Lake Placid – By now, it’s no surprise that Lake Placid has long been the winter sports capital of the world.
After hosting two Winter Olympics and hundreds of World Cup and World Championship events over the past 40-plus years, this community in Upstate New York is poised to continue that tradition this winter. If you like hockey, skiing and sliding on ice among other activities, this is the place for you in the coming months.
Here’s the slate in chronological order with the action starting Thanksgiving weekend.
–The Adirondack Winter Invitational brings the college hockey programs from UMass-Lowell, Clarkson University, St. Lawrence University and Providence College to the Olympic Center on Nov. 29 and 30. This is the second annual event and features four teams from Division I of the NCAA.
—World Cup freestyle aerial skiing. Set for Jan. 18-19 at the Olympic Jumping Complex, aerial skiing is a spectacle not to be missed. Athletes soar some 60 feet above the snow from hand-made kickers, executing spins, twists and flips. If you’ve never seen this sport, you will be awe-struck. The event will feature individual competitions for men and women and a mixed team event.
–The competition long known as the Olympics for New York residents and those who train here, the Empire State Winter Games is scheduled for Jan. 30-Feb. 2. Over 2,000 athletes will compete across the region’s 1980 venues in competitions that you will find in the Olympic Games and the X Games.
–Just a few days later – Feb. 7-9 – we’ll return to the Olympic Jumping Complex for World Cup ski jumping. The weekend will include individual women’s ski jumping events and a mixed team competition. Of special note, Lake Placid will have one of its own in the lineup. Tate Frantz has been gradually working his way up the international ladder and hopes to hit some big jumps here in February at his home venue.
–Negotiating icy surfaces should be left to the professionals. We all despise ice, but if you’re a bobsledder or skeleton racer, the icier the better. These athletes will get all they can handle when the World Bobsled and Skeleton Championships take place at Mt. Van Hoevenberg March 3-16.
Lake Placid has hosted this event dating back to 1949 when it was held on the original track. The current course opened in 2000 and has been considered the most technical run on the international circuit. The world championships will bring the fastest men and women to Lake Placid in both disciplines. Come to the event, find a cozy corner and get up close to sleds as they rocket past you in excess of 80 miles per hour.
–The college hockey season winds down in Lake Placid with the ECAC Men’s Championships March 21-22. After a long season and three weeks of playoff action, the four surviving teams will advance to the Olympic Center. The semi-finals will be held on March 21, with the championship game on tap March 22. The tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
–The U.S. Ski and Snowboard SuperTour in cross country skiing hits Mt. Van Hoevenberg March 29-30. The SuperTour is where athletes look to generate the kind of results that could elevate them to the World Cup circuit and nail down the all-important funding needed to exist on the international tour. The local event is presented by the National Nordic Foundation.
Lake Placid in the Adirondacks is one of the few regions where you can perfectly blend your own recreational pursuits with watching the nation’s and the world’s best athletes in action. For instance, we wholeheartedly recommend skiing by day and watching hockey games in the evening. Or take in bobsled and skeleton racing during daylight hours, then hit the Sheffield Olympic Speedskating Oval for laps on the very same ice where Eric Heiden won his five Olympic gold medals in 1980.
East of the Rocky Mountains, there’s just one place that enables you to do and see all of this – Lake Placid, N.Y.
(Cover shot courtesy of ORDA)