Bell Atlantic Junior Luge Series Rolls Into Nassau County, July 16-18

Bell Atlantic Junior Luge Series Rolls
Into Nassau County, July 16-18

July 7, 1999

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. -- The Bell Atlantic Junior Luge Series rolls into
Nassau County, July 16-18, affording youngsters with Olympic aspirations
an opportunity to experience the thrill of the sport and to train with
coaches and members of the United States Luge Team.

During a series of three-hour clinics slated for 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5
p.m. on the campus of the State University of New York College at Old
Westbury, boys and girls, ages 10-14, will learn the fundamentals of luge
racing at slow speeds as they roll down paved roadways atop sleds on
wheels. The $15 entry fee includes a souvenir tee-shirt.

This is the fourth consecutive year that SUNY Old Westbury has been a
location for the Bell Atlantic Junior Luge Series, which USA Luge
officials view as the primary means of recruitment for a national program
whose athletes captured silver and bronze medals during last year's
Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The event is being organized
with assistance from the Nassau County Sports Commission, which found
the site for the Bell Atlantic Junior Luge Series in 1996.

The United States Luge Association's traveling luge ramp will be used
during the clinics. Youngsters will learn about properly positioning
themselves on the sled, accurate steering, slowing the sled and bringing it
to a stop. The sessions also include a fun race and moderate physical
testing to gauge the youngsters' athletic ability.

The best athletes discovered at these and other clinics to be held this
summer throughout Bell Atlantic's Northeast and mid-Atlantic region will
be invited to luge training on ice next winter. They also will be
considered for the 2000-2001 United States Luge Association's Junior
Development Team.

Olympic Bronze Medalist Brian Martin is a graduate of the 1987 Junior
Luge Series. Nearly all members of the current Junior National Team
were discovered through this program and have progressed to the level of
international luge racing.

Anyone interested in attending a clinic at SUNY Old Westbury is invited
to call 1-800-USA LUGE.

For more information, visit www.usaluge.org or
www.bellatlantic.com/usaluge on
the Internet.

In the spirit of the Olympic movement, the United States Luge
Association seeks to provide for the achievement of excellence in the sport
of luge, with the highest degree of sportsmanship and victory as the
standards. The United States Luge Association endeavors to recruit,
develop, train and support dedicated athletes so they may represent
themselves and the United States of America, with honor, in all luge
competitions.

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