Lake Placid was awarded the 2013 championships at the 2009 FIBT Annual Congress meeting in Moscow on 31 May 2009, but the 2013 location was switched to St. Moritz, Switzerland, in December 2010. The FIBT switched the locations to accommodate a shorter trip for athletes and equipment to Sochi, Russia, in 2013 so that athletes will gain practice time on the 2014Olympic track in Sochi.[2]
The mixed team event – consisting of one run each of men's skeleton, women's skeleton, 2-man bobsleigh, and 2-women bobsleigh – debuted at the 2007 championships. The United States won its first mixed team championship, halting Germany's streak of four consecutive championships since the event was introduced.