Ashley Walden, Executive Director of the Adirondack Sports Council, to Speak at 2023 NYS Tourism Conference

Ashley Walden, Executive Director of the Adirondack Sports Council, will speak on the Lake Placid 2023 World University Games at the 2023 NYS Tourism Conference, as part of our transformational bloc on Wednesday afternoon. Ashley will speak on how the Games ended up in Lake Plaid, the incredible impact the Games had on the region.

Learn about the motives for the event, participants, and key stakeholders, as well as how the event has paved the next chapter of winter sport in Lake Placid!

Key Takeaways:

• Gain insight into the short-term events and positive long-lasting impact the Games hold for the future
• Learn about the audience/spectator/viewership globally and what it means for the region

Prior to becoming the Adirondack Sports Council’s Executive Director and the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games’ Chief Operating Officer, Ashley Walden spent a combined 23 years with USA Luge and USA Bobsled and Skeleton (USABS). Sixteen of those years were as a member of USA Luge’s national team, where she won a World Cup bronze medal, in 2005, in Winterberg, Germany, and slid to an eighth-place finish in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Following her sliding career, Walden joined USABS becoming the association’s Director of Sport and served as the team’s Team Leader for the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Ashley also worked with NBC, as a statistician, during the network’s coverage of the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games. She’s currently a board member of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum.

Register now for the 2023 NYS Tourism Conference!

The Adirondack Sports Council's mission is to educate, promote, encourage, foster, and enhance the public’s knowledge and interest in national and international sports competitions and concepts. To provide aid and assistance in social, volunteer, and business ways to national and international amateur athletics. To centralize national and international sports management, volunteerism, and other support services for the Adirondack North Country Region. To encourage and support the growth of the regional economy with sustainable employment and business opportunities by bolstering our sports heritage both nationally and globally. To encourage and support friendly competition, growth, and learning experiences for athletes of all ages and nationalities.