The municipalities’ joint announcement on June 30 came a few days before Lake Placid’s Fourth of July parade and fireworks display. It also came less than a month before the arrival of one of the biggest sporting events of the summer, the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon on July 25, and a few weeks before the Lake Placid Summit Classic lacrosse tournament in August.

“We will no longer mandate COVID-19 vaccination,” a joint statement from the village and town reads. “It is requested and encouraged that all participants, their family members, officials, volunteers, and vendors be fully vaccinated on or before the dates of the events. In the event a participant is not vaccinated we will require you to have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of your arrival to the event.”

The Youth Summit Classic lacrosse tournament ended June 30, but Lake Placid Summit Classic Tournament co-founder George Leveille said the upcoming tournament for adults would no longer require its participants be vaccinated. Tournament organizers will “strongly encourage” people to get vaccinated and ask that unvaccinated participants wear a mask when possible, he said.

Leveille called the town and village’s decision “another positive step to returning to the days we remember before COVID.”

“I think it sends a positive message to our guests, many of whom have been with us for many, many years,” he said.

The decision to drop the vaccination requirement hasn’t been officially voted on by either the Lake Placid Village Board or the North Elba Town Council, according to Community Development Director Haley Breen. Breen said the decision “did not require a vote by either the town or the village,” but that the village board discussed it during a workshop and the town board discussed it via email. The village board plans to discuss the decision and formally take a vote at its next meeting, according to Mayor Art Devlin.

The town and village governments made the decision “in consideration with the federal government’s updated (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo’s lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions, including an end to the New York state of emergency.”

The town and village will still require events this year to reduce attendance by 20%. Everyone ages 3 and up who are not vaccinated will still be asked to follow CDC guidelines and wear a mask. The village and town are encouraging anyone who is immunocompromised to wear a mask.

The Can-Am Rugby Tournament, which usually occupies fields in both Lake Placid and Saranac Lake in the summertime, is returning July 30 through Aug. 1 this year, according to Can-Am Rugby President Cameron Moody. However, the tournament will be scaled down, so only Saranac Lake will host the tournament this year. There will be 64 teams arriving for the tournament, Moody said. Usually, the tournament includes more than 100 teams.

Can-Am Rugby is not requiring its athletes be vaccinated, according to Moody. Tournament organizers are encouraging participants to get vaccinated and plan to ask unvaccinated people to wear a mask.

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Ironman Lake Placid

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Athletes who aren’t vaccinated are now allowed to participate in Lake Placid’s Ironman triathlon as long as they can provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result.

The policy change was announced Thursday, July 1.

Rather than require all athletes to be vaccinated, Ironman organizers are now allowing unvaccinated athletes to participate in the triathlon as long as they test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arriving for the event. That’s in line with the town and village’s new requirements.

Asked if unvaccinated athletes would need to wear masks, the Ironman press office did not immediately respond by deadline.

The Ironman press office told the News about the policy change on July 1. It’s the newspaper’s policy to attribute statements to specific spokespeople. Asked multiple times for their name, the spokesperson who shared the information did not identify themselves by deadline.

An announcement about the policy change was also posted to Ironman Lake Placid’s social media accounts on July 1.

“With the support of our host communities, it remains our top priority to deliver the excellent and safe race experiences our athletes deserve,” the announcement reads. “We are currently in the process of updating all athlete material to reflect the appropriate changes regarding vaccinations, face coverings, and screening protocol.”

Registered athletes should’ve already gotten an email with more information. Those who haven’t gotten an email are being asked to reach out to lakeplacid@ironman.com.

The Ironman course will be slightly altered this year because of ongoing construction at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. Athletes’ swim start will still be at the municipal beach, but athletes will exit Mirror Lake on a private beach owned by Northwood School at the northern end of the lake. The new transition area for athletes will be located at Northwood School. Northwood School has asked athletes not to enter its beach area or campus until race week. The finish line will be on Main Street in front of the Olympic Speedskating Oval.