Riding on the coattails of the 2015 Canada Winter Games, Prince George is poised to take a big step forward as a host city of international nordic skiing events.
With its winter climate, predictable snow conditions, an updated biathlon range and network of challenging ski trails at Otway Nordic Centre, and the largest nordic ski club in Western Canada, the city has the ingredients to become home to a regional training centre for cross-country skiing and biathlon, says Paul Collard, a Biathlon Canada board member.
Collard, technical delegate for biathlon at the 2015 Canada Games, said no other city in Canada has the combined attractions of nearby ski facilities, a long winter climate, post-secondary schools, affordable housing, commercial services and travel connections that Prince George has.
Now that Valcartier, Que., is no longer a national nordic team training centre, the national teams are solely based at the Canmore Nordic Centre, and Collard says it is the responsibility of the country's regional training centres, run by the provinces or individual clubs, to develop young athletes until they are ready for national teams.
"Prince George is the perfect place to do that," said Collard, a Vanderhoof-based dentist.
"I see this becoming a full-scale nordic training facility, which goes with the [PacificSport] sport school we have in Prince George, and all the opportunities we have for
postsecondary education around here."
The city's proximity to the Otway trails gives Prince George an advantage over Callaghan Valley, which requires athletes to commute 45 minutes each way from Squamish or Whistler and is two hours one way from Vancouver.
Collard says Otway has everything it needs as a facility to host an international biathlon event, such as the North American Cup, and with a few small improvements could host International Biathlon Union Cup or World Cup events.
"There's nothing to stop a World Cup coming here except the money," said Collard. "You would need a couple million. What I would like to see is an IBU Cup coming here, which is right below the World Cup level. It's a matter of getting enough local support to make that happen. You would need seed money and about $750,000 to make the event go. We would get subsidies from the international federation, but we would need more support from the sponsorship side of things."
Prince George native Megan Heinicke is on the Canadian biathlon team preparing for her second Olympic competition and Collard's daughter Tuppy (Hoehn) competed in biathlon at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Matt Neumann and Sarah Beaudry, who both grew up in Prince George, are also approaching World Cup status.
In future years, Collard said the Caledonia club will have to take into account climate change and begin stockpiling snow under tarps through the summer months. That would allow for early training in October and race events in November once temperatures drop. He says it's crucial for the Caledonia club to pave a one-kilometre loop at Otway to allow for roller skiing during the spring and summer months.
"It could be used for other things like roller blading and it makes it wheelchair accessible," Collard said. "We need a blacktop company as a sponsor."
Last weekend's Western Canada biathlon championships event was the first major test of the new biathlon facility at Otway and while the cold temperatures both days made it tough on the athletes and officials, there were no major glitches. The large base of volunteers and coaches from the 1,800-member Caledonia Nordic Ski Club and their familiarity with running large-scale cross-country races left the club well-prepared.