Otway Nordic Centre has been picked as the site of the 2014 Haywood Canada cross-country ski championships, Feb. 14-16, 2014.
An estimated 350 athletes from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon and Northwest Territories will converge on Prince George for the Federation Internationale Ski-sanctioned event.
The Western Canadian finals will serve as a test event for the 2015 Canada Winter Games competition and will give a team of volunteers from the host Caledonia Nordic Ski Club a chance to work out some of the technical and logistic aspects of organizing a large-scale event.
"This is a great example of what the 2015 Canada Winter Games is bringing to our community," says Caledonia Nordic Ski Club president Kevin Pettersen. "The significant upgrades to our trails and facilities are now up to the national sporting organizations' standards, and will give us more opportunities for event-hosting after the 2015 Games."
Pettersen, one of several Prince George-based officials who helped organize the Haywood Canada ski nationals in Whistler two weeks ago, said the Caledonia club will also host the 2014 Western Canadian biathlon championships.
Otway has already opened new trails this season developed for the 2015 Games which are near the Rotary Lodge and expanded stadium area, in close proximity to the site of the new biathlon range still to be developed. The Caledonia club will also construct two technical/timing buildings (one for cross-country, one for biathlon) for race officials to use in the 2014 championships.
Prince George last hosted a FIS cross-country event in 2005 when the Haywood Canada national championships came to Otway. Six of the seven 2012-13 current members of the Canadian World Cup team raced in Prince George, including Len Valjas, Alex Harvey, Perianne Jones, Daria Gaiazova, Ivan Babikov, and Chandra Crawford.
All used their Otway racing experience as a springboard to medal success at the World Cup or Olympic level. Crawford was a gold medalist in a sprint event at the 2010 Olympics, while Harvey made history in February 2013 in Italy when he became the first Canadian male to win a medal at the world championships.
"Now is a great time to be a sports fan in northern B.C.," says Stuart Ballantyne, CEO of the 2015 Canada Winter Games. "The Canada Games is the stepping stone in the athletic careers of Canada's top young athletes and future Olympians, and events like the 2014 Western Canadian cross-country ski championships are a great platform to cheer on these talented athletes and learn about their sports."
