Goodwill Games

8/17/99

Goodwill Games Mark Six Months Out From Inaugural Winter Goodwill In Lake Placid

The four-day competition schedule for the first-ever Winter Goodwill Games, to be held in Lake Placid from February 17-20th, 2000 (with opening celebration on February 16th), was announced during a press conference in Lake Placid on Tuesday. Officials from the Winter Goodwill Games and their host organization, the New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), were on hand to mark the six-month countdown to the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games. Other announcements included:

Confirmed athletes to date, including some of the best winter sports athletes in the world
Tickets, which range in price from $10 to $46, go on sale August 23rd
The launch of the new event logo and Goodwill Games website - the new site blends information from past Goodwill Games with comprehensive details of the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games

The 2000 Winter Goodwill Games in Lake Placid will feature 11 sports packed into an exciting four-day schedule. The Games will commence with an Opening Celebration on February 16 and the competition begins Thursday, February 17th, with the lightning-fast men's downhill competition at Whiteface Mountain. The action is non-stop until the Closing Celebration on February 20th.

"With six months until our first winter event, we are right where we need to be to host a world-class event in Lake Placid," said Mike Plant, Goodwill Games president. "We've put together a solid program highlighting some of the best winter athletes and sports in the world."

Invitations for the Winter Goodwill Games have been sent out and already some of the world's best winter athletes and teams have accepted (see below).

"We're really pleased with the response we are getting from the athletes and federations," said Ted Blazer, ORDA president. "They are excited to have an opportunity to compete at one of the most famous winter sports venues in the U.S. Lake Placid has a rich sporting heritage and we're sure to see a few more legends rise out of the Adirondacks at the Winter Goodwill Games."

In the skiing disciplines, the Games are expecting a stellar turnout. Chad Fleischer, the two-time Olympian and reigning U.S. downhill champion, is slated to compete, as well as several other top skiers, including: veteran aerialist Eric Bergoust, 1998 Olympic gold medalist and 1999 World Champion; and three-time Olympian and World Cup moguls champion Ann Battelle.

Confirmed athletes in the luge competition include Georg Hackl of Germany, three-time Olympic gold medalist and his Austrian rival, two-time Olympic silver medalist and World Cup Champion Markus Prock. In the Doubles competition, Olympic silver medalists Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer of the U.S. will compete, as will other top lugers. Additional athlete confirmations will be announced on an ongoing basis.

Tickets for the 11-sport event go on sale August 23rd. Ranging in price from $10 to $46, approximately 150,000 tickets will be available for sale for the five-day period. Tickets can be purchased in any of three ways: by stopping by or calling the Olympic Center Box Office at 518.523.3330, through Ticketmaster� at 518.476.1000 or 802.862.5300 and via the internet at www.goodwillgames.com or www.tickets.com. Tickets are also available through all usual ORDA ticket outlets.

The new Goodwill Games website at www.goodwillgames.com is an appropriate vehicle from which to launch the new Winter Goodwill Games event logo. Both the website and the logo are dynamic and invoke the spirit of Winter Goodwill Games and Lake Placid. The new logo combines colorful blues and yellows atop a snow-covered mountainscape.

"Both the website and the logo reflect the spirit of this event," said Plant. "The website is full of information about the Games and does a good job of communicating where we've been and where we are headed."

The Goodwill Games began in 1986 with the purpose of ensuring that the world's best athletes have the opportunity to compete in world class competition -- something the Cold War boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Summer Games prevented. The Games are committed to enriching humanity through sport, with a special interest in helping children. The four previous Goodwill Games have alternated between the United States and Russia, however future Games will be staged in countries around the world in both winter and summer formats. In addition to the Winter Goodwill Games, Turner Sports is preparing to host the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. Turner Network Television (TNT) is the host network for both events.

ORDA was established in 1981 under legislation enacted by the State of New York to operate, maintain and promote the 1980 Winter Olympic facilities in the Lake Placid region, host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games. These include Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jump Complex, Mt. Van Hoevenberg and the Olympic Center. Gore Mountain Ski Center in North Creek, NY was added in 1984, and the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum was added in 1994.

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