LAKE PLACID, NY ??” Two-time Olympian Kristina Koznick is representing the two-time Olympic village of Lake Placid this season. Koznick, a six-time World Cup slalom winner and five-time U.S. champion, will wear LAKE PLACID on her competitive and casual headwear. The sponsorship extends to virtually every tour stop during the 2004-05 season’s World Cup and World Championship technical ski races.

After skiing to a fourth place effort in the opening World Cup giant slalom ski race in Solden, Austria last month, the 29 year-old from Eagan, Minn. is preparing for this weekend’s resumption in Aspen, Colo.

Koznick sported the Lake Placid brand for several competitions last season, and will work with the staffs of the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF). The Lake Placid / Essex County Visitors Bureau is also involved in this sponsorship.

“I’ve only got good things to say about Lake Placid,??? said Koznick during Aspen week. “I trained there several times – with mini-camps – last season and it was great. I was treated so well and I could find any kind of terrain I needed to train on – steep, flats, icy, soft…it was such a good experience. I’m excited about being able to represent the area because it’s such a terrific place.”

Koznick will bring impressive slalom credentials into the season. She has six World Cup victories, 17 World Cup podium performances and five national slalom titles.

“As Lake Placid celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Winter Games, this partnership with Kristina illustrates how our village has bridged this quarter century,” said ORDA President and CEO Ted Blazer. “We have tradition and legacy from 1980. And now we will add a relationship with one of the modern era’s best technical skiers.???

It is anticipated that the ski veteran will appear on national and cable television throughout the 2004-05 winter. NBC and the Outdoor Life Network will devote considerable winter programming to the alpine sport in the upcoming campaign.

“We are very excited to have Kristina affiliated with ORDA and NYSEF,??? said NYSEF Program Director Doug Williams. “She has worked with our group in the past at our summer camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon and the kids really enjoyed being with her. She has a great perspective on the sport of ski racing and can communicate that well to the kids.

“We are in the middle of two capital campaign funds to upgrade the NYSEF facilities both at Gore and Whiteface Mountains and look forward to her involvement in these campaigns.???

A skier since the age of four, Koznick emerged from the famed Buck Hill program in Minnesota. She made her World Cup debut at the youthful age of 15 in 1991. Twice since then, in 1998 and 2002, Koznick has finished second in the overall World Cup slalom standings.

In addition to her ski racing commitment, the 13-year World Cup veteran will appear at ORDA venues this winter in activities that may occur in and out of skiing. She will also train at Whiteface Mountain as her race schedule permits.

For more information on ORDA venues and events, and for web cams from five locations, please log on to www.orda.org.