Press Release: Ruggiero Set to Appear on NBC’s "The Apprentice" Starting Sunday

January 04, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact: Christy Jeffries (christyj@usahockey.org)

Friday, January 5, 2007


Ruggiero Set to Appear on NBC’s "The Apprentice" Starting Sunday
Three-Time U.S. Olympian to Star Alongside Donald Trump on Hit TV Series


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three-time U.S. Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero (Harper Woods, Mich.) will appear in the sixth season of NBC’s hit television series “The Apprentice” starting this Sunday (Jan. 7) at 9:30 p.m. EST. After the 90-minute season premier, the show will return to its regular timeslot on Sunday nights from 9-10 p.m.

This past summer, Ruggiero traveled to Los Angeles to film the show, which features 18 contestants ranging from 24-37 years in age. The Olympian’s competitors include an internet entrepreneur, a construction firm owner and five attorneys.

"The Apprentice," hosted by Donald Trump, returns with new twists, a new location and new boardrooms. Each week contestants will have to earn the right to live like a Trump through a series of team business challenges and tasks. Contestants on the winning team will reside in a luxurious mansion while those on the losing team will have to sleep outside in tents in the backyard of the mansion, complete with outdoor showers and port-a-potties.

In another engaging twist to the show, the winning project manager each week will be invited to stay in the boardroom and advise Trump on whom to fire from the opposing team. Trump’s children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., will also appear in several episodes, along with previous "Apprentice" winners, as boardroom advisors.

In 1998, Ruggiero became the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in women’s ice hockey at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. She subsequently was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won the silver medal in Salt Lake City at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and, most recently, she and her teammates took home a bronze medal in Torino in 2006.

Ruggiero graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in government. She was a four-time All-American and four-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually by USA Hockey to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. She won the award her senior year and was named one of the top 16 female athletes in the world by ESPN.com in 2004. She finished her collegiate career with 243 points (91 goals, 152 assists) in 127 games.

In addition to her extraordinary athletic accomplishments, Ruggiero is the founder and president of a girl’s hockey school; the author of “Breaking the Ice,” her inspirational autobiography; and the director of the New York Islanders’ Project Hope - an organization that provides young Chinese athletes with access to educational opportunities.

"The Apprentice" is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald J. Trump and Jay Bienstock are executive producers. Conrad Riggs, Page Feldman and James Canniffe are co-executive producers.

NOTES: Ruggiero was selected by viewers from a group of 12 Olympians via an online vote on NBCOlympics.com, which was open during NBC’s 17-day broadcast from Torino, Italy, during the XX Olympic Winter Games … Ruggiero was born in Simi Valley, Calif., in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

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USA HOCKEY
The National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey
usahockey.com

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Ron DeGregorio, President

Dave Ogrean, Executive Director

1775 Bob Johnson Drive
Colorado Springs, Colorado
80906-4090

Phone: 719.576.8724
Fax: 719.538.1160
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Media & Public Relations Staff

Dave Fischer, Director
davef@usahockey.org
719.538.1171

Christy Jeffries, Manager
christyj@usahockey.org
719.538.1169

Andy Madden, Coordinator
National Team
Development Program
pr@usahockeyntdp.com
734.327.9251 x17

Craig Stancher,
Brian Fishman Intern
craigs@usahockey.org
719.538.1172

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