because of changes in the equipment and the way the sport has progressed jumping here is easier than in Sochi.” » Continue Reading.
USA Luge, the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, and the U.S. Nordic teams will begin to take shape when each of the federations hold their national team and U.S. national championship events beginning this weekend, Oct. 12-13, in Lake Placid.
The events will help each organization select its fall 2013 World Cup team. And for many of these athletes, this will be the first step towards perhaps making the Olympic team that will compete in February’s winter games in Sochi, Russia. » Continue Reading.
The Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA) will present the new documentary Ready to Fly which chronicles the US Women’s Ski Jumping Team’s fight to be recognized as an Olympic sport on Sunday, October 13 at 8:00 PM. Immediately following the film, members of the US Women’s Ski Jumping Team will take questions from the audience.
Ready to Fly follows 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van (not to be confused with apline skier Lindsey Vonn). Even though Van out-jumped the world’s best men at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic venue, the International Olympic Committee forbade women from competing in ski jumping, the only Winter Olympic discipline to do so. » Continue Reading.
The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) has issued its winter 2012-13 events. Dates and schedules are subject to change, but here is the basic run-down.
Nov. 5-10 – FIBT World Cup Bobsled and Skeleton. The 2012-’13 World Cup season opens for bobsled and skeleton where last season ended, on the combined bobsled/luge and skeleton track at the Mt. van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex. Last February, the United States bobsled and skeleton team captured a record five medals, including four gold, when the one-mile long track played host to the 2012 FIBT world championships. » Continue Reading.
This winter the Almanack has been reporting the results and standing of our local winter sports athletes. The big news this week is Saranac Lake’s Chris Mazdzer and the the U.S. luge team, which won a silver medal in the FIL World Cup team relay in Winterberg, Germany.
You can find all our winter sports coverage here, and World Cup coverage here. Alpine Skiing
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Beisemeyer (Keene, N.Y.): In Kitzbuehel, Austria, Weibrecht skied to a 42nd place finish in the FIS World Cup downhill. The Super-G was cancelled because of weather. Beismeyer raced in last week’s Europa Cup stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and did not finish Wednesday’s, Jan. 18, giant slalom event. The reigning Nor-Am champion also failed to finish Monday’s giant slalom race in Zell a. See, Austria.
Biathlon
Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.), Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): Antholz-Anterselva, Italy hosted last week’s IBU World Cup tour stop. In Sunday’s team relay event, Baily and Burke skied with Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska) and Leif Nordgren (Marine, Minn.) and finished 10th. In Friday’s 10 km sprint, Burke was 12th, while Bailey was 36th. Burke also finished 20th in Sunday’s 15 km mass start event, while Bailey was 21st. Cook posted a 74th place result in Thursday’s 7.5 km sprint, before teaming up with Sara Studebacker (Boise, Idaho), Tracy Barnes (Durango, Colo.) and Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) for a 13th place finish in Saturday’s 4×6 km team relay.
Bobsled
John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.): The FIBT World Cup tour visited St. Moritz, Switzerland. Napier droved his two-man sled to a 16th place result, Saturday, and his four-man sled to a 12th place finish, Sunday.
Luge
Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), Emily Sweeney (Suffield, Conn.): Mazdzer helped the U.S. luge team to a silver medal in the FIL World Cup team relay in Winterberg, Germany. The 2010 Olympian was 29th in Saturday’s men’s singles race. Sweeney was 13th in the women’s singles race in Winterberg.
Nordic Combined
Bill Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.): Demong did not compete last weekend and this weekend’s event in Zakopane, Poland has been cancelled because of weather. He is scheduled to compete Feb. 3-5 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
Ski Jumping
Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): In Sapporo, Japan, Frenette competed in three events, one on the k90 and two others off the k120. The 2010 Olympian dealt with difficult wind conditions to finish 26th in the k90 jump and recorded 26th and 25th place results off the k120.
Photo: Saranac Lake’s Chris Mazdzer, courtesy USA Luge.
The second weekend of the New Year (January 6-9) saw some pretty strong results from area athletes competing internationally.
Alpine Skiing
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Beisemeyer (Keene, N.Y.): Weibrecht spent some time home, in Lake Placid, and returns to the World Cup circuit this weekend. Beisemeyer raced in Saturday’s FIS World Cup giant slalom, held in Adelboden, Switzerland and did not finish. Biathlon
Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.), Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): The IBU World Cup tour visited Oberhof, Germany over the weekend. In Saturday’s 10 km sprint, Burke was 36th, while Bailey finished the race in 45th position. The two, along with Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska) and Leif Nordgren (Marine, Minn.), helped the U.S. squad to an 11th place showing in Thursday’s, Jan. 5, 4×7.5 km relay. The weekend wrapped up with the 15 km race… Bailey was 11th and Burke did not race. Cook did not race.
Bobsled
John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.): Heavy snow delayed the start of Saturday’s FIBT World Cup two-man bobsled race for two hours and poor visibility forced officials to cancel the race’s second run. Napier finished 17th in the one-heat race. In Sunday’s four-man race, Napier drove his sled to a 16th place result.
Luge
Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), Emily Sweeney (Suffield, Conn.): Mazdzer made his FIL World Cup debut Friday in Koenigssee, Germany. The 2010 Olympian finished 21st in the men’s singles race. He helped USA Luge to a fifth place showing in the team relay. Sweeney did not qualify for the women’s singles race after suffering a spill in Nations Cup qualifying.
Nordic Combined
Bill Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.): Demong competed in Oberstdorf, Germany where he helped anchor Team USA to a fifth place finish in Saturday’s HS137/4×5 km team competition. In Sunday’s FIS Nordic Combined World Cup individual event, the reigning Olympic champion placed 14th.
Ski Jumping
Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): Frenette did not compete in last weekend’s FIS Continental Cup event in Kranj, Slovenia. That event was canceled.
The holidays are over and it’s back to racing for several Lake Placid – Saranac Lake area athletes. You can find all the Adirondack Almanack‘s winter sports coverage here.
Alpine Skiing
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Beisemeyer (Keene, N.Y.): Weibrecht did race during the holiday period. He participated in the FIS alpine World Cup downhill stop, Dec. 19, in Bormio, Italy, where he finished 49th. Beisemeyer is now back on the Nor-Am tour. Biathlon
Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.), Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): The IBU World Cup tour is scheduled to resume Friday, Jan. 6, in Forni Avoltri, Italy. Bailey is ranked ninth in the overall Cup chase, while Burke is 37th. Meanwhile, Cook competed in Obertilliach, Austria, Dec. 14-17. She was 60th in the 7.5 km sprint and did not complete the 10 km pursuit. Cook did help anchor the U.S. squad to a 14th place finish in the mixed team relay.
Bobsled
John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.): The FIBT World Cup bobsled series starts its second half this weekend in Altenberg, Germany. Napier is 15th in the overall two-man rankings and 12th in the chase for the four-man crown.
Luge
Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), Emily Sweeney (Suffield, Conn.): The holiday break is over for the International Luge Federation’s World Cup athletes. Racing resumes this weekend in Koenigssee, Germany for Mazdzer and Sweeney, the sister of 18 year old 2010 Olympian Megan Sweeney (they grew up in of Suffield, Connecticut, but their father is from Saranac Lake). Mazdzer, a 2010 Olympian, returns to the tour after spending the first half of the season in Lake Placid testing equipment. Sweeney opened the season winning two junior World Cup crowns before joining the senior squad in Calgary, Canada.
Nordic Combined
Bill Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.): Demong and Ryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) teamed up to compete in the FIS World Cup Nordic combined team sprint, Friday, Dec. 16. The two combined to finish sixth in the HS 109/2×7.5 km event. This weekend’s World Cup stop in Schonach, Germany has been canceled. The tour’s next event is the following weekend in Chaux Neuve, France.
Ski Jumping
Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): Frenette made is FIS Continental Cup debut, Dec. 22-28, in Engelberg, Switzerland. He was 69th in Tuesday’s event and 52nd Wednesday. He’s getting ready to jump again, Jan. 7-8, in Kranj, Slovenia.
Photo: Emily Sweeney watches the action after her second run at Calgary. Courtesy USA Luge.
American skiers Hannah Kearney (Norwich, Vt.) and Ashley Caldwell (Hamilton, Va.) will try to defend their World Cup crowns when the FIS Freestyle World Cup returns to Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain, January 19-21. Lake Placid is one of only five U.S. sites selected to host a World Cup event this season.
Action begins Thursday, Jan. 19, at Whiteface, when Kearney begins defense of her moguls’ World Cup crown and France’s Guilbault Colas tries to hold off a deep men’s field and capture his second World Cup win on the mountain’s Wilderness Trail. Competition on 240-meter long course begins at 9:15 a.m. with the women’s qualifications, followed by the men’s qualifications at 11:35 a.m. The women’s semi-finals are scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. and the men’s semis start at 2:20 p.m. The medal rounds start at 2:40 p.m. for the women and eight minutes later men’s finals is slated to begin. Action will move over to the Olympic jumping complex both Friday and Saturday night, for two exciting evenings of aerial competitions. The 18-year-old Caldwell, a 2010 Olympian, will begin defense of her World Cup title, when she and the rest of the international field twist, flip, summersault and soar into the evening skies, some as high as 60-feet. The fun begins both nights 7 p.m.
In addition to the exciting action, there will be bonfires, music, giveaways and plenty of food and drinks provided by Centerplate. Saturday’s jumping will also conclude with a fireworks display.
Tickets to the aerial competitions are $15 for adults and $9 for juniors and seniors. A lift ticket and skis are required to view the mogul events Whiteface.
More information about the FIS Freestyle World Cup can be found online. Photo: Freestyle World Cup Moguls (Courtesy ORDA / Whiteface).
The holidays are almost here and local world-class athletes were trying to pick up more valuable World Cup points, last weekend, Dec. 9-11, before the break.
Alpine Skiing:
Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tommy Beisemeyer (Keene, N.Y.): The FIS alpine World Cup series stop in Val d Isere, France was cancelled due to a lack of snow. Weibrecht, Beisemeyer and the rest of the U.S. alpine squad began racing in Val Gardena-Groeden, Italy today, Wednesday, Dec. 14. Biathlon:
Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.), Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): Hochfilzen, Austria played host to last weekend’s IBU biathlon World Cup stop. In Friday’s 10 km sprint, Bailey posted a 14th place result, while Burke was 42nd. During Saturday’s pursuit, Bailey was 17th, while Burke was 47th. Bailey is currently ranked seventh in the series standings. The race weekend wrapped up with the team relay, and Bailey and Burke, along with Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska) and Leif Nordgren (Marine, Minn.), finished ninth. Meanwhile, Cook made her international debut this season, competing in the IBU Cup event, held in Ridnaun, Italy. She was 59th in Saturday’s 15 km individual race and 36th in Sunday’s 7.5 km sprint.
Bobsled:
John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.): The FIBT World Cup bobsled series stopped in LaPlagne, France over the weekend. Napier drove his two-man sled to an 11th place finish, Saturday, and a 13th place result during Sunday’s four-man event.
Nordic Combined:
Bill Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.): The FIS World Cup Nordic combined series was in Ramsau, Austria. Demong posted his best World Cup result, 11th, since the Olympic season. He was 14th after the jump and started eighth in the cross country ski.
Ski Jumping:
Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.): Frenette was scheduled to make his FIS Cup debut in Garmisch P., Germany, but that event was cancelled due to weather.
Photo: Val Gardena-Groeden, Italy (Photo provided).
A number of Adirondack athletes have been competing in World Cup and international events around the globe. Here’s how they fared over the past several days, and the outlook ahead:
In alpine skiing, Lake Placid’s Andrew Weibrecht and Keene’s Tommy Beisemeyer competed in the World Cup series opener in Lake Louise, Canada. Weibrecht, the 2010 Olympic Super G bronze medalist, finished 30th in Saturday’s, men’s Super G event. Beisemeyer did not finish the race, but both are off to Beaver Creek, Colo. for this week’s Audi Birds of Prey World Cup. Lowell Bailey of Lake Placid and Tim Burke of Paul Smiths will headline the American squad at the IBU Biathlon Workd Cup series which opens today, Dec. 1, in Ostersund, Sweden.
Bobsled’s Europa-Cup series visited Koenigssee, Germany over the weekend and Lake Placid’s John Napier, a 2010 Olympian, piloted his two-man sled to a fifth place finish on Saturday. The following day Napier drove to a 13th place result in the four-man event. The World Cup tour begins this weekend, Dec. 2-4, in Igls, Austria.
High winds in Kuusamo, Finland forced officials to cancel Saturday’s nordic combined jump and instead use Friday’s provisional round for seeding. Vermontville’s Billy Demong was 30th in that round and started his ski more than three minutes back. The two-time Olympic medalist was the 11th fastest skier on the course and finished 19th overall. The series moves on to Lillehammer, Norway for a pair of events this weekend.
The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) will soon be re-opening the Olympic venues for the summer and fall seasons.
The Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway in Wilmington, N.Y. kicked-off the openings on May 20th. The highway allows visitors to drive to the top of the fifth-highest peak in the Adirondacks, one of only two whose summit is accessible by car. The highway is an eight-mile drive from Wilmington to the summit, where a castle made of native stone and an in-mountain elevator await. The highway is open daily from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. thru Oct. 10. » Continue Reading.
A new discipline will be on the program in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi; an event that has been struggling for years to be included. Women’s Ski Jumping will finally be allowed in the Winter Olympic Games. On Wednesday, the IOC announced that it would add the event after previously ruling that the discipline had too few elite competitors to justify an Olympic berth. Another concern voiced was whether the physical demand of ski jumping was appropriate for female athletes, despite inclusion of women in traditionally male dominated sports like hockey, boxing, and wrestling. Before last year’s games in Vancouver, an appeal was brought to court on behalf of women ski jumpers against the organizers of the Games, VANOC. They claimed that not allowing women to ski jump in the Olympics was a form of gender discrimination in government activities. While a Canadian judge agreed that it was discriminatory and VANOC was subject to the same laws, it can’t change the events. The IOC is the authority on the events in the Olympics, and isn’t bound by Canadian law. Therefore, women were not allowed to ski jump in Vancouver. But it looks like they will be flying through the air in Sochi.
Still, some concessions were made; women are still unable to participate in team events, on the large hill in Olympic events, or in Nordic Combined. The President of the Women’s Ski Jumping Foundation would like to see those privileges extended to female athletes too. “Now that we can jump, that should be something that should follow,” she said to the New York Times.
Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
The 40th Annual Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) is set to bring more than 2,500 traditional and adventure winter sports athletes to the Adirondack Region, January 30th through February 2nd.
For the 38th year, the world’s best elite freestyle skiers will head to New York state for the 2019 FIS Lake Placid Freestyle Cup, January 17-19, 2019.
Several of the United States’ top up-and-coming ski jumpers are set to return to the 
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor
Recent Almanack Comments