Athletic center preps for debut in elite class

PRESQUE ISLE – Aroostook County residents will have the chance this weekend to get their first good look at what hundreds of world-class athletes will have to wait until 2006 to see.

The Nordic Heritage Center on Fort Fairfield Road will hold a grand opening from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, with a dedication ceremony set for 3 p.m.

Visitors be able to try out the biathlon range, including taking a few target shots, learn skiing and waxing tips from coaches at the Maine Winter Sports Center, see traditional Swedish dancing and have some refreshments.

“It’s a chance for people to socialize and enjoy the lodge,” said Ray D. Hews, president of the Nordic Heritage Ski Club, which oversees operation of the center.

The lodge, as well as the Nordic and biathlon trails, has been under construction since late summer 2001. Biathlon is a competition that requires participants to cross-county ski and target shoot.

In July, the International Biathlon Union voted to hold the 2006 World Junior Championships at the Presque Isle facility. An estimated 550 junior biathletes and officials are expected to be in the city for the event.

The 7,000-square-foot lodge includes dormitories for athletes in training, a kitchen and dining area, locker rooms and a sauna. On the east end is a large room that is dominated by a floor-to-ceiling fieldstone fireplace and spectacular views of the biathlon and Nordic ski competition areas.

The lodge also will house a museum dedicated to the region’s Swedish immigrants who first brought Nordic-style skiing to the eastern United States more than 100 years ago.

The facility, however, is not just for athletes. Hews said it will be open year-round for people to ski, snowshoe and, in the warmer months, mountain bike and hike.

“You can come here with your family and hang out at the lodge or come here for world-class events,” Max Saenger, executive director of the Maine Winter Sports Center, said. “This is a facility that serves everybody.”

The center in Presque Isle, he said, is on a par with other world-class biathlon and Nordic centers, including Soldier Hollow in Utah.

“The top dogs [for Nordic skiing and biathlon] have been here on the grounds, gone over it with us and given it their stamp of approval,” Saenger said.

Although people might not realize it, the Nordic Heritage Center also rivals such places as Lake Placid, N.Y., Oslo, Norway, and Turino, Italy, all sites that have been host to Winter Olympics, he said.

“We’re going to be right in that same league with that prestigious group,” Saenger said.

The Nordic Heritage Center will hold its first regional events next month. The Nordic Heritage sprint races will be held starting at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 30, and the classic races will be held Dec. 31, starting at 9 a.m.

Other state and regional competitions will be held throughout the winter.