Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Winter Games
An 11-day international festival and competition combines thrilling sports action, with educational and cultural events.
Courtesy FISU Games
The Winter World Univerity Games is the largest winter multi-sport collegiate athletic event in the world, and it’s coming to Lake Placid and other nearby locations in the Adirondacks.
Every two years in a different city, the FISU (Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire) brings together more than 1,000 students for the Winter World University Games (there is a summer version, too).
The 2023 competition takes place from January 12 to 22; collegiate athletes from more than 50 countries will gather in our backyard at the Olympic Alpine Village in Lake Placid to celebrate, compete, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind winter festival experience.
This will be the 31st Winter World University Games and will include competitions in 12 winter sports. Collegiate athletes between the ages of 17 and 25 are eligible to enter, with teams selected by their national university sports federations.
The winter sports featured at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games include:
Like the Olympic Games, the World University Games are accompanied by majestic pageantry and ceremonies, including a symbolic flame carried by torch from Alfred University (near Buffalo, NY) to 15 different stops (including Rockefeller Center in NYC) before arriving in Lake Placid for the Cauldron lighting on January 12. Buffalo hosted the 1993 Summer University Games.
Every evening at 6 pm, athletes and spectators gather for the nightly medals ceremony, followed by that evening's entertainment.
And speaking of entertainment, the World University Games are more than a thrilling sports competition; the Games will feature live music and other festivities, including:
Ice sculpture
Late-night music sessions
Snowball cornhole tournaments
Stilt walkers
Warming domes
Food and beverages
This marks the first time the FISU Games have returned to a host city for the Winter World Univesity Games. Lake Placid held the event in 1972. The area has a great legacy for winter world sports competitions, having been the site for both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
Organizers expect to host 2,500 athletes and coaches from over 600 universities and 50+ countries—that’s almost twice the size of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
Events will be held within and around the Lake Placid Area, so be sure to check out schedules and venues if you plan to attend in person.
Can’t make it to the ADK for these events? Worry not. ESPN and ESPN+ will combine to carry nearly 160 hours of the 11-day Winter Games, Jan. 12-22, 2023.
And FISU.tv will stream the whole dang event live.
The website for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games has a ton of information about the competitions, schedule, tickets, venues, and more, so be sure to check it out.