Lake Placid (pps) Dwight Bell is the new President of the United States Luge Association.

Bell, who served as the Chef de Mission of the US team during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, succeeds Doug Bateman. Bateman, on the other hand, had been successor to Bell in 1998. Bell had been the President of USLA between 1989 and 1998.

“It’s going to be an exciting four years, building towards Vancouver, Canada, in 2010,” noted Bell. “It’s an exciting time for this organization and I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”