News

White Castle slides into 2 more years as US luge sponsor

January 21, 2019

Billing itself as one of the nation's "two foremost slider experts," White Castle has partnered with USA Luge for a two-year extension of the brand's status as the first and only QSR to be named an official partner of USA Luge. The partnership also continues White Castle's position as title sponsor of the longstanding off-season recruitment program, the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search, which introduced the sport of luge to more than 1,200 youth across the U.S. over the past two off-seasons.

USA Luge athletes, or sliders, have won six Olympic medals and almost 600 medals in elite level and junior international competition since 1994. The renewed partnership with White Castle comes just before the USA Luge team begins competing in the 2019 Luge World Championships in Winterberg, Germany.

USA Luge's off-season recruitment effort — the White Castle USA Luge Slider Search program — has helped raise awareness of the fast-moving sport. In fact, the program is credited with the discovery of 65 percent of all current junior athletes in the USA Luge system and three of six athletes competing in the 2019 Luge World Championships.

White Castle's sponsorship will support the USA Luge team and its summer and fall recruitment tours, which will host events in various cities across the country. Youngsters in the nine-through-13-year old age group can attend the free clinics, try the slower-speed wheeled luge sleds and even be considered for the USA Luge Junior National Development team. 

"At White Castle, we've been honing our slider skills for 98 years, and we're always interested in opportunities to further our expertise," White Castle Vice President of Marketing Lynn Blashford, said in  the release. 

With support from White Castle's restaurant and retail grocery divisions, the recruitment tour will kick off in the brand's base of operations, Columbus, Ohio, in early May of 2019. Additional locations nationwide will be announced later this year.