Marketing

White Castle official sponsor of USA Luge team

USA Luge team member Chris Mazdzer with young luge hopefuls. Provided.

February 2, 2022

White Castle is an official sponsor of USA Luge and the title sponsor of the organization's off-season recruitment program, the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search. White Castle and the USA Luge program partnered in 2017, according to a company press release.

The USA Luge team will compete in the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. Luge has been an Olympic sport since 1964. Commonly referred to as "sliders," luge athletes slide down a track of ice on sleds, feet first, at speeds reaching 90 miles an hour. The USA Luge team has won six Olympic medals and almost 600 medals in elite- and junior-level international competitions since 1994.

"We're two slider experts coming together, and it's worked so well for the past five years. Our special relationship with USA Luge has allowed us to support these athletes and watch them progress to the highest level," Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle, said in the release. "We're really looking forward to supporting Team USA as they compete in the Winter Games. We're sliders cheering on sliders!"

To celebrate the team, White Castle designed scarves for the team. From the opening ceremonies through the luge races, White Castle will be in Lake Placid, New York, headquarters for USA Luge, serving up Sliders each day.

The White Castle USA Luge Slider Search is the official off-season recruitment program for USA Luge, the national governing body for the sport of luge. Children ages 9 through 13 can attend the free clinics, where U.S. Olympic and National Team coaches and athletes teach the basics of riding a luge sled. Participants get the opportunity to ride down paved tracks on wheel-equipped luge sleds. Those who show promise are considered for the USA Luge National Development Team.

Current USA Luge team members Jonny Gustafson, Emily Sweeney and Zack DiGregorio all started their luge careers at a Slider Search.

"The White Castle USA Luge Slider Search program has been instrumental in raising awareness of the sport, driving interest among young athletes and providing the talent pool for future competitors who will represent us all at the Winter Games," Gordy Sheer, USA Luge director of marketing and sponsorships and the 1998 Olympic silver medalist in the sport, said in the release.

White Castle owns and operates more than 350 restaurants.