The Canada Winter Games biathlon events at Otway Nordic Centre last week gave Prince George audiences a taste of why the sport has such a huge following in Europe.
Emily Dickson's mad dash for the finish on Wednesday to win the women's pursuit by eight-tenths of a second after 10 kilometres of racing will go down as one of the most thrilling moments of the Games.
If you were lucky enough to be there that day among the crowd of appreciative spectators who lined up in rows overlooking the stadium/shooting range chances are you'll be a biathlon fan for life. But don't despair if you missed it. There could more in store for Prince George.
Biathlon Canada president Murray Wylie says there's no reason why the city shouldn't be able to host international biathlon competitions like a NorAm or IBU Cup event. All the pieces are in place at Otway. It has predictable snow conditions, challenging ski trails, a 30-lane world-class shooting range, an up-to-date timing system and technical building, and the collective expertise of the host Caledonia Nordic Ski Club.
Wylie, a resident of Dartmouth, N.S., was the sport leader for biathlon at the 2011 Canada Games in Halifax and he's confident Prince George has what it takes to put itself on the international stage.
"You guys in Prince George have done a bang-up job of organizing this," said Wylie. "You have a great volunteer pool and this facility is absolutely spectacular and I'm just in awe. Too bad every community in Canada doesn't have a club and a facility like this."
The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, with more than 1,800 members, is one of the largest in Canada and Wylie says that that will drive the future of hosting other big events in biathlon and cross-country skiing. He envisions Prince George as an IBU Cup site along with Canmore or Whistler, with races falling on consecutive weekends to create two or three North American destinations for European athletes who have to travel overseas.
"There is a process for us to get an International Biathlon Union licence and we've already been talking to the club and the local organizers," said Wylie. "Obviously, the volunteers will want to take some time to relax after this but I think it's all within the realm of the club and the community to support an IBU-type event.
"(Prince George biathletes) Megan Heinicke and Sarah Beaudry are already competing on the international circuit and Emily Dickson is heading that way so you guys are turning heads with the calibre of athletes you produce here and this club and this facility are just going to add to that."
Wylie points out climate change is also making some European sites unattractive for biathletes. Even during this El Nino winter, Prince George still has plenty of snow, which is typical of most winters.
"Some of the facilities in Europe struggled this year," said Wylie. "You can see it you watch (IBU webcasts) for the coverage of the events, all they have is snow on the tracks and a very limited amount of snow in the stadium. I think a lot of the facilities would just be amazed at the amount of snow here. Canmore has snowmaking because of the Chinooks, but you guys don't need it."
Wylie also had high praise for the hundreds of hours Pierre Beaudry, the current Canada Winter Games biathlon sport leader, put into organizing the event. It was a difficult task co-ordinating all the tasks with the Canada Games committee, Caledonia club and a small army of volunteers but there were very few glitches during six days of training/races.
"Pierre can pat himself on the shoulder and everyone should be patting him on the shoulder, he's the glue who keeps things going, and there's a long lead-up to an event like this," said Wylie.
