Pilot Chemical to Host USA Luge Slider Search in October

CINCINNATI, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. National Luge Team will be in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Pilot Chemical USA Luge Slider Search. The U.S. National Luge Team is hosting the event for young athletes, boys and girls ages 9 to 13, who want to experience the thrill of luge.

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Pilot Chemical USA Luge Slider Search clinics will take place on Saturday, October 5 from 9 - 11 a.m., 12 - 2 p.m. and 3 - 5 p.m. on Tower Avenue between Jefferson and McClelland Avenues in St. Bernard, Ohio. Participants can register for one of the free clinics online at usaluge.org.

"Pilot Chemical is thrilled to bring our partnership with the U.S. National Luge Team home to Cincinnati," said Pam Butcher, President and Chief Operating Officer of Pilot Chemical Company. "The program allows local youth to be exposed to the sport, as well as, be given the opportunity to try out to become an Olympic athlete."

At the Pilot Chemical USA Luge Slider Search, luge team hopefuls will train under the guidance of USA Luge National team athletes and coaches. The training camp intent is to help promote the Slider Search and the sport of luge.  The USA Luge team will teach the camp's attendees the basics of riding a luge sled, including position, steering and stopping.

"The Slider Search is a key program for our organization," said Fred Zimny, recruitment manager for USA Luge and U.S. Olympic Committee Coach of the Year in 2000. "We look forward to giving enthusiastic youngsters the chance to have fun, experience the sport and perhaps qualify for our Junior Development Team."

The young athletes will also get to make several runs down a paved street on wheeled sleds. Those who show the most promise at the clinics will be invited to train in Lake Placid, N.Y. and will be considered for selection to the U.S. Junior Development Luge Team.

USA Luge uses the Slider Search, now in its 28th season, as its primary means of athlete recruitment. U.S. Luge athletes have captured over 590 international medals since 1994. Included in that total are silver and bronze medals during the 1998 and 2002 Olympic Winter Games, 25 World Cup victories, four overall World Cup doubles crowns, 18 Junior World Championship titles and 12 Senior World Championship medals.

Pilot Chemical has been an official supporter of USA Luge since February 2013. Pilot Chemical helps generate awareness of the sport of luge, attracting thousands of new fans. Through its financial support, Pilot Chemical also assists athletes with their training and development expenses.

Pilot Chemical chose to sponsor the national team because luge athletes only succeed in an ice cold environment through skill, practice and the use of technology. Similarly, Pilot Chemical Company has built its success on its patented ice-cold sulfonation/sulfation technology, which uses an extremely low temperature reaction to produce high quality specialty chemicals and surfactants.

To learn more about the Pilot Chemical USA Luge Slider Search or to register for this free event, visit the USA Luge website.

About Pilot Chemical Company

Pilot Chemical is a privately owned and independent global specialty chemical company providing high quality products and services to the household and industrial detergent, personal care, lubricant, oilfield, emulsion polymerization, textile and agriculture industries. Proprietary core technologies involve alkylation, sulfonation, sulfation and a number of other specialty operations. Pilot, an industry leader in chemical innovation and safety, owns the most state-of-the-art continuous sulfation process in North America and is the world's largest manufacturer of disulfonates. Pilot Chemical Company is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. To learn more, visit www.pilotchemical.com.

About USA Luge
USA Luge is an Olympic class member organization of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and is the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of luge in the United States. A not-for-profit organization, USA Luge - the official American representative to the International Luge Federation (F.I.L.) - is based in Lake Placid, N.Y. with a western office in Park City, Utah, and its natural track operations in the Marquette/Negaunee, Mich. area. Chartered in 1979, as a direct result of the Congressional Amateur Sports Act of 1978, it is the responsibility of USA Luge to recruit, prepare, train and equip the United States National Luge Team for international and Olympic competition, as well as promote the growth of the sport nationwide.

SOURCE Pilot Chemical Company