Given its idyllic location in New York’s Adirondack Mountains and prominence as host to both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics— remember the stunning Team U.S.A. hockey “Miracle on Ice” win over the Soviets, which propelled the Americans to the gold medal match?—Lake Placid is a natural when it comes to meetings that want to get physical.
And it doesn’t get much more physical than the Ironman North America triathlon competition, which has tested the endurance of the destination itself for more than a decade and a half.
“The Olympics heritage is a big draw, and for the sport of triathlon they have the best facilities and courses you could ask for,” says Graham Fraser, chairman of the board for Ironman North America (www.nasports.com), which brought approximately 2,300 participants and 3,500 volunteers to the destination for the last competition. “When I first went there 15 years ago it took me about 15 minutes to discover that they have everything we need, and it’s a community that knows events. They pretty well host it soup-to-nuts.”
Fraser liked Lake Placid so much, in fact, that he chose to live there full time for five years, and says he still spends about 10 weeks per year in the destination.
“You go up there on a beautiful fall day, and when Lake Placid is at its best there’s no place better, and I’ve been to a lot of places. You have a mix of mountains and lakes, and it’s very green—it just offers everything you want to do,” Fraser says. “The analogy I use is that it’s almost like Mayberry. Everyone’s your neighbor, everyone says, ‘Hello.’”
This neighborly disposition also translates to the meetings industry, he says.
“You get quick decisions because it’s a small city,” Fraser says. “When I first went there I was in a meeting and within five minutes the mayor stood up and said, ‘We can do this.’ There’s not a huge bureaucracy, so it doesn’t take long to get a decision made.”
Due to the sheer volume of Ironman North America—Fraser estimates some 30,000 fans joined athletes and staff for the last competition—the event commands a high degree of coordination and a wide variety of facilities.
“There’s every range of accommodation and restaurant to pick from, depending on the demographic that’s coming,” he says, adding that Ironman has used the same local caterer, Crossroads Catering, for 10 years, including for a welcome banquet at the nearby North Elba Show Grounds.
In all, Fraser says the group served about 5,000 attendees during its weekend banquets, all without a hitch.
“Lake Placid is an event town,” he says, “so they get the events right.”
The availability of premier athletes, coordinated through the Olympic Regional Development Authority, to hire as speakers is another positive factor of a Lake Placid meeting.
“There’s access to all of the athletes you want—even current athletes, such as the bobsled team or Nordic skiers—which is pretty neat in a small town,” Fraser says. “You can still feel the energy of that ‘Miracle on Ice’ goal—it’s still there.”
