Lake Placid, NY – Olympic freestyle skiing stars in moguls and aerials will come together for the first time this season, returning to the 1980 Olympic slopes of Lake Placid for the USANA Freestyle Cup today through Saturday.

The USANA Cup will feature one moguls event and two days of aerials. The event will mark Olympic champion Hannah Kearney’s return to competition after a training crash took the Vermonter off the slopes in October. Heather McPhie, of Bozeman, Mont., will be looking to continue her winning streak after sweeping the first two international competitions. The moguls course will take place on the Wilderness trail at Whiteface Mountain ski area in Wilmington, N.Y., near Lake Placid.

“I spend my summers at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, so the town feels like a second home to me. As a result, the Lake Placid World Cup is one of my favorite competitions of the year,” said Kearney. :I can drive to the event, my family is able to attend, and the OTC facilities and staff provide a productive and comfortable environment for the U.S. athletes. I am especially excited to compete at Whiteface this year because it is my first event of the season and I couldn’t think of a better place to rejoin the World Cup circuit.”

“It is always great to return to a place with so much Olympic tradition and a place where the mogul team has had a lot of success,” added U.S. coach Scott Rawles. “With two wins from World Cup leader Heather McPhie and a win from Bryon Wilson included in the five podiums in the first two events we have a lot of momentum coming in to the North American leg of the World Cup Tour. Hannah Kearney will also be returning to the World Cup, which is also very exciting considering her past success at Lake Placid.”

Dylan Ferguson, of Amesbury, Mass., and Emily Cook of Belmont, Mass. will lead a team of young aerials athletes against fierce international competition at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid.  and the high flying aerials competition will be at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

This week’s competition in Lake Placid will be the first of two World Cups taking place in the U.S. along with the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Utah, Jan. 31- Feb. 2.

Event Schedule
(all times local)

Thursday, Jan. 17 (Moguls)
9:15 – 10:15 Ladies’ Qualifications
11:35 – 1:00 Men’s Qualifications
1:45 – 2:00 Ladies’ Semi Finals
2:20 – 2:35 Men’s Semi Finals
2:40 – 2:50 Ladies’ Finals
2:50 – 3:00 Men’s Finals

Friday, Jan. 18 (Aerials)
3:15 – 4:00 Ladies’ Qualifications
5:55 – 6:55 Men’s Qualifications
8:15 – 8:30 Ladies’ Semi Finals
8:35 – 8:50 Men’s Semi Finals
8:55 – 9:02 Ladies’ Finals
9:02 – 9:10 Men’s Finals

Saturday, Jan. 19 (Aerials)
3:15 – 4:00 Ladies’ Qualifications
5:55 – 6:55 Men’s Qualifications
8:15 – 8:30 Ladies’ Semi Finals
8:35 – 8:50 Men’s Semi Finals
8:55 – 9:02 Ladies’ Finals
9:02 – 9:10 Men’s Finals