THE PORTLAND DAILY SUN, Thursday, December 30, 2010— Page 15
January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month Presque Isle is slated to host pursuit, mixed relay and sprint competitions. The Fort Kent schedule calls for mass start, sprint and pursuit. ••••••••• January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month and Maine is among 34 states participating in this celebration of winter. From Jan. 3 to 9, 2011, several Maine areas will have free learn to ski and snowboard packages. “Mainers have close access to outdoor winter sports but many have not taken the first step to try skiing or snowboarding. Highlighting January as a Learn to Ski Month has motivated people to think about getting outside,” said Greg Sweetser, Ski Maine Association executive director. “The Free Learn to Ski and Snowboard Week is hosted by eight
CHAMPIONSHIPS from page 12
The Championships will also act as the official trials for the Junior and U-23 Cross Country World Ski Championship teams, as well as the Junior Scandinavian Championships trip where athletes 17 and younger are eligible to compete. The Chisholm Ski Club, originating in the 1920s, has been host to many national competitions including U.S. Championships, NCAA and USCSA Championships, 1950 Nordic World Ski Championships as well as the 1952 Olympic Trials. The 2011 U.S. Cross Country Championships marks the fourth time that the Chisholm Ski Club will host the event. The Club has also committed to holding the event in 2012. The schedule is men’s and women’s sprint 1K classic on Sunday. Tuesday is women’s 10k classic and men’s 15K classic. Thursday is the women’s 20K mass start freestyle and men’s 30K. Saturday, Jan. 8 is men’s and women’s sprint 1K freestyle. “There is no cost for spectators,” said Arsenault. “Not only can people watch in the stadium but they can also see the athletes on some short side trails.” Arsenault expects some 100 volunteers to work the race that will have more than 400 athletes, coaches and support staff. “We are very proud and what we have been able to accomplish here,” he said. Come February, the World Cup returns to Maine. This time it’s for biathlon races in Fort Kent and Presque Isle. Biathlon is a sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting with rifles. Presque Isle’s Nordic Heritage Center hosts its first World Cup Feb. 4-6, 2011 while a week later it will be held Feb. 10-13, 2011 in Fort Kent.
In this Oct. 25, 2005 file photo released by Sugarloaf USA, a snowboarder makes his way down Sugarloaf Mountain alongside a ski lift in Carrabassett. (AP Photo/Sugarloaf USA, File)
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Maine ski areas. Interested participants can register for available packages through the Ski Maine website.” That website is www.skimaine.org. The participating ski areas are: Bigrock, Camden Snow Bowl, Lost Valley, Mt. Abram, Saddleback, Shawnee Peak, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River. Mainers ski for $29 Jan. 2 at Saddleback. A newly implemented program will enable the New England Nordic Ski Association (www.nensa. net) to provide up to $7,000 for use in helping New England athletes offset expenses for the J1 Scando trip, U23 / Junior World Championships and the USST OPA cup trip in February. New England athletes making these teams will earn a stipend of $500 for the World Junior and World U23 Championships, and $250 for the J1 Scandinavian Cup Trip run by the US Ski Team. One thousand dollars of the funding budget will be directed to the National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation to help further fund New England athletes in international competition. ••••••••• Skiing is a risky business whether going downhill or riding a chairlift up. Tuesday’s Spillway East collapse at Sugarloaf was a nightmare scenario that could have been much worse. May those who were injured have a speedy recovery and kudos to the ski patrol safely evacuating those remaining cold and high. Having been through a lift evacuation at another area in 2009, I can say it’s a scary experience made easier by trained and committed patrollers, and I’m still skiing and riding today. (Marty Basch can be reached at www.onetankaway.com.)