By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The 2014 IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships came to a close Friday, and over the course of the eight-day event, nearly 1,500 area students saw biathletes from all over the world vying for the prestigious bronze, silver and gold medals.
According to Elaine Hendrickson, school programs chair for the biathlon, a total of 23 schools, as well as home-schoolers, attended the competition.
“The students ranged from kindergarten to grade 12 with the middle grades (4-8) being represented most often,” she said. “Schools came from as far north as Frenchville, as far east as Danforth, and as far south as Millinocket.”
With 29 countries represented at the World Championships, Hendrickson said it was a cultural lesson for county students to experience firsthand.
“It is important for the students to see athletes from so many countries around the world who represent their cultures,” she said. “Many of the athletes could not speak English. However, on Friday, I saw students who had photos taken with Lithuanian and Russian athletes.
“It’s also important for them to realize these athletes have aspirations to make the Olympics; they train all year,” said Hendrickson. “The students here were excited to see the athletes in the stores in Presque Isle and walking on Main Street. To experience the event itself is very exciting.”
Many classrooms “adopted” a country and spent the weeks leading up to the biathlon studying the various regions of the world, as well as the sport itself.
“We’ve been studying about the biathlon for about two months,” said Devin Dionne, a fifth-grader at Fort Street Elementary School. “We learned how they load their guns, and if they shoot and miss the target, they have to do a penalty loop.”
Prior to Friday’s race, Dionne said he was anxious to take in all the sights and sounds associated with the world-class event.
“I really like skiing; I go skiing at Bigrock sometimes, and it’s fun to watch people ski and challenge each other,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the shooting, but everything is going to be exciting.”
To help stand out in the crowd, Dionne and some of his fellow classmates decided to wear green moustaches.
“We wanted to make sure that we were all together and we just wanted to have some fun with it,” he said.
Fort Fairfield Elementary School fourth-graders Zack McShea, Kira Rogers, Camryn Ala and Sarah McShea were equally thrilled to be at the biathlon.
“I’m really excited to be here,” said Zack McShea. “This is a lot of fun. Our trip here was rescheduled a few times because of the weather and temperatures, so I’m glad we finally got here.”
“I’ve been to the biathlon before, and it’s really fun to see the skiers,” said Rogers. “Me and my family ski, so it’s kind of an inspiration for me to become a better skier. I’ve shot a gun before, plus I ski, so I think it would be fun to try.”
Ala’s and Sarah McShea’s class supported The Netherlands.
“We learned that tulips are the most common flowers there,” said Ala, “and we also learned that they get a lot of electricity and water from windmills.
“I’ve never been to the Nordic Heritage Center before in my whole life, so it’s cool to be here and it’s cool to see skiers that actually might be in the Olympics,” Ala said. “When I grow up, I can tell a bunch of people that I saw them in real life.”
“There’s a lot of people here,” said Sarah McShea. “It’s fun to be here and watch all the skiers. I’m having a lot of fun.”
While Friday’s temperatures were the warmest during the biathlon, bitter cold temperatures earlier in the week prevented about 400 students from attending.
“The cold temperatures did affect the attendance,” said Hendrickson, noting that originally 1,869 students were registered. “Four schools cancelled completely, a group from OTC and the Central Aroostook Adult Center weren’t able to come, and two schools rescheduled for Thursday or Friday.
“I was so proud of the students and teachers who braved the cold temperatures,” she said. “One teacher, Cathy Bouchard from Caribou Middle School, told me Feb. 28 that she was going to bring her students despite the cold to cheer on the athletes. She wanted to be sure fans were there to support the biathletes.”
Hendrickson said it was wonderful to see the students so excited about the international event.
“Classes made flags to wave while their countries skied and shot, while another group had flags pinned to their hats,” she said. “One class had headbands on their hats supporting Sweden. New Sweden students wore blue and gold hats in honor of Sweden. Zippel fifth-grade students wore blue fleece neck warmers they made, while the fourth-graders supported France, and Easton Elementary students produced a video of the whole school singing a welcome song. Copies were made and given to the countries they studied.
“The athletes were amazed that our students cheered for everybody, not just the U.S. team,” said Hendrickson. “In Europe, students and adults only cheer for their own country. I was so excited to see the stands filled. The students sang, danced, rang their bells, shook their homemade noisemakers, stomped their feet, and yelled. What a great way to greet these athletes from around the world!”
