The 1,666 lacrosse balls wait to fly down the Mount Van Hoevenberg track in April 2024. (Provided photo — USA Luge)

LAKE PLACID — More than 1,000 lacrosse balls will cruise down the Mount Van Hoevenberg sliding track to support USA Luge athletes and programs. The organization’s 11th annual Running of the Balls fundraiser will take place on Dec. 20, following the conclusion of the FIL Luge World Cup in Lake Placid.

Olympic doubles luge silver medalist Gordy Sheer, who is the director of marketing and sponsorship at USA Luge in Lake Placid, created the fundraiser back in the day. He hopes the event will raise more than $35,000 this time around.

“If we can clear (that), then I’ll be thrilled,” Sheer said.

The thousands of lacrosse balls will be released from the top of the luge track, and people can both watch and participate by purchasing as many balls as they’d like in the race. There will be cash and prizes from USA Luge and its sponsors will be offered for the top 10 balls and the last-place ball for the usual yellow, white and orange balls.

However, this year, there will be a special race, featuring blue-colored balls, that will award a trip to watch USA Luge athletes compete in Italy next February. USA Luge and its sponsors will take care of all travel, ground transportation, lodging and everything needed to cheer on the team.

“We’re excited (because) we’ve got some very strong medal prospects,” Sheer said. “This is a very fun and potentially affordable way to win a trip and cheer the team on.”

There will also be another race, celebrating 1998 honorary team captain Mojo Nixon, an accomplished musician, who died in 2024. The winner of that race will receive a copy of Nixon’s debut album, which Pravda Records is re-issuing along with Nixon’s entire catalog, and an autographed cymbal signed by Nixon’s band the Toad Liquors. There will be 98 Mojo balls sold in honor of the year Nixon was the team captain.

The regular balls are offered at $15 each or three for $35. The blue-colored balls and Mojo balls can be purchased for $35 each.

The event is USA Luge’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and it’s grown ever since the first-ever event in March 2016, jumping from $12,000 in 2016 to around $40,000 in recent years.

Sheer said the idea for the fundraiser came about after watching the Dam Duck Race in Lake Placid.

“(We saw) how that’s been a successful fundraiser,” he said. “We kind of thought about how we could adopt that model and this is what we came up with.”

To enter the fundraiser race, scroll to the bottom Running of the Balls page on USA Luge’s website at tinyurl.com/3a8bmv4a.

The prizes for the top 10 regular balls, plus the last-place ball, are as follows:

1. $1,000 and USA Luge Cortina Spirit Package — Karbon Team 2026 Cortina Jacket, USA Luge Milan-Cortina Pin, USA Luge autographed poster

2. $500 and Traveler’s Choice carry-on and backpack set

3. $300 and Gordini gloves

4. $200 and Karbon 2025-2026 National Team lightweight puffy jacket

5. $100 and USANA Gift Pack

6. Icebug gift certificate for one free pair of winter shoes (studded boots, studded running shoes or winter rubber versions of either) with free shipping anywhere in the U.S.

7. 2025-26 Norton National Team podium hat set plus USA Luge umbrella

8. USA Luge T-Shirt and Beer Glass and Duck Brand tape pack

9. White Castle swag bag

10. Team Worldwide-USA Luge T-shirt

Last place: $100 USA Luge T-shirt