Lake Placid Hosts U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic
Combined Championships in October
Lake Placid, NY - The 2009 U.S. Ski Jumping and
Nordic Combined Championships will feature an added
element of excitement as the nation's finest nordic
athletes compete on plastic jumps and inline skates
for the first time in championship history this
October in Lake Placid, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard
Association (USSA) announced. The championships
will take place Oct. 11th during the town's annual
Flaming Leaves Festival that coincides with the
Columbus Day holiday weekend and will have athletes
competing on dry land as opposed to snow.
"I am excited to see our 2009 national champions
in ski jumping and nordic combined crowned just
a few months from now. What a great way to kick
off a new ski season," USSA Nordic Combined
Director John Farra said. "This is a very cool
opportunity for the USSA ski jumping and nordic
combined athletes to have an event at Lake Placid
during their traditional Flaming Leaves event, at
the peak of fall foliage."
"Hosting these national championship events
with the USSA continues an outstanding relationship
that the Olympic Regional Development Authority
has
with one of the premiere Olympic sports organizations,"
said ORDA Director of Events Jim Goff. "Bringing
such a high-level of talent to Lake Placid, against
the backdrop of the changing foliage and myriad
festival activities, will make this a memorable
event for everyone."
According to Farra, an already packed nordic ski
season was the driving force behind trying out the
competition off snow in conditions identical to
those in which athletes train during the summer.
But it also offered the added aspect of new, fresh
marketing for the sport.
"This will be a test event for this no snow
format and we will review it after to see if we
would continue this direction or move it back to
winter," Farra said. This will bring an extra
element of crowds, and holding the cross country
events on roller skis offers up the chance to bring
the event closer to the public on existing roadways
instead of tucked away in the woods."
The championships, which are expected to attract
more than 100 athletes, will feature a K90 jumping
event for men and women. Nordic combined athletes
will also jump the K90 as well as compete in a 10K
ski race on roller skis.
In addition, the championships will host a nordic
combined exhibition event for women with cash prizes.
The goal of the exhibition is to attract more women
to nordic combined.
