Once as a volunteer watching it unfold in his hometown and twice as an athlete, Andrew Casey has had the thrill of being part of the Canada Winter Games.
He knows what's in store for Prince George for two weeks in February 2015, and it's all good.
"It's a huge event, it's great for the community, and you see all the improvements being done throughout Prince George," said Casey, hired in July as coach of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club.
"I lived in Cornerbrook [Nfld.] where they had the 1999 Canada Games as a local and volunteer at the races and it was fantastic. There's so much hype building up to it and then it happens and it's a two-week period of excitement. As a kid at that was my inspiration to continue skiing, so for the kids here in the racing program it will be really good for them to see some of the best skiers in Canada."
Casey says it's unlikely, but he's optimistic there will be more than one Prince George athlete racing at home with the best this country has to offer in 2015.
"It's a fantastic event and you never know who's going to be up for it, competitive-wise, because the under-23 category in Canada tends to attract a lot of the fast guys to go overseas for the world championships," he said. "If that's the case, it might be a good opportunity for some of our kids to get on the team, depending on how they progress in the next couple years."
Casey competed in cross-country skiing at the Games in Bathurst/Cambellton, N.B. in 2003 and in Whitehorse, Yukon in 2007, and is looking forward to seeing a new-and-improved Otway Nordic Centre as the Games venue for cross-country and biathlon in 2015.
"This facility, with the trail system, is perfect for it," said Casey.
"They held the [cross-country] nationals here in '05 and they did a really good job, being here as an athlete, and I think they will do that again from what I've seen in a short time here. People will put a whole lot of work into it and I'm sure it will be successful."
