New York Governor Kathy Hochul was at the Mount Van Hoevenberg sliding facility near Lake Placid Friday afternoon to make an announcement about the upcoming World University Games being held there in January.
The FISU World University Games will be the largest sporting competition the village has hosted since the 1980 Winter Olympics. More than 2,500 athletes along with delegates from 600 universities representing more than 50 countries will compete in 12 sports and 86 events.
ORDA Board chair Joe Martens says they are ready.
“ORDA’s venues are in better shape today than they were when they were originally constructed for the Olympics. In fact, they’re among the best in the world.”
Governor Kathy Hochul continued investments begun by her predecessor to upgrade all of the Olympic venues in Lake Placid.
“We’ve already invested over $400 million the past five years to modernize all the ORDA facilities. But this year’s budget I said we’re not done. We put another $105 million to finish the job and so make sure that when the athletes come here that they leave with this sense that this really was a phenomenal world class experience.”
Governor Hochul noted she was part of the negotiating team when she was Lieutenant Governor to bring the University Games to New York. Standing on the plaza in front of the bobsled run she announced a new agreement that means people across the globe will be able to watch the games.
“We’ve come to an agreement with ESPN to broadcast the games. Come in person if you can but this is going to be a massive, massive platform to showcase the talents of these athletes all over. So I can’t wait for that to be happening.”
This will be the first time the network will air the World University Winter Games.
Governor Hochul also announced that the medal design has been finalized.
“What do the medals look like? We get to design them as the host and they’re designed by incredible individuals: the faculty and students at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. And they used recycled glass from Potsdam, so we’re recycling. And they’ve developed a glass insert a symbol of our state’s history of innovative glass technologies.”
In a promotional video provided by Lake Placid World University Games organizers, Sidekick Creative Partner and Creative Director Will Fowler describes the medal’s concept.
“We created something that feels like a chunk of ice and it’s very angular. It almost from a profile looks like a mountain ridge line as well. So we wanted to work with Alfred University to create part of the medals out of recycled glass and we wanted to make sure that the spirit of the games was incorporated into the medal design through the color, through the artwork looking like something that could have been plucked out of the Adirondacks themselves.”
Organizing Committee Executive Director Ashley Walden told the crowd at Mount Van Hoevenberg the medal is unique.
“The most defining moment in an athlete’s career is the medal ceremony. We’ve been extremely fortunate to work with the students and faculty at Alfred University. They have created a one-of-a-kind glass insert which will be the centerpiece of the medals awarded here in January. The insert is just another demonstration of our commitment to hosting the most sustainable FISU games to date and an integral part of our Save Winter Initiative. On September 20th we will light the FISU flame in Torino, Italy, the birthplace of university sport. The torch will then return to New York state and begin its long-awaited journey to Lake Placid.”
The FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid will run from January 12 to the 22nd. Tickets go on sale September 1st.
