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LAKE PLACID, ADIRONDACKS, USA – With seven weeks before the Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) open in the Northern Adirondacks, event organizers continue to fine-tune the competition schedule, including the addition of events for the physically challenged.

The ESWG Organizing Committee also announced Monday that Stewart's Shops has contributed $5,000 to the budget of the Games.

"As an employee and family-owned company, we understand the value in experiencing both competition and teamwork," said Gary Dake, President of Stewart's Shops. "We are all proud to be a part of the team helping to continue the tradition of the Empire State Winter Games."

Jeff Erenstone, of Lake Placid, was instrumental in securing the adaptive cross country ski races, while the adaptive alpine community in Wilmington spearheaded the move to bring that competition to the 1980 Olympic mountain.

The 2011 edition of the ESWG will be held Feb. 25-27 at venues in Lake Placid, Wilmington and Saranac Lake. An overall schedule for the three-day, Olympic-style sports festival has been drafted and will be officially released later this month.

The lineup of events includes adaptive alpine skiing, alpine skiing, adaptive cross country skiing, biathlon, bobsled, cross country, figure skating, luge, skeleton, ski orienteering, snowshoe racing, speed skating, women's hockey, skier/boarder cross.

Also, snowshoe racing is slated for the Petrova Middle School fields and Mt. Pisgah, in Saranac Lake and St. Armand. Those races will be offered for males and females of all ages. The ESWG announced simultaneously that no qualification would be necessary for snowshoeing.

The event website, www.empirestatewintergames.com, offers details on all events and continues to take athlete registration.

The organizing committee has also stated that all competitions have been financially secured. An Opening Ceremony and Parade of Athletes is now being planned.

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The Empire State Winter Games is a community-driven event, courtesy of a partnership between the Lake Placid CVB, the Town of North Elba, the Village of Lake Placid, the NY State Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Village of Saranac Lake, the Town of Wilmington and Essex County. LPEC Quality Destination, Inc., an arm of the LPEC Visitors Bureau, is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, and is fiscally responsible for the ESWG.