LAKE PLACID, New York — With international events slated for many winter sport disciplines, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) unveiled its roster of events Friday for the 2007-08 winter season.

In the middle of the upcoming campaign, Whiteface Mountain Ski Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary, including important competitions on its world class trails.

“I am happy to say that ORDA will extend its Olympic and sports legacy with a terrific lineup for the coming winter,” said ORDA Chairman J. Patrick Barrett. “Since our inception 25 years ago, the primary mission of ORDA has been to utilize the 1980 Winter Olympic venues so as to create significant commerce and notoriety for the region. The winter of 2007-08 will do exactly that.”

ORDA’s most recent economic impact study showed that the Authority’s activities generate $356 million statewide.

“ORDA has rolled up its collective sleeves and worked diligently to bring an outstanding lineup of events for the coming winter,” said President and CEO Ted Blazer. “These activities will bring prestige and people to our region. This will continue to move our economic needle with a positive impact on our business communities. The fact that we will, once again, appear on network television several times in North America, with primetime European coverage, will help us in the future.”

The season will commence with World Cup luge. After a one-year absence, the world’s top sliders return to the two-time Winter Olympic village Nov. 15-18 at the Olympic Sports Complex. A brand new men’s luge start, to be constructed this summer at the track on Mt. Van Hoevenberg, will be employed for the first time in a major event. Under the banner of the International Luge Federation, races in men’s and women’s singles, doubles and the team event are on the Lake Placid slate.

One week later, Olympic gold medalist and skating legend Scott Hamilton will bring Smucker’s Stars on Ice back to the Olympic Center for the national debut of his 2007-08 tour. It will take place Saturday, Nov. 24, in the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena.

The International Federation for Bobsleigh and Tobogganing has a World Cup bobsled and skeleton event on the Lake Placid course from Dec. 10-16. Men and women will compete in a total of five events down the mile-long, 20 turn chute of ice.

Athletes in these sports will continue to enjoy ORDA’s continuing efforts to protect the course from inclement weather as roofing will be added to more curves during the off-season.

In January, the scene changes to Whiteface and the Olympic Jumping Complex for three freestyle skiing events scheduled for Jan. 18-20. The International Ski Federation as well as the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association will conduct World Cup moguls on the Wilderness trail at Whiteface Jan. 18 and 20, while aerial skiing will occur on Jan. 19 at the jumping site in Lake Placid.

Whiteface skiers and riders will be counting down the days to the mountain’s 50th birthday celebration, officially on Jan. 28. But in reality, the party will last for weeks. It begins Jan. 25 and continues with theme weekends until March 8-9.

The Junior Luge World Championships will be contested back at Mt. Van Hoevenberg from Feb. 4-10 as the future stars of this exciting sport negotiate Lake Placid’s difficult track.

February also brings the annual Empire State Winter Games, where New Yorkers compete on the same 1980 Winter Olympic sites. Over 1,000 athletes will converge on the community Feb. 22-24.

March, in many years the best month of winter, maintains the pace with World Cup snowboarding at Whiteface March 1 and 3. The schedule brings snowboardcross to the Boreen trail on Saturday, while parallel giant slalom returns on Monday along Draper’s Drop.

The North American Series Alpine Skiing Finals will be held at Whiteface March 12-16, featuring up-and-coming skiers from the U.S., Canada and abroad.

The final major event is on tap March 22-23 when the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena hosts the NCAA Men’s Div. III Ice Hockey Championships.

In addition to these headline events, during the 2007-08 season, ORDA will present:

• Continental Cup women’s ski jumping Aug. 29-30
• International Skating Union Junior Grand Prix Skating Aug. 30-Sept. 2
• Flaming Leaves Festival Ski Jumping Oct. 6-7
• Masters 90 Meter Ski Jump Dec. 29
• NY Ski Educational Foundation 120 Meter Ski Jump Dec. 30
• U.S. National Bobsled Championships Dec. 30-Jan. 6
• ISI Figure Skating Competition Jan. 17-19
• Continental Cup Skeleton Races Jan. 22-28
• Lake Placid Loppet Citizens Cross Country Ski Race Feb. 9
• Harlem Globetrotters Feb. 19
• New York State High School Alpine Skiing Championships Feb. 26-27
• Masters Alpine Skiing Regional Championships March 6-9
• International Bobsled and Skeleton Drivers School March 16-29
• Adult National Figure Skating Championships April 8-13

For more information on these and other activities in and around the Lake Placid Winter Olympic venues, including web cams from five locations, please log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.