Students flock to races; witness history in making
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
PATRIOTIC PRIDE – Middle-schoolers from Ashland District School attended Friday’s Student Day at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle where they watched the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions. Cheering on the U.S. biathletes are, from left, front row: Tiffany Libby and Jessica Day. Back row: Michael White, Lacey Good and Kaitlyn Henderson. An estimated 1,200 students from Aroostook County attended Friday’s event.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE – Flags were waving, cowbells were ringing, faces were painted and children were cheering.
Last Friday, an estimated 1,200 students from Aroostook County attended the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle.
“We have students here from 12 different schools,” said school chair Bill Getman, who also served as the spectator services chair. “There are students here from New Sweden, Caribou, Limestone, Caswell, Fort Fairfield, Easton, Presque Isle, Mapleton, Ashland and Mars Hill.
“Everybody was thrilled to death to have them; the athletes love them. You can tell by the energy that everyone’s having a great time,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for these kids … for all of us really.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
TAKING IN THE EXCITEMENT of the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon at Friday’s Student Day are Zippel Elementary School fifth-graders, from left: Kasey Haley and Ariana Peterson who enjoyed cheering on the biathletes with the noisemakers they made at school. The World Cup biathlon tour continues Feb. 10-13 at the 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent.
As school chair, Getman was responsible for distributing the school guides which allowed teachers to incorporate the biathlon into their curriculums.
“The biathlon is a different learning tool,” he said. “For example, an economics class was doing a study to see what sort of impact the event was going to have on the area, art classes got on board by creating banners and some of the artwork that’s been displayed on the big screen, and many classes adopted athletes which allowed the students to learn about the individual’s country, culture and the geography and history of that country.
“It’s a great learning event,” said Getman, “and a great opportunity to incorporate something different.”
While having 1,200 students onsite may seem overwhelming, Getman said Student Day ran very smoothly.
“It was kind of like herding cats,” he laughed, “but we were very happy to have them here. The organizing committee was absolutely dumbfounded as to how many kids were going to be here and how enthusiastic they were going to be. It’s fun to see all the face paintings, the bells and the artwork. It’s been a lot of fun, and hopefully one day we’ll be lucky enough to host a similar event.”
QUINN THIBAULT, left, a student at Presque Isle Middle School, and his mother, Gail, warmed up briefly Friday by hugging Nordie, the mascot of the Nordic Heritage Center, at the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions held in Presque Isle.
Brittany Harris, an eighth-grader at Ashland District School, is an avid skier and was happy to watch the world-class athletes.
“I ski on the ski team and I thought it would be good to come here and watch,” she said. “I went to the USSA XC Junior Olympics last year but it wasn’t as big as this.”
Following the men’s sprint, Harris said, “They ski really good and I loved it.”
Dressed in the warmest clothes possible, all of the middle-schoolers from Ashland wore patriotic headbands.
“We wanted to show our support for the biathletes from the U.S.,” said Harris. “It’s really exciting knowing there are people here from all around the world. I’ve seen many different people and talked to some people from France; it’s really cool getting to know them. I hope everybody’s enjoying it because I am.”
Dustin Alward, a fifth-grader at Mapleton Elementary School, had his face painted blue, white and red – the colors of the French flag.
“We made posters for school and I chose biathlete Martin Fourcade of France,” he said, “so I painted my face like the French flag.”
Though having a great time, Alward said he was a bit cold.
“I can’t feel my feet,” he said, “but I’m having fun. It’s pretty amazing for something like this to be held in Presque Isle … to have everybody from around the world come to this spot is awesome.”
Easton Elementary School fifth-grader Paige Flewelling was at Friday’s event rooting on the U.S. biathletes.
“We hope they win,” she said. “I went to the 2010 USSA XC Junior Olympics, and there’s a whole lot more people here; a much bigger and louder crowd. I think it’s very cool; you get to see people who don’t even speak your language. There are many different flags here and many different colors.”
To get a feel for what the athletes go through, last Thursday Easton Elementary students participated in their own physical contest.
“We had to run one suicide basketball drill, then thread two needles, then do another suicide drill and then thread two more needles all while wearing an eight-pound backpack,” said Flewelling.
With the suicide drill, students would run from the baseline to the freethrow line, back to the baseline, then run to half court, back to the baseline, run to the opposite freethrow line, back to baseline, run to the opposite freethrow line, and back to the baseline, then run to the far baseline and sprint back to the original baseline.
“The goal was for them to see what it’s like to get winded and then have to get settled and do something really intricate like the biathletes have to ski and then shoot,” said Wendi Malenfant, assistant principal at Easton Elementary School. “We put cans in the backpack to simulate the weight of carrying the rifle on the biathletes’ backs, and they had yard sticks for the ski poles.”
“I was tired when I was finished,” Flewelling said, “but it helped show us what they have to go through.
“Going to the biathlon was a really fun experience,” she said, “and anyone who gets the chance to come here really should.”
The World Cup biathlon tour continues Feb. 10-13 at the 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent.
