The Maine Winter Sports Center announced it will host a two-race Nordic Sprint event March 26-27.

Elite athletes from Canada and the U.S. are expected to attend the Verizon Nordic Heritage Sprints, which starts the evening of March 26 with a Classic Sprint under the lights of the Nordic Heritage Center with an awards banquet to follow in Presque Isle. An individual skate race will follow the next morning with a 5-kilometer race for women and a 10-kilometer race for men. More than $8,000 prize money will be awarded.

The Nordic Heritage Sprints will mark the opening of the Nordic Heritage Center, which is located on the line between Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield.