FORT KENT – Despite a deluge of snow that buried the St. John Valley earlier this week, volunteers at the Maine Winter Sports Center said Friday that the 2005 Paralympic Nordic World Championships are getting ready to kick into high gear starting today.

Bernadette Michaud, a volunteer at MWSC’s 10th Mountain Division Lodge, said that more than 120 athletes have been on hand at the facility since Wednesday.

At least 175 athletes are expected to participate in the opening ceremonies and competitions which begin at 10 a.m., regardless of weather.

“Things are going very well, as good as they can be after that big snowstorm,” she said Friday. “The snow did set us back a little, but the weather has cleared up now. We know that they are predicting more snow, but we’ve heard it might not be too much.”

This is the first world championship of its kind held in Maine, and athletes from 17 nations and four continents have been converging on Fort Kent. The disabled athletes will compete in three divisions – sit-skiers, standing skiers, and visually impaired skiers.

Opening ceremonies will kick off today along with a short-distance biathlon race. The competition continues Sunday with the long distance biathlon race. Several cross-country skiing events will continue through next week, ending on March 20 after a closing banquet. The athletes are expected to depart the next day.

Competitors will be using much of the same venue as the Biathlon World Cup event held last March, and some of the University of Maine at Fort Kent campus will be used for the games.

The 10th Mountain Division venue is handicapped-accessible.

Michaud said Friday that the athletes had been out in force this week participating in trials and practices.

“The athletes are out today getting the feel of things,” she said.

Competitors hail from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, China, Poland, and the United States. About 100 coaches and support staff are expected to accompany them, and the participants are being housed from Fort Kent to Caribou.

Michaud said Friday that residents are already showing up at the venue to take in the action.

“We’ve seen some people watching right now, but we expect a lot more once the competitions start,” she said. “I think we’ll see a lot of people come out once things really get going.”