Even though the competition for the games will be held from Jan. 6 to 11, the committee needs volunteers starting on Jan. 1, according to winter ICG Executive Director Eileen Mowrey.

“We still do need volunteers across the board,” Mowrey said on Wednesday, Oct. 24. “Two areas that we really are in need of right now are the alpine skiing at Whiteface and figure skating volunteers.”

Soon there will be volunteer positions opening up for the home base at the Lake Placid Conference Center.

“That’s where athletes will be congregating and spending time inside the conference center when they’re not competing,” Mowrey said.

There are also positions open for the opening ceremony at the Olympic Center from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7. People can sign up to volunteer on the winter ICG website: www.lakeplacid2019.com/volunteers. If people don’t have a specific position or date in mind, they can log on to the section titled “put me where you need me.”

“That general one ends up being incredibly helpful,” Mowrey said. “We really encourage people, if they don’t have a preference, to sign up there. It does not mean that those positions are less important or less valuable; it means that we can take those people and use them where we are short, use them where our greatest need is, and that’s incredibly important to us.”

The ICG is expected to draw between 500 and 600 student athletes ages 12 to 15 from 33 cities around the globe to compete in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, cross-country skiing and biathlon at the Olympic Jumping Complex and ice hockey, figure skating and speedskating at the Olympic Center and Oval.

Cleveland and San Francisco have hosted the summer games in 2004 and 2008, respectively, but this will be the first time a U.S. city hosts the winter ICG.

Participation in the ICWG 2019 is by invitation only from the International Children’s Games committee and the local organizing committee. Unlike the Olympic Winter Games, where athletes represent countries, the ICG events include teams from cities from around the world. Therefore, there will be multiple teams from some countries.

The ICG committee encourages people to register for at least three or more volunteer shifts during the week.

“We’d love for the delegations to see the same faces throughout the week and build a rapport with you!” states the Lake Placid ICG website. “Seeing the same folks during a multi-day event gives the attendees a greater sense of ‘family’!”

The number of volunteers needed for the ICG is “growing by the day,” Mowrey said. “Initially we were saying that there were 172 slots, but that has increased since then. It would be wonderful if we could get about 250 volunteers.

Each volunteer will receive branded clothing that is color-matched to their area of service.