After the city was buried under 45 centimetres of new snow last week, that’s taken much of the worry about trail conditions at Otway Nordic Centre when Prince George hosts the B.C. biathlon championships, Feb. 24-25.
The host Caledonia Nordic Ski Club got an early start to conditioning its Race Maze trails early in the season when it fired up the snowmaking guns as soon as it got cold in November. Combined with the new snow, race conditions are expected to be ideal for the races coming up in two weeks.
Sprint events are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 starting at 10 a.m. Sprint results will determine start orders for the pursuit on Sunday, Feb. 24, which starts at 11 a.m. Racers will leave the start gate in five-second intervals following the sprint winners in each category.
A fun race for under-13 biathletes and recreational racers is scheduled for the afternoon of the 24th.
“Unfortunately we are competing with Canada Winter Games that weekend, so our junior men and women that are 19-21, the top athletes will be away in that age category,” said John Neumann, the Caledonia Nordic competition lead.
“Most of the athletes in our B.C. event will be 13-18, plus the masters people that decide to race.”
The provincial championships are the last stop in the three-event Biathlon B.C. season.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 46 athletes were registered, including Caledonia club racers: Addison Pauls (junior girls 13-14), Artemis Douglas (youth women 15-18) David Hillhouse (junior boys 13-14), Ewan Hawes (senior boys 15-16), Gabby Hoehn (senior girls 15-16), Hannah MacIntyre (under-13 girls recreation), Iona Cadell (senior girls 15-16), Isla Cadell (senior girls 15-16), Luke Hillhouse (junior boys 13-14), Maisie Hoehn (junior girls 13-14), Natalie Hoehn (junior girls 13-14), Nathanael Dean (junior boys 13-14), Oscar Nelson (junior boys 13-14) and Skye Cadell (junior girls 13-14).
The Caledonia team is coached by Ali Cadell and Tuppy Hoehn.
