Industry News
IBSF World Cup in North America for the first time since 2019
Team USA athletes to begin the next Olympic cycle in North America
The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) announces that Mt Van Hoevenberg will host athletes from around the world at four major International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) competitions in November and December 2022. The IBSF World Cup in Bobsled and Skeleton is returning to North America for the first time since 2019, allowing Team USA athletes to begin the next Olympic cycle with several competitions with home-field advantage. The four Lake Placid events are:
- IBSF Para Bobsled World Cup | Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20
- IBSF North America’s Cup Bobsled and Skeleton | Sunday, November 30 through Sunday, December 4
- IBSF World Push Championships | Friday and Saturday, December 9 and 10
- BMW IBSF World Cup Bobsled and Skeleton | Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18
The series of sliding competitions gets underway with the IBSF Para World Cup in Bobsled. This event showcases ORDA’s commitment to World Cup events with the goal of having the sport recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for inclusion in future Winter Paralympic Games.
The IBSF North America’s Cup is an international sliding event featuring bobsled and skeleton athletes from around the world seeking top finishes to qualify for World and Olympic-level competitions. The up-and-coming athletes with top finishes will continue aiming to take Olympic team spots over the next three years.
The IBSF World Push Championships event turns the focus to the push athletes and is a great opportunity to showcase the speed and strength of the athletes in the back of the sled. The event takes place in the state-of-the-art Ice House Push Track in the Mountain Pass Lodge, providing a push/sprint track and on-ice training for national teams and development athletes. New faces will emerge in the sports of bobsled and skeleton through these World Push Championships.
The BMW IBSF World Cup events include the 4-man bobsleigh, 2-woman bobsleigh, women’s monobob, 2-man bobsleigh, women’s skeleton, and men’s skeleton. Team USA is coming off the Beijing Olympic season, winning monobob gold and silver medals and bronze in two-woman. Katie Uehlander, a five-time Olympian, aims to return to her World Cup Gold form in skeleton.
Since its inception, ORDA has brought hundreds of national and international events, World Cup competitions, and World Championships to northern New York. The organization has undergone a massive transformation of its infrastructure, including revitalizing lodges, investing in technology, and upgrading each of its sports facilities, all while focusing on sustainability.
At Mt Van Hoevenberg, a 55,000 square foot Mountain Pass Lodge with new training facilities and retail and dining spaces, is among the world’s leading venues for sliding sports for athletes and spectators alike. Overall, the modernization of venues has Lake Placid entering a new era, allowing ORDA to continue hosting world-class training and competition in a wide range of winter sports.
With only two tracks in the United States, spectating bobsled and skeleton events is a unique opportunity for the public to be up close to these sports. Competitors speed around 20 turns, pulling five Gs (five times the force of gravity) and reaching speeds of up to 90 mph along a one-mile track that drops 420 vertical feet. In the Ice House Push Track, guests can cheer on athletes pushing in unison to become the fastest sleds at the cutting-edge facility. Schedules, tickets, and more information are available at mtvanhoevenberg.com.
