Miracle off ice: A day with the volunteers at the Opening Ceremony

January 12, 2023 was the day everyone had been waiting for since 2019 due to the cancellation of the Lucerne 2021 Universiade. It marked the Opening Ceremony for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.

In the afternoon, the torch made it to the historic Lake Placid Olympic Center, where the Miracle on Ice magic from the 1980 Winter Olympics occurred.

At 5 p.m., the athletes, coaches and delegations from over 40 nations worldwide made their way to Herb Brooks Arena to celebrate the start of spectacular stories from these hardworking student-athletes.

When these passed security, they ran into Charlie Jessen, one of the volunteers for Lake Placid 2023. Jessen started his shift bright and early at 5 a.m. The first thing he did was to “put out garbage cans”, he chuckles.

Jessen is working with sustainability and Save Winter, a movement where experts get together to find ways to preserve winter. And they will gather during three days for the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World Conference (13-15 January) which will explore the intersection between climate change and winter sports After being offered to plant a tree by Jessen, the delegations met LJ Swanson, another volunteer who guided them to the Herb Brooks Arena.

“It is crowd control and I have been stopping a lot of people who just wanted to get directly to the opening ceremony and they can’t get through that way. So, they’re a little mad,” Swanson said.

Swanson is a teacher at Suny Plattsburgh and she has volunteered at many events, including the Whiteface races, winter carnival, and the ski club in Saranac Lake.

Also volunteering at the Games is Ashley Rooker, a student at Paul Smith’s College. She had to move off campus to let athletes move in, so she thought it’d be nice to be a part of the event.

“It’s been really cool to be able to see how everyone’s coming together and learn to communicate with each other based on our barriers and everything,” Rooker said.

This is her first time volunteering for an international event and she looks forward to participating again in the future.

Once you pass these three amazing individuals, you meet even more volunteers who guide you to another historic venue, 1932 Jack Shea Arena, and, after following their guidance, there you are, the day everyone has been waiting for : the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games are officially open.

Written by Diana Hong, FISU Young Reporter