LAKE PLACID — I had never fully visited Lake Placid before and certainly had never been to an event of this magnitude.
This year the FISU World University Winter Games were in Lake Placid which meant athletes from over 50 different countries and 600 universities had flocked to our corner of the North Country for an athletic competition like no other.
Just driving into town there was a sense that even though the streets may have seemed quiet, Lake Placid was bubbling with different cultures, lifestyles and personalities just waiting to be explored. Even though the town has hosted events of this caliber before, such as two Olympic games, this time there was a shot of youth through the area as college and university students from around the globe gathered to not only compete but to celebrate.
I started by just taking a stroll down Main Street, checking out some of the displays and activities that FISU had to offer for the regular fan. There were ice sculptures in the shapes of skiers, snowboarders and even the games mascot Adirondack Mac the moose, warming huts with free s’more stations for the hungry and cold and even stilt walkers and fire dancers putting on a show for the younger fans.
Right away I got the sense that the athletes and coaches that had come to Lake Placid from around the world weren’t intruders but rather honored guests, as I saw signs lining the street lights, scribbled messages on chalkboards outside shops that all read something along the lines of ‘welcome to all, come on in!’ and even competitors sporting jackets representing countries around the world socializing and interacting with the local community. This was more than just the games, it was a celebration.
The first event of the day I attended was the women’s hockey semifinal: game one, between Canada and Slovakia in the Olympic Center’s 1980 Rink: Herb Brooks Arena.
While I’ve seen and covered high school and college hockey before, this looked like they were playing a different sport. They didn’t skate around the ice, they flew; the goalies didn’t just block shots, they imposed their will on goal. Not to mention the outpouring of nationalism I witnessed as fans from either country arrived draped in flags and their countries colors or brandishing cowbells and festive headwear to cheer at the top of their lungs in their native language.
The Slovaks took a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period and would hold that advantage for the remainder of the frame. However, in the second period Canada would storm back to retake the lead by scoring a pair of goals. In the third period Canada put the game away, as the group scored four more unanswered goals to win the game, 6-1, and advance themselves to the gold medal game.
While the hockey action was captivating, just 100 feet away there was another event going on that I had no prior experience with other than watching Apollo Ono do it on TV. It was men’s and women’s short track speed skating in the 1932 rink.
Again the rink was packed with patriotic fans but this time not just from two countries. Skaters from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and of course the U.S. took to the ice while friends and family from their respective country packed the bleachers to support.
The races went in quick succession, with one directly following the other. Five skaters would skate the track at a time, making four laps around with blazing speed, before the next group would go just seconds later.
A thing that struck me that I think I’ll always remember is when I first arrived at rink level I noticed that all the side walls had signs posted that read ‘crash zone, do not lean.’ At first I thought they read splash zones and was instantly confused but after just a couple races I understood why the signs were there. Skaters going easily 30 miles per hour would glide around the tight bends of the track, contorting their body to be more aerodynamic, and sometimes they wouldn’t make it, taking hard falls across the ice and sliding into the walls making a thunderous sound.
One of the top races of the afternoon came in one of the men’s 500 meter heats, when U.S.A’s Alec Sklutovsky, who was in second for much of the match, made his move around one of final turns to make it a photo finish between him and Japan’s Takumi Wada which was cause for an uproar of ‘U-S-A’ chants from the crowd.
Overall, Japan’s Shogo Miyata would take home the gold in the men’s 500m final; U.S.A’s Brandon Kim would place fourth. In the women’s final, the Republic of Korea’s Minjeong Choi would place first and France would claim the gold in the mixed team relay ahead of Korea, the U.S. and China.
The next stop was ski jumping at the Olympic Jumping Complex, across from the Lake Placid Horse Show Grounds. Just the walk up to the complex and its surrounding facilities was daunting and I wasn’t even the one competing. Women and men would soared down the 100m hill, reaching almost 60 mph at takeoff and whizzed through the snowy night sky with nothing but their two skis and air between them and the ground below.
Jumper after jumper would glide through the air and over the hill, leaning their upper body over their skis at takeoff and landing seconds later to the sound of cheers and applause from the crowd. Even from halfway up the mountain on the media platform the uproars of celebration could be heard from below clear as day.
The crowd below was again a melting pot of different cultures intermingling with each other, sharing beers and laughs and bracing the cold weather tiger all the while enthralled with the big air action happening before them.
It was on the ride back down the mountain when I shared a gondola with a fellow photographer and media member from Poland. It was a brief, yet pleasant exchange but again I was left with the feeling of realization of just how many different people this event attracted and captivated. Not only did family, friends, fans, coaches and athletes journey to Lake Placid, but even people back in their home countries wanted access and coverage and they had people to deliver.
The final stop of the day was at Smoke Signals restaurant on Main Street, where they have hosted nightly late night music sessions throughout the games. On the walk down the street I saw a fire dancer performing in front of a fairly large crowd of people, families roasting marshmallows over a fire and couples competing in an inflatable hockey shot game. People weren’t just there to be fans of the competition, they were there as a collective to embrace everything the games had to offer.
Inside Smoke Signals one of the restaurant’s managers, Chauncey Defoor, explained to me how the restaurants late night music sessions have been a nice nightcap to each day of competition.
They were nightly sessions with a diversity of music filling the upstairs portion of the venue. Different bands and DJ’s would perform for swathes of anywhere from 60 to 200 people of all ages, as it was free to enter and enjoy.
“It started as just the competitors and trainers but now it’s bringing the whole community in late-night,” said Defoor.
Defoor also helped provide me one last piece of clarity as to how these games have truly affected the surrounding community. While he mentioned from a tourism aspect how great it surely has been for the hotel industry and getting foot traffic to the outskirts of town, he also mentioned an idea that I thought summed up what these games were all about perfectly.
“It’s been cool to experience different cultures and have them experience us.”