From left, U.S. Biathlon President and CEO Max Cobb and Olympic biathletes Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey, of Lake Placid, pose at the Olympic Sports Complex. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

On June 23 and 24, the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, U.S. Biathlon, USA Nordic, USA Bobsled and Skeleton and USA Luge joined forces to celebrate Olympic & Paralympic Day and the opening of the Mountain Pass Lodge along with the upgrading of the biathlon/cross-country skiing facilities at the Olympic Sports Complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

In a way, Van Hoevenberg is a mini-Olympic village, as athletes from various Olympic sports now get to train and compete at one venue: biathlon, Nordic combined, bobsled, skeleton and luge. The desire for upgrades at ORDA’s venues — the Olympic Sports Complex, Olympic Jumping Complex, Olympic Speedskating Oval and Olympic Center — has been held by many for years. Still, it was the convergence of several efforts that leveraged the dramatic changes now taking place.

The base reality is two-fold: sports are not static, as changes in equipment, technique and climate led to changes in the venues; and venues over time age and need upgrading. Our warming Earth has resulted in the need to increase snowmaking and, as much as possible, design venues that can be used year-round. As an example, Nordic athletes train on roller skis, which requires a paved course, and ski jumpers slide down in-runs on a thin coating of frost and land on plastic grass, enabling them to train and participate in competitions the year-round.

One block to progress was the long-held story that Lake Placid could host nearly any World Cup or Olympic event again as we’ve continued to use the venues since 1980. The reality was far from accurate. A new story and sense of urgency were needed.

A perhaps unintended benefit of Gov. Andrew Cuomo bringing delegations of Assembly and Senate lawmakers to experience winter in Lake Placid from 2013 to 2015 is they saw that the venues were aging. At the same time, members of the jumping community were already developing plans and advocating for renovating the jumps, while others were envisioning an indoor practice push track for sliding sports and upgrading the Nordic venues at Van Hoevenberg.

USA Luge Director of Marketing and Sponsorship Gordy Sheer (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Then in 2016, USA Luge threw open the door to moving their headquarters to another community, possibly Salt Lake City. That got everyone’s attention and stimulated local leaders to seek state funding to expand and upgrade their facility.

“Several years ago, when we first started talking with many of the local politicians that not only luge needed a new facility, but all the facilities needed to be updated,” said USA Luge CEO Jim Leahy. “That, hopefully, was the genesis of getting the dialogue started. Jim McKenna still jokes about the comment I made years ago that, ‘Unless all the facilities get updated, Lake Placid will be nothing more than a footnote in sports history.’ He took that to heart, as did others, and look where we are today. We take pride that in a small way. We helped move the ball forward.”

USA Luge’s athletes, coaches, and others take great pride in their new facility that opened its doors for the first time to invited guests and the media on June 23. Olympian and now Director of Marketing and Sponsorship Gordy Sheer and current Olympian Emily Sweeney shared their pride in the new luge venue. Sweeney likened upgrading the venues to her trajectory.

“We are an individual sport,” said Sweeney. “But it takes a team bigger than what you’d imagine to make it all happen, that and pushing through all the challenging moments.”

Rebecca Dayton, general manager of the Olympic Sports Complex, and ORDA CEO Mike Pratt would say the same for upgrading the Nordic venues, creating the Mountain Pass Lodge with its indoor push track for bobsled and skeleton, and adding such features as the Cliffside Coaster, an improved hiking trail up Mount Van Hoevenberg, a state-of-the-art snowmaking system and soon-to-be installed climbing wall.

Olympic luger Emily Sweeney (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“Our goal was to make sure they were sustainable for 30 years rather than a two-week event,” said Pratt. “Part of the sustainability was recognized through building systems to refrigeration and construction techniques. Another, especially at Hoevenberg, is how we embrace multiple-use occupancy for the sports, public and recreational participants.”

While the initial ask was to upgrade the luge facility, the community’s decision, backed by the governor and local/state elected officials, to go after hosting the 2023 Winter World University Games was like hitching an Accella engine to the effort. A significant contribution to seeking state funding was athletes based in Lake Placid, winning Olympic and World Cup medals in Alpine, bobsled, luge and Nordic skiing.

“I’m excited,” said U.S. Olympic biathlete Susan Dunklee, of Vermont. “Being at the bobsled venue and watching them train, they see us train, and being able to hang out together, I think will build more respect and understanding of the incredible feats we are all doing. I think it will build more camaraderie.”

“I think what is so vital about this facility is it brings another element to the sport,” said Olympic bobsledding gold medalist Kaillie Humphries. “We have the bobsled track, and we now have this push facility. With ORDA and Olympic Training Center, we have housing, food and places to train. It’s a world-class facility that provides everything we could want as athletes. The large images in the ice house make it unique and special. The walls give it energy and its own vibe.”

Another boon is athletes of all ages and abilities get to train alongside and meet national, Olympic and World Cup athletes, the kind of experience that inspired Tim Burke, Olympian and World Championship silver medalist, to take up biathlon.

From left are Olympic bobsledder Kaillie Humphries and Darrin Steele, vice president of sport at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“I remember as a kid coming out here as part of the NYSEF ski program and training at the old venue and seeing the National Team members out there skiing, training, and competing,” said Burke, who grew up in Paul Smiths and now lives in Lake Placid. “Seeing that combination of skiing and shooting was fascinating to me and became something I desperately wanted to try.”

No less excited and inspired was Ivo Ferriani, president of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation and the new president of the Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations.

“Wow,” said Ferriani. “When I first saw the venue, I was surprised, no shocked in a positive way. When I first got here, I wondered where I was, as I was last here two years ago. A whole new facility in two years. That’s unbelievable! It’s not just the building, it’s the quality of the services, and then the biathlon, the indoor push track, of course, I was shocked. It’s fantastic. I never expected something like this.”

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the News for more than 15 years.)

Olympic biathlete Susan Dunklee (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)