FIGURE SKATING: Lake Placid, N.Y., selected to host 2009 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships

Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 4, 2008)-U.S. Figure Skating announced today the selection of Lake Placid, N.Y., as the host for the 2009 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships. The event will take place Dec. 8-13, 2008 at the Olympic Center. 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, Ohio. Skaters qualify for the U.S. Junior Championships by finishing in the top four at one of nine regional championships held throughout the country in the fall (Pairs and dance only compete at sectionals). 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. The 2009 U.S. Junior Championships will be held at the Olympic Center. The facility has three ice surfaces: the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena, 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena and the USA Rink. The U.S. Junior Championships were held in Lake Placid once before, in 2003. The city has hosted numerous other figure skating competitions, including the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships (five times) and the first event in the International Skating Union's 2007 Junior Prix of Figure Skating Series.-U.S. Figure Skating-U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of approximately 1,425 member clubs and Basic Skills programs representing nearly 184,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States, including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.