U.S. Juniors to start in Lake Placid on Dec. 10

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2009 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships will take place Dec. 10-13 at the historic Lake Placid Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. More than 300 figure skaters from across the country are expected to compete at the four-day event, which is being hosted for the second time since 2003 by the Skating Club of Lake Placid and the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA).

Qualifying rounds begin Wed., Dec. 10 at the Herb Brooks Arena with the intermediate men's event. The intermediate ladies short program will kick off the championship events Fri., Dec. 12 at the Herb Brooks Arena. Competition concludes Sat., Dec. 13 with the intermediate men's competition in the Herb Brooks Arena and the juvenile boys competition at the Jack Shea Arena.

icenetwork.com will provide live and on-demand video coverage of the event for Season Pass subscribers (Click here to subscribe). The site will also feature near-live results, event recaps and photo galleries for subscribers and non-subscribers.

The annual event crowns the U.S. champion in ladies, men's, pairs and ice dancing in the first two levels of the U.S. Figure Skating competitive structure -- juvenile and intermediate. The remaining three levels -- novice, junior and senior -- will compete Jan. 18-25, 2009, at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland.

Skaters qualified for the U.S. Junior Championships by finishing in the top four at one of nine regional championships or three sectional championships held throughout the country this fall. Past champions of the event include two-time world bronze medalist and two-time U.S. champion Evan Lysacek and 2008 U.S. silver medalist ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

An updated event schedule can be found on the Skating Club of Lake Placid's web site, http://www.lakeplacidskating.com/newsite, by clicking the event logo in the upper right-hand corner.

Lake Placid and ORDA have also hosted the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships (five times), the annual Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships and the first event in the 2007 ISU Junior Prix of Figure Skating Series.