POSTED: Friday February 20th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIVERSAL SPORTS TO BROADCAST BOBSLED AND SKELETON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM LAKE PLACID

Webcast Coverage Starts Today on UniversalSports.com; Same Day Broadcast Coverage Starts Saturday at 7 p.m. ET

       LOS ANGELES – February 20, 2009 – The top bobsledders and skeleton sliders in the world will gather for a dress rehearsal for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games as Universal Sports presents broadcast and webcast coverage of the 2009 FIBT Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships today from Lake Placid, New York.  The skeleton events will begin on Thursday, February 26.

Featured U.S. bobsledders include 2006 Olympic silver medalists and recent World Cup winners, Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming, 2006 Olympian Steven Holcomb and three-time Olympian Todd Hays.  Featured U.S. skeleton sliders include 2006 Olympian Katie Uhleander and 2007 World Champion Noelle Pikus-Pace.

Universal Sports\’ broadcast team of Tim Singer (play-by-play) and former U.S. Bobsled team member John Morgan (analyst) will call the action from Lake Placid.

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, available in 45 million homes, will present 5 hours of same day coverage starting Saturday (all times ET):

Sat., Feb. 21   Women (Heats 3 & 4), 7 – 8 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 22,  2-man Bobsled (Heats 3 & 4), 7 – 8 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 28,  Women\‘s and Men\‘s Skeleton (Heats 3 & 4), 9 – 11 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 1,   4-man Bobsled (Heats 3 & 4), 7 – 8 p.m

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSALSPORTS.COM: UniversalSports.com will offer free, LIVE and same day webcast coverage of each event (all times ET):

Fri., Feb. 20   Women\‘s Bobsled (Heats 1 & 2), TBD
Sat., Feb. 21   Women\‘s Bobsled (Heat 3), LIVE at 8:30 – 9:30 a.m
               Women\‘s Bobsled (Heat 4), LIVE at 10 – 11 a.m.
               2-man Bobsled (Heats 1 & 2), 10 – 11 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 22   2-man Bobsled (Heat 3), LIVE at 8:30 – 9:40 a.m.
               2-man Bobsled (Heat 4), LIVE at 10 – 11 a.m.
               Team Competition, TBD
Thu., Feb. 26   Women\‘s Skeleton (Heats 1& 2) 10 – 11 a.m.
Fri., Feb. 27   Women\‘s Skeleton (Heat 3), LIVE at 8:30 – 10 a.m.
               Women\‘s Skeleton (Heat 4), LIVE at 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
               Men\‘s Skeleton (Heats 1 & 2), TBD
Sat., Feb. 28   Men\‘s Skeleton (Heat 3), LIVE at 1 – 2:15 p.m.
               Men\‘s Skeleton (Heat 4), LIVE at 3 – 4 p.m.
               4-man Bobsled (Heats 1 & 2), TBD
Sun., Mar. 1    4-man Bobsled (Heat 3), LIVE at 9 – 10:15 a.m.
               4-man Bobsled (Heat 4), LIVE at 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

MORGAN ON ROHBUCK:  \“The last thing Shauna wants is another silver medal.  She wants gold.\”

MORGAN ON HOLCOMB AND HAYS:  \“Steve and Todd look good and they can medal.  The Americans have not won in 2-man bobsled since the 1936 World Championships.  Both have been challenging all week in practice.\”

U.S. ATHLETES: Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock has led the women\‘s bobsled team throughout the FIBT season and currently stands in second place overall. She won the bronze medal in both the 2005 and 2007 world championships. Rohbock recently won her first gold medal of the 2008-2009 World Cup season while in Koenigssee, Germany, with partner Valerie Fleming. Fleming and Rohbock have placed in over 15 races together since 2006.

Steven Holcomb has been a leader on the men\‘s team but has suffered this World Cup season due to his inability to attend races for financial reasons. Due to this obstacle, his current ranking does not reflect his performance this season as he still remains one of the strongest racers on the U.S. Bobsled team.

Katie Uhleander and Noelle Pikus-Pace remain two of the best women in skeleton overall and are expected to perform well at the World Championships.

BOBSLED AND SKELETON WORLD CUP: Universal Sports has coverage of every race of the 2008-09 FIBT bobsled and skeleton World Cup season available for on-demand viewing on UniversalSports.com.

LAKE PLACID AS HOST OF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Lake Placid is a historic track that was originally ranked among one of the most difficult in the nation. Lake Placid was home to the Olympic bobsleigh competitions in 1932 and 1980, as well as seven World Championships.

It has also been host to important international competitions such as the 23rd World Luge Championships, numerous World Cups, the 1st, 10th and 23rd Junior World Luge Championships and the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online. Universal Sports is a 24-hour television channel available in 45 million television households in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington DC, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Hartford, New Haven, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Reno, Omaha and Albany. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts.  UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.

ABOUT THE FIBT

The Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) was founded on November 23, 1923 and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the International Federation responsible for the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton.  The FIBT headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland.  Bobsleigh has been a part of the Olympic Winter Games since the first Games in 1924.  The FIBT conducts competitions in five disciplines: 2-man bobsleigh, 4-man bobsleigh, women\‘s bobsleigh, men\‘s skeleton and women\‘s skeleton.  In addition to the Olympic Winter Games and World Championships, the FIBT conducts World Cup, Intercontinental Cup, European Cup and America\‘s Cup competitions.

# # #

For more information, please contact:

T.K. Gore
Universal Sports
240.396.1907
tkgore@wcsn.com

Don Krone
FIBT
518.524.2647
don.krone@fibt.com

       Members of the media can get more information about NBC Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.

# # #

Keywords · 2009 FIBT Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships · Lake Placid · USA

Name: Adam Freifeld
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-6772

Please refer all questions to the company listed above issuing the press release. SFC will not be able to assist you with any inquiries and disclaims any content in these press releases.