PRESQUE ISLE – The organizing committee for the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championship is pleased with its recent educational trip to Finland. The local officials, who are in charge of hosting the world-class event at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle next winter, recently… Read More
It took some unfortunate circumstances, but a teammate’s illness provided Yarmouth native Walt Shepard with the experience of a lifetime. Shepard, who competes for the Maine Winter Sports Center biathlon team in Fort Kent, recently competed in the biathlon world championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
Biathlete Tracy Barnes of Durango, Colo., who trains at the Maine Winter Sports Center in Fort Kent, posted her second consecutive 25th-place during the World Cup in the Julian Alps in Slovenia on Saturday. Barnes followed her 25th in the women’s 7.5K sprint on Thursday,… Read More
U.S. WORLD JUNIOR TEAM TRIALS At Presque Isle, Sprint (7.5 K) googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0]… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Maine Winter Sports Center athletes clinched four of the 16 spots on the U.S. World Junior Biathlon team Sunday after three days of race trials. Newt Rogers, Russell Currier, Annelies Cook and Bjorn Bakken garnered top overall finishes in their respective divisions… Read More
Andy Shepard has heard the scuttlebutt, as he puts it. If the U.S. Biathlon Association is moving to Maine, why not to Aroostook County, where sites like the 10th Mountain Lodge in Fort Kent and the Nordic Heritage Ski Center in Presque Isle actually host… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Three Maine Winter Sports Center athletes turned in top times during the first day of three in the biathlon trials for the U.S. World Junior team Thursday at the MWSC’s Nordic Heritage Center. MWSC’s Newt Rogers and Russell Currier were first and… Read More
PORTLAND – Like most of the people who attended some portion of the biathlon World Cup in Fort Kent last March, Mike McNamara and his wife, Pat, came away impressed. But Mike McNamara wasn’t just any spectator. As the chief executive officer of Peoples Heritage… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – It’s Aroostook County’s time to shine. The region will host the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championship, and as an organizing committee kicks off its initial planning efforts, officials are noting that the event is a major opportunity for the area to show… Read More
FORT KENT – The Aroostook County biathlon community said Monday that the Banknorth Group Inc. multiyear agreement with the United States Biathlon Association lends an increased level of credibility to the area’s dedication to Nordic skiing and biathlon in particular. Residents were overjoyed, saying the… Read More
FORT KENT – Lanny Barnes and Jacob Beste needed good runs in Friday’s sprint competitions to make the 2005 U.S. Biathlon Team and they didn’t disappoint themselves or the people rooting for them. Barnes, one of two Colorado sisters skiing under the banner of the… Read More
FORT KENT – Jacob Beste was back on familiar ground Thursday when he took the top podium spot after winning the 12.5-kilometer pursuit competition on day two of the U.S. Biathlon World Team Trials and NorAm No. 3. Beste, a member of the U.S. Army… Read More
FORT KENT – The top finishers on the first day of the U.S. Biathlon World Team Championship Trials at the Maine Winter Sports Center’s 10th Mountain Division Center did not even need the wins, but they took them just the same. Jeremy Teela and Jill… Read More
FORT KENT – If you think it’s easy to move a biathlon team from one state to another at the last minute, consider this: Some of the athletes competing in this week’s biathlon trials at the 10th Mountain Division Lodge arrived Tuesday before their rifles. Read More
FORT KENT – The “Little Town That Could” will have a chance to showcase its talent again now that a last-minute glitch has a biathlon competition headed this way. Officials at the Maine Winter Sports Center’s 10th Mountain Lodge learned Christmas Eve that they will… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Construction work is in full swing at the Nordic Heritage Center as site officials prepare to host the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championship. Contractors are erecting a $300,000 building next to the lodge at the Nordic Heritage Center to provide visiting biathlon… Read More
FORT KENT – It’s hot and humid here at the 10th Mountain Lodge on a recent summer afternoon, not at all like it was when thousands of spectators packed the grounds last March to watch top biathlon athletes compete in a stop on the World Cup. Read More
FORT KENT – With a loud plunking sound, the tin can went flying backward off the small ledge. “Range closed!” Walt Shepard said, his voice raised so that the five youngsters could hear him – and stop shooting. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
FORT KENT – Paul Collard is creating a biathlon venue in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and Fort Kent was one of his stops last week. Collard said he was at the Maine Winter Sports Center’s 2004 Biathlon World Cup because he… Read More
FORT KENT – The World Cup athletes left town on the weekend, but indications are that they will return to the venue where they had great competitions and a welcome that was second to none. Andy Shepard, CEO and president of the Maine Winter Sports… Read More
FORT KENT – What was supposed to be a relatively routine Saturday morning for the U.S. biathlon team turned rather hectic when the Americans found out that Rachel Steer was going to compete in the World Cup’s mass start, an event in which the top 30-ranked biathletes in… Read More
FORT KENT – Six years ago, few Mainers knew a whole lot about the sport of biathlon. Officials at the Maine Winter Sports Center helped change that by building a top-notch facility and harboring not-so-secret world-class dreams. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
FORT KENT – Boy, was that a parade. For 75 minutes Friday night, more than 70 units and some 1,500 participants filed by some 10,000 spectators. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
FORT KENT – The numbers of volunteers and spectators at the Biathlon World Cup last week are well-known by now: . An estimated 17,000 spectators over four days, Wednesday to Saturday. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
FORT KENT – Members of the Swedish biathlon team had a very special visitor cheering for them last week at the 2004 World Cup. Maggi Mikaelsson, governor of the Swedish region of Jamptland, spent four days in northern Maine. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
FORT KENT – It took a World Cup event to get Scott Voisine to go outside in the cold. The student services director at the University of Maine at Fort Kent will be the first to admit the outside is something he enjoys far more… Read More
FORT KENT – When it came to designing a biathlon venue worthy of world-class athletes, its creator took pains to tie the activity – skiing – with history – the Fort Kent blockhouse. A former World Cup skier designed the 10th Mountain Ski Center using… Read More
FORT KENT – Russia’s Olga Pyleva was alone as she cruised to victory down the final hill of the biathlon course in Saturday’s World Cup women’s mass start. Sven Fischer of Sweden was also all alone as he won the men’s race that followed the women. Read More
FORT KENT – The blue bag with gold lettering and green identification tag sat undisturbed outside the door of the waxing station Saturday morning. Technicians carrying skis walked toward the biathlon course at the Maine Winter Sports Center, avoiding the fabric tote. About 50 minutes… Read More
WORLD CUP BIATHLON At Fort Kent, Saturday googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
FORT KENT – It’s 6 a.m., and all is quiet at the Maine Winter Sports Center. Step outside the 10th Mountain Lodge, and the echoes of yesterday’s thunderous roars have finally subsided. There are no cowbells. No horns. No music blares. No children shout to their favorite “adopted”… Read More
FORT KENT – A Fort Kent woman now living in New York paid a record price Friday for a pair of gold Rossignol racing skis which were auctioned off during the Biathlon World Cup to raise money for youth development programs. Phyllis Jalbert purchased the… Read More
FORT KENT – Albert Deveau was back at his work of art Friday morning, the third day in his endeavor to chip away at a 12- by-12-foot block of artificial snow and create a sculpture for the Biathlon World Cup. Deveau, 59, of Edmundston, New… Read More
FORT KENT – Philip Jandreau of St. Francis had one of the best seats in the house Friday morning for the pursuit race of the Biathlon World Cup at the 10th Mountain Division Lodge. Jandreau, 44, a paraplegic, couldn’t see the action from the spectators… Read More
FORT KENT – The numbers of spectators attending the Biathlon World Cup at Fort Kent grow each day. Organizers said Friday noon that between 4,500 and 5,000 spectators attended Friday morning’s competitions. Announcers at the competition had different numbers, with some of their estimates running… Read More
FORT KENT – Virtually everyone this week in Fort Kent is talking about the weather and what it means for competition at the 2004 Biathlon World Cup. And while he can’t do anything about the weather, Mike Paradis is the World Cup’s go-to guy for… Read More
FORT KENT – Rainer Rosenbaum and Thomas Muller were fascinated this week with their first look at northern Maine and surprised by the number of people attending Biathlon World Cup competitions at the 10th Mountain Division site. Rosenbaum, 44, is director of the ARD Television… Read More
FORT KENT – The only certainty leading up to the 2004 Biathlon World Cup in Fort Kent this week was the uncertainty of what to expect. After hearing for months that the international event could draw spectators numbering in the tens of thousands, downtown businesses… Read More
FORT KENT – If anyone needed some hard evidence of cross-cultural culinary pollination going on at the 2004 Biathlon World Cup, they would have to look no further than the VIP tent. Inside, members of the Bouchard family of Fort Kent have been busily preparing… Read More
FORT KENT – Uschi Disl and Liv Grete Poiree provided spectators at the biathlon World Cup here with another exciting battle in an event meant to excite fans in the stands and watching on television. And the athletes participating in Friday’s men’s and women’s pursuit… Read More
FORT KENT – The last time Bill and Carol Beste saw their son Jacob was in September when the 25-year-old biathlete dropped off his cat before hitting the World Cup circuit. On Thursday morning, the Bestes were in the stands at the 10th Mountain Division… Read More
FORT KENT – For the better part of the week, this supposed winter wonderland has been cursed (unless you’re a spectator) with mild temperatures, melting snow, and Maine’s most unmistakable sign of spring: Mud. The access road into the Maine Winter Sports Center? Mud. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
FORT KENT – It does not get more hands-on than this. Students in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s athletic training education program are in Fort Kent all week offering free therapeutic massages to competitors in the 2004 Biathlon World Cup. The UMPI students… Read More
FORT KENT – For all those with the slightest drop of Swedish blood in their veins, the place to be tonight is New Sweden. The tiny northern Maine town will welcome the nine members of the Swedish biathlon team here competing this week in the… Read More
FORT KENT – The installation of thousands of lights – an idea designed to create a destination community – has transformed the town’s business district into a festive center for the Biathlon World Cup week. Each day more lights are added to the estimated 400,000… Read More
FORT KENT – Bilingualism is a way of life in the St. John Valley, where French and English are spoken. But few if any residents were ready for the 14 different languages, and an unknown number of dialects, being heard around the Biathlon World Cup venue and on… Read More
FORT KENT – The U.S. consul general in Quebec City was married Thursday with a tent full of Biathlon World Cup spectators as witnesses. Susan Keogh, 60, of Quebec City was married to Robert J. Delaney, 50, a Canadian also from Quebec City, by Maine… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The Biathlon World Cup’s Voyageur mascot won’t be the only one sporting a bright red cap during activities today in Fort Kent. Some 100 seventh-graders, teachers and parents from Skyway Middle School in Presque Isle are donning the tasseled hats to show… Read More
FORT KENT – While the winner of Thursday’s men’s biathlon World Cup event here was no surprise, the second- and third-place finishers certainly weren’t used to being on the World Cup podium. “This is the first time this season, and I [have been] waiting for… Read More
FORT KENT – Call up the U.S. Biathlon headquarters in Colchester Vt., ask for information about what’s going on in the world of the skiing-and-shooting sport, and they might direct you to www.frozenbullet.com. It’s a Web site started and maintained by 20-year-old Brian Olsen, a… Read More
FORT KENT – Her young fans would have cheered her on regardless, but the fact that German biathlete Uschi Disl came in first on opening day of World Cup competition made it all the sweeter Wednesday. After all, more than 120 fourth- and fifth-graders from… Read More
FORT KENT – For months, folks in northern Maine have told one another – and everyone else who would listen – that the impending World Cup Biathlon would draw huge crowds, generate tremendous excitement, and would help put Fort Kent on the winter sports map. Read More
FORT KENT – Plenty of people were milling around Main Street at noon Wednesday, Rock’s Restaurant had nary an empty table for lunch, traffic was heavy, and an estimated 3,000 people were on hand for the first day of the Biathlon World Cup. The economics… Read More
FORT KENT – In all her years working in the University of Maine at Fort Kent dining hall, Viola Pelletier has prepared food for all kinds of appetites, diets and occasions. But this week marks a first. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
FORT KENT – Uschi Disl had a big smile on her face when she skied away from the first round of shooting during the 7.5-kilometer sprint event at the World Cup Biathlon Wednesday morning, and for good reason. Germany’s Disl, who is known on the… Read More
FORT KENT – Knowledgeable biathlon-watchers will tell you that becoming a world-class athlete in the ski-and-shoot sport takes time. Even accomplished skiers can take as long as 10 years to peak after taking up biathlon. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
FORT KENT – Any other year, northern Maine residents rejoice at the coming of spring thaw. Just not this year. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
FORT KENT – If Danielle Cyr woke up this morning with some butterflies in her stomach, it’s perfectly understandable. The 17-year-old Fort Kent Community High School senior is the first voice the world will hear when she performs the national anthem, kicking off the 2004… Read More
FORT KENT – In extreme northern Maine, biathlon is not a mysterious winter sport that shows up on network TV once an Olympiad, then vanishes for another four years. Up here – and elsewhere in Aroostook County – the sport has become an economic catalyst, a recreational activity… Read More
FORT KENT – Kelsy Bouchard stood at the equipment check table before walking through a tunnel to get into the stadium at the Maine Winter Sports Center Tuesday afternoon, about 30 minutes before she was to compete in the sprint competition of the U.S. Junior Biathlon Championships here. Read More
When Fort Kent native Heidi Carter designed the logo for the 2004 Biathlon World Cup, she didn’t need to look far for inspiration. Organizers at the Maine Winter Sports Center wanted something that reflected the local culture, the fact that Fort Kent is a border… Read More
The main attraction of the World Cup Biathlon in Fort Kent may be athletic events, but no celebration in this heartland of Franco-American culture is complete without Acadian music, food, dancing and winter activities. This is northern Maine in winter, after all, and sleighs, snow dogs and lots… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The last thing Uschi Disl expected when she stepped off the plane at the Northern Maine Regional Airport was a welcome from a fan club. Fourth-grade pupils from Pine Street Elementary School in Presque Isle were among an estimated 300 people who… Read More
FORT KENT – The calendar on the wall directly in front of Fort Kent Police Chief Kenneth Michaud’s desk has a notation, written in red, across the first week of March 2004: “No time off.” It will be a hectic week for the small-town police… Read More
FORT KENT – Dana Pinette, one of nearly 500 volunteers working for the Biathlon World Cup competition, was moving snow around the staging area Friday as the final details of the ski-and-shoot races came together. Kelly Martin, the volunteer coordinator for the first Biathlon World… Read More
The World Cup Biathlon comes to Fort Kent in about a week. But first, the world’s top athletes in the skiing and shooting sport have to get through a Cup stop in Lake Placid, N.Y., which runs Feb. 27-29. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Two Aroostook County residents left Monday morning to prepare for the Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships, which are being held Jan. 24-31 in Haute Maurienne, France. Russell Currier of Stockholm and Kelsy Bouchard of Fort Kent both ski for the Maine Winter Sports Center. Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – “There’s always next season.” It’s safe to say almost every athlete in any sport has thought or uttered these words after a season of competition reveals there just might be room for improvement. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Kelsy Bouchard of Fort Kent, fresh off two top-10 performances at the World Junior Biathlon Championships in Poland last month, skied and shot her way to two victories in her age division at the U.S. Biathlon National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., over the weekend. Read More
ZAKOPANE, Poland – Six athletes who spend much of the year training and racing under the guidance of the Maine Winter Sports Center, including Kelsy Bouchard of Fort Kent and Walt Shepard of Yarmouth, recently competed here at the World Junior Biathlon Championships as members of the U.S. Read More
Maine Winter Sports Center’s 10th Mountain Center Lodge, designed and built in the image of Fort Kent’s namesake blockhouse, proved to be an able barricade against brutally cold weather for biathlon racers and spectators at last weekend’s Peoples’ Bank Festival at Fort Kent. The temperature,… Read More
FORT KENT – Residents of northern Maine are on the verge of seeing international world class biathlon competition in two venues at Fort Kent and Presque Isle where multi-million facilities have been constructed in the last three years. The events would attract worldwide attention to… Read More
FORT KENT – Calmly hitting 15 of 20 shots, the United States’ Walt Shepard of Yarmouth overcame a 57-second deficit to win the North American championship in the Junior Men’s 12.5-kilometer Pursuit biathlon competition on Saturday. Shepard started the competition at the Maine Winter Sports… Read More
FORT KENT – Walter Shepard of Yarmouth on Thursday captured the national biathlon championship for junior men by hitting 15 of 20 targets and being 2 minutes, 24 seconds faster than his closest competitor on the ski trails. Shepard, who trains at the Fort Kent… Read More
FORT KENT – With hardly time to catch their breath after the Olympics in Salt Lake, North America’s top biathletes are in Aroostook County this week for Peoples Bank’s Festival at Fort Kent. Sponsored by Peoples Bank, the four-day event from Thursday through Sunday will… Read More
JUNIOR NATIONALS Qualifiers for U.S. Junior googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
FORT KENT – The elation on Walt Shepard’s face was nearly instantaneous Thursday knowing that his second-place finish in the relay race at the U. S. Junior biathlon championships was good enough for a place on the national junior biathlon team. Shepard’s 25 minute and… Read More
FORT KENT – Barring any unforeseen problems during the last leg of the U.S. Junior Biathlon Championships during a relay race on Thursday, Maine’s Walt Shepard is headed to the world championship in Siberia in March. Shepard, an 18-year-old from Yarmouth, blazed through 12.5 kilometers of… Read More
JUNIOR NATIONALS FORT KENT – Pursuit Competition results from the Verizon U.S. Junior National Biathlon Championships: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if… Read More