Empire State Winter Games Opening Ceremony Pays Tribute to Alumni Competing in Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games
Empire State Winter Games Cauldron Lit by 1980 Olympic Winter Games Torch Bearer
46th Annual Empire State Winter Games Events & Competitions Being Held Friday through Sunday in Lake Placid and Throughout the Surrounding North Country Region
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The 2026 Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) kicked off Thursday evening, Feb. 5, at Lake Placid’s iconic Olympic Center with a celebration themed “Where Chill Meets Will.”The more than 2,300 winter athletes competing this weekend brought the “chill” as they marched into the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena, while the Turbo Twins delivered the “will,” dazzling the crowd with two electrifying, gravity-defying performances.
Hosted by NBC5 meteorologist Tom Messner, the evening’s opening ceremony also featured a special tribute to the upcoming 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, which get underway Friday, Feb. 6. Throughout the first 45 years of the Empire State Winter Games, 34 athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympic Winter Games, and 12 have returned home draped with Olympic medals. The Milan-Cortina Games will feature nine ESWG alumni, including short-track speedskater Clayton DeClemente, (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), who delivered a special message from Italy to the athletes competing this weekend.
In his remarks, DeClemente recalled competing in the Empire State Winter Games himself and encouraged the athletes, reminding them that with hard work, their dream of reaching the Olympics could one day become reality.
Several members of the U.S. Olympic Luge Team also competed in the Empire State Winter Games. Summer Britcher (Park, City, Utah), Chevone Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.), Ansel Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.), (Sophia Kirkby (Raybrook, N.Y.), Zachary DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.), Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.), Matthew Greiner (Park City, Utah), Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.), and Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) are all expected to compete in the XXV Olympic Winter Games.
Cash Hollingsworth, a Pee-Wee hockey player from Tupper Lake, N.Y., gave the Athletes’ Oath. Winter triathlon official, Liz Jennison (Morristown, N.J.), administered the Officials’ Oath.
Suzy Mink (Washington, D.C.) officially opened this weekend’s Games by lighting the indoor cauldron. Mink—who will compete Friday in the USAT Winter Triathlon National Championships at Mt. Van Hoevenberg—was among the 52 individuals who carried the 1980 Olympic torch to Lake Placid for the Opening Ceremony, where the cauldron was lit by Dr. Charles M. Kerr of Arizona.
“Tonight was fabulous, it was everything. I was so honored and humbled to light the cauldron, what a thrill,” said Mink, who was wearing the same yellow running uniform that she wore 46 years ago. “To be back in this dream town of Lake Placid means so much to me.”
Over the next three days, athletes, ages eight to 80, from throughout the Empire State, New England, the northeast, and beyond will compete in more than 20 winter sports in Lake Placid, Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Utica, and Malone. The Games’ newest sport is bowling. Saturday’s six-game tournament is being held at Lucky Strike Lanes in Malone. The top three finishers in boys’ and girls’ youth divisions and men’s and women’s adult categories will all come away with Empire State Winter Games medals. Other sports include adaptive sports, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, boys’ and girls’ ice hockey, luge, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski orienteering, and winter triathlon.
For more information about the Empire State Winter Games, go to https://empirestatewintergames.com/.
Fans and athletes can also follow on Facebook, Instagram, and X, using @ESWGames and #ESWGames.
Photos of the 46th Annual Empire State Winter Games can be found HERE.