PRESQUE ISLE — The 2014 IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships are only a few months away, and the event’s organizing committee is actively seeking volunteers to assist in facilitating a competition that receives worldwide attention and brings thousands of athletes and spectators to The County.
The Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships, last held at the Nordic Heritage Center in 2006, have tested young athletes overseas in the past few years in Sweden, Finland, Austria and other countries, and seven years after the Nordic Heritage Center hosted its first championship, the event is returning to Maine/U.S. soil.
There are currently over 200 volunteers registered for the event, scheduled from Feb. 28-March 7, 2014. Event Director Jane Towle, who has worked with biathlon events since 2005, said that approximately 400 volunteers are needed for the Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships.
“The volunteers play a front-line role in this event. The volunteers and event sponsors are the two most critical pieces of the World Championships,” said Towle. “We could not accomplish an international event such as this without the 400 volunteers who work so efficiently to help us create this world-class competition. The volunteer force we have is second to none, and is one of the largest volunteer organizing committees in the state of Maine.”
Volunteer Coordinator Mary Lawrence agrees.
“The event cannot happen without volunteers,” she said. “The organizing committee is all volunteers, who have been working for several months now to prepare for the Junior Biathlon World Championships.”
Over 570 volunteers combined forces to pull off a successful event in 2006, and the organizing committee is confident that volunteers will do so once again in 2014.
“Aroostook County has always been well known throughout New England for the excellent work ethic of its citizens. This fact is never more evident than when we see our very large group of hard-working volunteers work tirelessly for days and weeks on end,” said Towle. “These jobs are not paid positions, yet our volunteers are willing to donate their time and talent for an event which they understand will help create the long term sustainability of the Nordic Heritage Center.”
The Nordic Heritage Center, a four-seasons facility in Presque Isle, is a treasure to the northern Maine region. Combating the blues of a long winter is greatly assisted with the presence of such winter recreational facilities as the Nordic Heritage Center and 10th Mountain Ski Club in Fort Kent.
“The residents of Aroostook County don’t hide inside during the winter months,” said Towle. “Instead, we embrace our beautiful winters with skiing, snowmobiling, and every now and then we are fortunate enough to host a European world-class biathlon event, the most popular winter sport in Europe.”
According to Towle, hosting events of this caliber continues to ensure the presence of such facilities in the area.
According to Lawrence, the primary requirements for registering as a volunteer are a genuine interest in helping with the event, availability during the times of the event, and the completion of the online registration form.
The online registration form is available at www.biathlon-presqueisle.org – look for the “volunteering” link on the bottom left corner of the website.
Volunteers in the competition areas at the event are required to have some skiing background, and the organizing committee is also seeking volunteers with specific skills and interest in trades, special events, accommodations, food service, general labor, traffic, transportation and security.
Numerous volunteer opportunities also remain available for interested individuals without a particular skill that are simply looking to lend a hand.
The 2014 IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships will bring upwards of 350 of the world’s top biathletes age 21 or under, along with support staff from more than 30 countries, to the northern Maine region.
For more information and updates on the event, visit at www.biathlon-presqueisle.org.
