Lake Placid, NY - February 22nd, 2016 - USA Luge announced Monday the first annual Running of the Balls, a new, fun and exciting fundraising initiative to help support the team’s athletes and programs.

The event, on Friday, March 25 at 5 PM, will see hundreds of lacrosse balls, donated by Tri-Lakes Youth Lacrosse, flying down Lake Placid’s Olympic Sports Complex luge track at top speed. Fans will be able to participate in this unique event by entering as many balls as they’d like in this one-of-a-kind race that benefits USA Luge.

Cash, prizes from USA Luge sponsors and goods from local purveyors will be offered for the top five balls and the last place ball.

The event will be covered live on USALuge.org, on 93.3 WSLP-FM and www.wslpfm.com. Media sponsors include the Lake Placid News and 93.3 WSLP-FM, while the Lake Placid UPS Store is providing event-related services.

“With all due respect and apologies to Pamplona, USA Luge looks forward to the release of hundreds of lacrosse balls down the ice at Mount Van Hoevenberg,” said Gordy Sheer, USA Luge Director of Marketing and Sponsorships. “This will be a fun event as we wind down a great season for our athletes, and start looking ahead to next season, and especially two years from now, when we will compete at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.”

Fans will be able to buy balls for $10 each or three balls for $25.

Prizes will be awarded as follows:1st place: $500

• 2nd place: $300
• 3rd place: $200
• 4th place: $100
• 5th place: $100
• Last place: $100

As sponsor contributions grow, the prize package will increase accordingly. USA Luge will sell tickets at Lake Placid retail outlets, at USA Luge headquarters at 57 Church Street in Lake Placid, or by clicking here.

In the World Cup season that concluded Sunday, USA Luge set a team record with 19 medals. High finishes in the overall rankings added to the most successful World Cup campaign in team history.

Two-time Olympian Chris Mazdzer, of Saranac Lake, N.Y., placed third in the final World Cup overall standings. He’s just the third man in team history to do so.

Erin Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., Sochi Olympic bronze medalist and 2009 World Champion, finished fourth on the season, with Summer Britcher, of Glen Rock, Pa., in fifth place. Britcher tied for the most World Cup wins this winter with three and held the leader’s bib in mid-season.

The doubles team of Matt Mortensen, of Huntington Station, N.Y., and Jayson Terdiman, of Berwick, Pa., in just their second season together, finished fifth, an improvement of two places from 2014-2015. The Sochi Olympians had top finishes of fourth and fifth places on the World Cup tour.