PRESQUE ISLE – They hosted approximately 250 athletes from 30 countries, rallied hundreds of volunteers to help pull off the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championships and helped pump millions of dollars into the local economy.

And that was just since January.

Now, on the heels of their biathlon success and the numerous other feats they have accomplished, officials with the Maine Winter Sports Center are inviting their supporters to a huge celebration.

Skiers, volunteers, friends and supporters of skiing in Aroostook County were extended an invitation Monday to join the MWSC for a recognition ceremony on March 29.

Hosted by the MWSC and The Northern Skiers, the event will include a potluck supper, dance and slide show.

The fete will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Caribou.

The sports center has much to celebrate after the biathlon, but that is not all that the facility has to commemorate.

“We’ve done so much that it’s hard to list everything,” Greg Rawlings, an MWSC adult development coach and trail coordinator, said Monday. “Besides the biathlon and all of our other winter activities, we’ve created new mountain biking trails and done mountain biking clinics.”

The MWSC’s Nordic Heritage Center boasts free trails for skiers and snowshoers in the winter and for bikers, hikers, runners and nature walkers in the summer.

In the last two years, officials have worked with renowned trail builder Rich Edwards of the International Mountain Bicycling Association to build a superior mountain bike trail system.

Thousands of spectators attended the biathlon event held at the center between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Besides drawing athletes and tourists to the venue, it also brought their money into local businesses.

Although final economic impact figures are still pending, local officials and business owners have been positive about the international event and the economic benefit it had in Aroostook County.

The organization also has the 10th Mountain Division Lodge venue in Fort Kent. The lodge sponsors many races and activities for youth and family, and the U.S. Biathlon Team trials were held at the center in January.

That competition was held after the lodge played host to the International Paralympics Committee Nordic World Championships last March.

The facilities are just two of five MWSC facilities across the state, the result of a philosophy to re-establish cross-country skiing as a way of life and an economic development model started in 1999.

Besides being a celebration, Rawlings said that the coming festivities will also fulfill another purpose.

“It will remind people to get out their biking shorts and their skis and get ready to do it all over again,” he said Monday.