The Adirondack Sports Council hosted a virtual Town Hall to announce the progress
being made toward the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games. The village of Lake Placid and
the Adirondack region will host the winter edition of the flagship FISU multi-sport event in January 2023.
The virtual meeting was streamed on the Adirondack Sport Council’s YouTube channel and area
residents were able to participate, view, listen in and even ask questions. The meeting, that included
many video presentations, highlighted the global scale of the Games and their potential economic
impact on the region.
Through a video message, FISU President Oleg Matytsin reminded viewers about the ‘Miracle on Ice’ ice
hockey final that was contested between the United States and the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter
Olympics in Lake Placid.
"Different people have different perceptions of the Miracle on Ice!" Matytsin said with humour,
referring to the result in 1980 when the United States team upset the heavily favoured four-time
defending champion Russians.
"But there is one thing we can all agree on," he continued. "That forty years ago, that winning team was
made up mainly of young university athletes. And when university athletes come together to play winter
sport in Lake Placid, they can achieve remarkable things. Miraculous things."
"The recent months have been hard on college sport," added Matytsin. "You continue to show great
courage in the face of these difficulties. And I hope that the World University Games in 2023 can provide
a measure of hope, a reason to look ahead in the months and years to come."
Sustainability is a major focus for the Lake Placid 2023 Organising Committee, something that Craig
Randall, Mayor of Lake Placid stressed upon.
"Our residents are very interested in this event. Most people will find out that the World University
Games are not only about sport but there is a strong cultural aspect as well and we will be interested in
sharing some issues that are important to us, such as environmental issues," said Mayor Randall. "We
have a lot to look forward to. It’ll be an exciting time for everybody."
As the largest university winter multi-sport competition in the world, the FISU World University Games
bring more than 2,500 athletes along with coaches and officials to the hosting region. The potential
impact of hosting these Games was clearly elucidated by New York State Senator Betty Little, who has
been the representative of the Adirondacks for 25 years.
"No matter where I go, whenever I talk about my district, I mention the village of Lake Placid and people
know exactly what my district is like," said Little. "Lake Placid is the winter sports capital of the United
States and one of the winter sports capitals of the world. This is where the Olympics have taken place
twice. It is important to know that as we go forward, we take our history with us. At the same time, we
need to be relevant today. Up-to-date and state-of-the-art venues help us attract events like World
Cups and the FISU World University Games. It’s an economic engine for all of the North Country."
At the 2023 Games, student-athletes will compete in twelve sports throughout the North Country and
Adirondack region, including alpine and nordic skiing, ski jumping, nordic combined, biathlon, curling,
figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short track and speed skating and snowboarding.
Dan Stec, member of the New York State Assembly said he was excited about the 2023 Games.
"What a wonderful venue where miracles happen," Stec said during the Town Hall, that was held at the
historic ‘Miracle on Ice’ rink in the Olympic Center’s Herb Brooks Arena. "It is a gorgeous part of our
country and 2023 will be an opportunity to showcase this to so many new people that will come to visit
our region. It will be great for athletes and great for local businesses."
The Town Hall session can be viewed on the official Lake Placid 2023 website: www.lakeplacid2023.com
The International University Sports Federation – FISU
Founded in 1949, FISU stands for Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (International University Sports
Federation). FISU was formed within university institutions in order to promote sports values and sports practice
in harmony with the university spirit. Promoting sports values means encouraging friendship, fraternity, fair-play,
perseverance, integrity and cooperation amongst students, who one day may have responsibilities and key
positions in politics, economy, culture and industry.
All FISU sports events include educational and cultural aspects, bringing together athletes and academia from all
over the world to celebrate with a spirit of friendship and sportsmanship. FISU cooperates in developing its events
and programmes with all major international sports and educational organisations. As major outcomes of those
collaborations, in 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed
the International Day of University Sport to be celebrated annually on 20 September – an event that has seen huge
growth in its first few years.
FISU is composed of 174 Member Associations (National University Sports Federations). The FISU General
Assembly elects the members of the FISU Executive Committee, its board of directors. A total of 14 permanent
committees advise the Executive Committee in their specialised areas. For the daily administration of FISU, the
FISU Executive Committee relies on the Secretary General, who is assisted by the FISU staff. FISU’s headquarters
are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
