When it comes time for the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club to decide whether to bring another international biathlon/cross-country skiing competition to Prince George, it’s hard for the club to ignore its own history of staging big events.
Looking back on what the club brought to the city last year, there’s 7.2 million reasons to try do it again.
The Para Biathlon World Championship and Para Nordic Skiing World Cup Finals that happened on back-to-back weeks last March provided an estimated $7.2 million boost to city businesses.
The two events at Otway Nordic Centre further cemented Prince George’s reputation with the International Biathlon Union and International Ski Federation (FIS) as a permanent player on the world stage, capable of hosting virtually any nordic sport event.
Improvements made to Otway Nordic Centre for the 2015 Canada Winter Games allowed the club to stage the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships and the success of that event provided the impetus to bid on the 2024 events. Working on a budget of $2.47 million, the 2019 championships attracted $150,000 inaccessibility grants used to improve the Otway facility. That event left a $4.42 economic impact.
“It was great that we hosted a similar event in 2019, so we had a great model to follow and a lot of good foundation to build from,” said Caledonia club past-president Kevin Pettersen, who will make a presentation to city council at Monday’s public meeting to summarize some of the highlights of bringing the para nordic world to Prince George and talk about the club’s increasing ability to host major events.
“We had more volunteers than we had anticipated and that was a testament to our community and how everyone comes together when there’s something exciting like this. Certainly, I think it made a huge impression on the international federations that were involved, FIS and IBU.
“I think they were so delighted to have not only the facilities and the snow, because snow was not a common thing last year and they had to cancel six of the eight events for para nordic at the world levels. When they came to Prince George and saw all the snow and the trails they were so relieved, and then when they got to experience the hospitality will all the volunteers, that was the icing on the cake. There’s no doubt in their mind that they want to be coming back to Prince George.”
FIS race director Georg Zipfel gave Pettersen the bib he wore on the course during the races and promised he will be back. Pettersen and the Caledonia club have been asked to bid to host the same para nordic events again as early as 2028.
Budgeted for $3.3 million, the two events last year included eight days of competition that involved more than 100 athletes and their support teams of 100 coaches and wax technicians. The club attracted 350 volunteers for the two weeks.
The city provided $250,000 from the major events hosting budget for the two para events.
Canada Games Plaza and the Prince George Convention and Civic Centre hosted the opening/closing ceremonies, medal ceremonies and banquet.
Grant money from Northern Development Initiative Trust, BC Gaming and private donations allowed the club to build a $1.1 million snowmaking system that covers seven kilometres utilizing 31 hydrants and nine snow guns. There was sufficient residual funding to pave a 3.5 kilometre trail to be used for roller ski training, national and international summer race events and recreational club activities.
Based on the success of hosting the two para Nordic events in 2024, Pettersen learned on Thursday the Caledonia club is a finalist for Canada Sport Tourism PRESTIGE Awards, nominated for International event of the year (budgeted for $2 million-10 million) to be presented in Calgary in March 20.
Caledonia is among the largest nordic ski clubs in North America, with 2,154 members.
