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Freestyle aerials return to Lake Placid this weekend

An aerials athlete crashes as she hits the hill during an FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup. (Provided photo — Olympic Regional Development Authority)

LAKE PLACID — For the first time in six years, the Olympic Jumping Complex will host the FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup. The competition will run on Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. each day.

Chadd Cassidy, vice president of legacy venues operations at the state Olympic Regional Development authority, oversees the jumping complex in addition to the Olympic Center and Mount Van Hoevenberg. He remembers going to one of the first aerials events when he was growing up in Lake Placid. Now, the Lake Placid native is very excited to have them back in town.

“It pains me to say this as a hockey guy — I think aerials is one of the most exciting events that we have here,” Cassidy said.

Freestyle aerials involve executing complex tricks in the air while on skis. The athletes launch off of platforms, called kickers, that come in three sizes, or heights. Higher kickers mean more air time in which athletes can perform more complicated techniques.

Kyle Penny, senior event manager at ORDA, said the preparation for the competition has taken about a week, and it took about two days to construct the kickers.

For this World Cup, all but one of the judges will be working remotely through a video feed. Penny said this is common especially for aerials events in North America. This weekend, are calling in from locations including Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Canada.

There are 38 men and 30 women representing 10 countries: Switzerland, Austria, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Canada, the United States, China, Ukraine, Japan and Germany. Penny said the Canadian and Swiss teams are especially excited, since they train in Lake Placid frequently. Many of the coaches competed in Lake Placid during their careers.

“Everybody’s super excited to be back in Placid,” Penny said.

The Olympic Jumping Complex will be open to the public during normal hours on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. The complex will be closed at 4 p.m. both days and will reopen to ticket holders at 5 p.m. Warm ups and qualifications will begin around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by women’s and men’s finals at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the mixed team competition will take place.

There will also be food, beverages and a Red Bull DJ. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit tinyurl.com/y6uasje7. Tickets will also be available on-site the day of the competition.

Cassidy said freestyle aerials are an especially exciting event for the full family. The competition takes place at night, under the lights, and has a “festive, energized atmosphere.”

“It’s almost like NASCAR, you know? Like the element of possible disaster,” he said. “It really is spectacular to be able to watch it and to see all that goes into it I think is just super exciting.”

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