FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 01/11/2023
CONTACT: Jon Lundin, Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Head of Communications & Media ([email protected]) Tel: 518-637-6885
WILMINGTON, SARANAC LAKE AND LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Torch Relay Celebration arrives in Wilmington, Saranac Lake and its final destination Lake Placid on Thursday, Jan. 12, concluding its two-month, 15-stop tour that culminates in the FISU Games’ first carbon-free cauldron lighting in Lake Placid. The cauldron lighting will open the 31st FISU World University Games Winter Edition later Thursday.
Upon the torch’s arrival in Lake Placid, plans include stops at two of the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority venues where many of the competitions will be held. The relay will then conclude with the lighting of the cauldron in the historic Brewster Park.
The torch relay celebration, which is powered by Hydro-Quebec, will be welcomed by students, athletes, local officials and dignitaries, along with Games mascot Adirondack Mac, in special ceremonies at each site.
Thurs. Jan. 12
9 a.m. – Preston Memorial Field, Springfield Rd., Wilmington. Media contact: Roy Holzer, 518-420-6395; [email protected]; Michelle Preston, [email protected], 518-524-0872
11 a.m. – Start at Saranac Lake Police Department, 1 Main Street, Saranac Lake. Torch relay will proceed to 11:30 a.m. ceremony at Saranac Lake Civic Center, 213 Ampersand Ave. Media contact: Kenzie Marine, [email protected]
1:30 p.m. – Start at Olympic Jumping Complex, 5486 Cascade Road, Lake Placid. 2 p.m. — hot chocolate party at Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, 2559 Main St. 2:30 p.m. — ceremony at 1932 Jack Shea Arena in the Olympic Center, 2634 Main Street. 7 p.m. — Opening Ceremony at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena. The relay will then conclude, and the Games will open, with the lighting of the cauldron in Brewster Park at the intersection of Main Street and Saranac Avenue. Media contact: Jon Lundin, [email protected]; Meri-Jo Borzilleri, [email protected]
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, an 11-day competition and educational festival, will feature 1,443 collegiate-athletes, ages 17-25, from more than 540 universities across 46 countries. The competition consists of 12 winter sports contested throughout northern New York, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Wilmington, North Creek, Canton and Potsdam.
Participating dignitaries and torchbearers include: Saranac Lake – Olympian Andrea Kilbourne; Jordanna Mallach, Town of Harrietstown); Jimmy Williams, Village of Saranac Lake; Kellie Krake, Lake Placid 2023; St. Bernard’s School students. Lake Placid – North Country School and Lake Placid Central School students; Leonz Elder, FISU acting president; Hydro-Québec CEO Sophie Brochu; Doreen Harris, President and CEO of the N.Y. State Energy Research and Development Authority; Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation; Ashley Walden, COO Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Organizing Committee; and local officials.
For the first time the FISU Flame is being carried in a sustainable torch, with no actual combustion or flame present. Instead, in keeping with the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games’ mission of sustainability as part of its Save Winter campaign, LED lights in the torch produce a brightly illuminated FISU Flame in a carbon-free presentation.
The Opening Ceremony is also the kickoff to the Save Winter campaign. Powered by Hydro-Québec and supported by ESPN, Karbon, Microplus and Panasonic, Save Winter is a movement designed to unite all who love winter to work together on the mission to save “the season of snow.” These Games are the first in FISU history to make sustainability a major emphasis and provide a model for future FISU Games.
Battery-electric Nova Bus, member of the Volvo Group and a leading North American transit bus manufacturer, will be part of the torch relay’s final leg. The buses will be joining the shuttle service of the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.
“Hydro-Québec is proud to be the lead partner on the Save Winter initiative,” said Sophie Brochu, CEO, Hydro-Québec. “As the world meets here in Lake Placid for these wonderful winter Games, it’s important that we unite together to fight climate change and save the season of snow that we all love and cherish. Hydro-Québec has been, and will continue to be a reliable renewable energy partner with New York to achieve the clean energy transition.”
The 22-inch-long torch was created and built by Adirondack Studios of Argyle, N.Y., the same studio that built the award podiums for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. The custom-made torch consists of elongated steel encasing a glacial-blue body, representing an artistic interpretation of ice and water.
Other highlighted torch relay celebration stops in the run-up to the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games included Tupper Lake; Keene; Paul Smith’s College; the indigenous lands of the Mohawk Kahnawá:ke in Quebec, Canada; New York City’s Rockefeller Center; Albany’s New York State Capitol; and the campuses of SUNY Canton University, Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam.
For more information about the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games or to purchase tickets, visit www.lakeplacid2023.com.
Fans can follow the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with @lakeplacid2023 and #lakeplacid2023, @savewinterhq, #savewinter.
PHOTO COURTESY: Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Organizing Committee.
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