LOCALadk Magazine

31 Winter 2016 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Six towns and four villages Not to mention three counties, two supporting organizations and one senator. Today, the Empire State Winter Games is a community-driven event, courtesy of a partnership between the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST); the towns of North Elba, Wilmington, Tupper Lake, Harrietstown, Malone and Brighton; the villages of Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Paul Smiths, Malone, Wilmington and Saranac Lake; the counties of Essex and Franklin; the New York state Olympic Regional Development Authority, and state Senator Betty Little. ESWG hosts six adaptive sports The games have continually added adaptive sports to the schedule over the years. Adaptive sports, also called parasports, are sports played by persons with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Many adaptive sports are based on existing able-bodied sports, modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability. Adaptive sports hosted at the Empire State Winter Games include: adaptive alpine, adaptive biathlon, adaptive cross-country, adaptive ski cross, sled (or sledge) hockey, adaptive snowboard cross and adaptive bobsledding. There are 21 non-adaptive sports on the schedule The event has always included classic winter sports such as figure skating, luge, and cross- country skiing, but in 2016, adventure sports such as winter bike and big air competitions were introduced. In 2017, athletes will participate in 21 sports, including: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsled, cross-country, figure skating, luge, nordic combined, skeleton, ski big air, ski cross, ski jumping, ski orienteering, ski slopestyle, snowboard big air, snowboard cross, snowboard slopestyle, snowshoe, speed skating, squirt hockey, winter bike and women's hockey. There are two new sports for 2017 Two new events will be added for 2017, including mogul skiing and a marathon ice skating competition that promises to be an exciting and inclusive event open to citizen competitors on a unique natural venue: Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, adirondacks,usa. Mirror Lake, located in the middle of the village, is action-packed on any winter day with a mix of dogsleds, pond hockey, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and recreational skaters taking advantage of the 2-mile plowed skating track that circumnavigates the entire lake. Once the ice forms to a safe thickness, the track is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and this year will host one of the newest sports in the Empire State Winter Games! ESWG impacts the regional economy In 2016, the games included several new and exciting sports, expanded adaptive competition, new venues, new partner communities and an international scope. It also surpassed $2 million in direct economic impact to our host communities. 2017 will top that. The timing of the event, during the typically less-busy winter season, combined with the appeal of the competition to a large geographic area of the Northeast, contribute to the significance that this event represents to the economies of our North Country communities.

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