Staff writer
PRESQUE ISLE — After months of planning and preparation, the 2010 USSA Cross Country Junior Olympics are about to begin. Nearly 400 athletes between the ages of 14 and 19, along with 90 coaches will start arriving in Presque Isle Wednesday (today) for six days of competition, culminating Saturday, March 13.
Hosted by the Nordic Heritage Sport Club in Presque Isle, the festivities kick-off Sunday with a grand opening ceremony, with competitions taking place Monday, March 8 through Saturday, March 13.
“Everything is very well on track,” said Tim Doak, event director. “We expect athletes to start arriving Wednesday through Friday and we should have about 390 athletes.”
Among the local athletes representing Maine Winter Sports Center at this year’s competition are: Joey Bard, Woodland; Nick Michaud, Fort Kent; Welly Ramsey, New Sharon; John Dixon, Caribou (Shelburne, Vt.); Sam Tarling, Cumberland Foreside (Dartmouth College); Lucas Milliken, Freeport (Bates College); Spencer Eusden, Oxford Hills (Bowdoin College); Rachel Hall, Yarmouth (Stratton Mountain School); and Emily Attwood, Cape Elizabeth (Cape Elizabeth High School).
Hilary McNamee, Grace Boutot and Andrea Mayo all qualified for the New England Team, but declined their spots to focus on biathlon and other options.
Despite the unusually mild conditions, Doak said the venue is holding up very well.
“The course is in very good condition, despite the lack of snow,” Doak said. “It’s amazing how the change in elevation between the city [Presque Isle] and the venue [Nordic Heritage Sport Club] really accounts for a lot in terms of how much snow we get. The venue holds the snow much better.”
Doak said there has been some minor care given to some sections of the trails, which involved bringing snow from other spots on the site and filling in a few low spots.
Unofficial training begins Saturday at the venue, followed by official training from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The MMG opening ceremonies will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Gentile Hall at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
“The cultural group has done an amazing job putting the opening program together,” Doak said. “It’s probably the nicest that anyone has ever put together for a Junior Olympic event.”
Similar to a “Parade of Nations,” Sunday’s opening ceremony will feature a “Parade of Teams,” with each team led by a local middle school skier and team flag. The groups will enter Gentile Hall to Native American drumming, followed by opening remarks and an entertainment presentation, which features a history of the area.
The Nordic Heritage Center is constructed on 700 acres purchased in 1999-2000 from a variety of landowners. It lies in both the town of Fort Fairfield, and city of Presque Isle. The original construction cost of the facility was nearly $2,000,000, with all of the initial funding generously provided by the Libra Foundation, established by the late Elizabeth B. Noyce of Portland.
The lodge has a total floor area of approximately 7,000 square feet, and was designed to celebrate the Swedish heritage of central Aroostook County. A group of descendants from the original Swedish immigrants was assembled and consulted on the details and color scheme for the structure. The lodge boasts an entry lobby that doubles as a museum of historic, locally made wooden skis, and also includes a great room with a large stone fireplace made by local mason Paul Robertson.
Other structures include a timing building made possible by a donation from the Turner Foundation, a welcome center constructed by Northern Maine Community College students, and a 26-unit ski waxing building named the Sanger Center in honor of Maine Winter Sports Center’s first employee, Max Saenger.
