By Cheryl Jahn

Caledonia Ski Club needs volunteers

Nov 15, 2022 | 2:22 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Caledonia Nordic Ski Club is no stranger to hosting world-class events. In 2019, Otway hosted the World Paranordic Games. And another National event – and a chance to see future Olympians – will be gracing the facility in mid-January.

“So so this season, 2023 in January, we’re hosting the Nordic Canada selection trials,” explains Kevin Pettersen, Club Director for Competitions. “It’s to select the top skiers from across the country in the under 20 and under 23 categories. And they’ll be the ones that will go on to compete in the World Junior Nordic Championships in Whistler the following week. So it’s a pretty prestigious and exciting event and a national event.”

And the call has gone out to secure about a hundred and fifty to two hundred volunteers.

“We’re hoping to use December as a template,” explains Vonda Hofferd, Volunteer Coordinator. “We can mentor and train some new volunteers. We need a lot of January and, of course, a lot more for our Para Nordics.”

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Skiing is not a requirement to volunteer The club will need everything from office skills to Computer skills and the whole gamut. It’s these kinds of events that put the Club and the Nordic ski club on the map.

“So when we were preparing for the Canada Winter Games, we thought, well, let’s see how we can kind of set this up so that we can be hosting larger and larger events and our ideas on the world events. And so so that’s kind of been our vision right from before the Canada Winter Games, when we were doing all the planning was to prepare our, our club and our facilities and our, our Oregon organizing committees, volunteers, officials to host to world-class events.”

While the club has extended the snow-making, there are plans to expand the biathlon range. But that’s not the only plan the club has for the track.

“And then also in one of the key pieces that that, you know, we look at for being a world-class, year-round Nordic facility is actually paved competition trails and being able to look to do the same thing we do here in the winter but in the summertime,” says Pettersen. “And so those are very, very popular now in Europe. And then so for those paved competition trails, we would be one of the very few facilities in North America that would have that.”

And in 2024, Otway will host two other events, the first being World Championships for Para biathlon, which will be combined with the 2024 Paranordic Skiing World Cup finals.