Franny Preston of Lake Placid with her brother Peter Bean and his love Gayle Hall. Peter is the father of the Canadian coach, three-time Olympian Jeff Bean.

Many of the U.S. FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup team members received early training in Lake Placid; thus, participating in the Jan. 17 1o 19 event was very much like a homecoming. That feeling was especially true of New Yorker and Buffalo Bills fan Chris Ellis who hails from Rochester.

“Lake Placid has always been a special place for me,” said Ellis. “Outside of being from Rochester and growing up four and a half hours away, my family used to come up here for camping. My older brother John was on the US Ski Team for ten years, starting in Lake Placid; we all got our start here. I lived at the OTC for four years, so coming here after five years off feels like a nice homecoming; it makes me feel like a kid again.”

In many ways, no less exciting for Ellis was seeing the Buffalo Bobsled on display outside the base lodge. The sled was decorated with the Buffalo Bills logo and colors, a team that many area residents and visitors’ support. The decoration was inspired by the Jan. 7, 2024, Sunday Night Football game between the Bills and Miami Dolphins when NBC commentator Cris Collinsworth described a repeated “tush push” play by quarterback Josh Allen as a Buffalo Bobsled.

Chris Ellis, who counts meeting Josh Allen at spring training camp as a highlight of his life, said, “I’ve got my Bills fans in the crowd that will be giving me a little wink and a nod on Sunday if they’re doing well. I told them if the Bills are not doing well, don’t tell me until after the competition.”

Many attendees popped into the Buffalo Sled to have their pictures taken by friends as they cheered on the athletes.

Chris Ellis, a Bills fan and athlete from Rochester, and Justin Schoenefeld.

“I think the Buffalo Bobsled is beautiful,” said Sue Abrams, seated in the sled with Debbie Forman. “I’m a fan of bobsledding and the freestyle athletes, but not the Bills. The aerialists are incredible; especially watching how high they fly and all the twists and turns they make in the air. It’s amazing; it’s a sport I’ve never seen before but want to watch again.”

“I’m a bobsled and Giants fan,” said Forman. “We were here for a long weekend and had no idea this competition was happening. I love it; it’s fun. What the athletes are doing is amazing to me. I can’t imagine doing it. It’s such a wonderful event, and we didn’t even know about until yesterday. It’s the best.”

For Winter Vinecki, who made her World Cup debut in Lake Placid, the hardest part of the sport is the physicality, especially as she gets older. Mentally, she feels capable of doing anything, but keeping her body up and ready to do fifty-foot backflips and landing on hard snow requires her to do everything she can to stay as healthy and flexible as possible. Vinecki said she and the others enjoy being in Lake Placid, her favorite site. She loved that for her and her teammates, many of their friends and family could come out and cheer them on.

“It’s exciting to be back in Placid after six years to a place that feels like home even though we haven’t been here in a while,” said Vinecki. “My mom and brothers are coming out; it’s great that we now have this venue up and running again, along with the one in Deer Valley, Utah.”

Among the families that came to Placid were Kaila Kuhn’s parents, Chris and Tamara, who drove out from Michigan. Her dad, a former alpine ski racer, shared how their daughter got into the sport.

Sue Abrams and Debbie Forman in the Buffalo Bobsled.

“When our kids were born, we got them on snow at 18 months,” said Chris Kuhn. “In middle school, then thirteen, a gymnast and a skier, Kaila was given the opportunity to be part of the training program held in Lake Placid that the US Olympic Committee and the US Ski Team subsidized. We then had a sit-down and said to her that if you do this, and it’s totally up to you, there would be no football games, no proms, and other such things, but it’s also an opportunity that less than one percent of the people in the world get to do.”

“We said, if you don’t like it, you can always come home,” said her mom, Tamara Kuhn. “I never wanted her to live in fear, but I wanted her to have a healthy respect for dangerous situations. There’s a lot of danger to this sport, but I don’t look at her at the top of the hill and have a panic attack because I am very confident in her abilities. The athletes said there is so much they can’t control: the weather, getting a headwind, a tailwind, and there are some very serious injuries that Kaila’s witnessed that set them back for a minute, too, but so yes, I’m concerned, but I am not living in fear for her.”

“This has always been Kaila’s journey,” said Chris Kuhn. “As long as she’s enjoying the work and is working hard, that’s the only thing any parent can hope for. Ultimately, the medals and all that don’t mean anything if the journey is awful.”

“We want her to follow her dreams and dream big,” said Tamara Kuhn.

“My graduate school friend and research partner Tammie Kuhn’s daughter Kaila is on the US Team and competing, so my husband Russell and I were motivated to come up and see her jump today; the sport’s amazing,” said Jean Huta. “We’ve been to Lake Placid many times before, did skiing yesterday and snowshoeing this morning, so we’re enjoying being here and pleased that we can be here to support the Kuhns.”

Ukrainian competitor Diana Yablonska.

“Watching the event, especially Kaila, is great fun,” said Russell.

Another Freestyler was excited to be in Placid for another reason. Ukrainian Diana Yablonska said that her countrymen know the generosity of the people of the Lake Placid region; the late Dmitry Feld raised a significant portion of the funding and supplies generated to support Ukrainians over the past several years.

“The support is greatly appreciated,” said Yablonska. “We are grateful for the opportunity to compete here.”

“This is one of the best, if not the best, sites in the world,” said US Freestyle athlete Quinn Dehlinger. “The inrun, the table, the jump, the steep landing is always so nice; the geometrics are perfect. Now, if Lake Placid could get the pool back online…”

Kaila Kuhn’s with her parents Chris and Tamara.