To the editor:
With the whirlwind of last week behind you, the visitors gone and life getting back to normal, I suspect it is easy to wonder if last week actually happened — did we really have 60 million people watching World Cup Biathlon in Presque Isle on TV? You need look no further than the 500 E.ON World Cup Biathlon volunteer jackets around the region to remember.
I hope those volunteers and the entire region, which came together in a way uniquely possible in Aroostook County, feel the pride of a very difficult job exceedingly well done. While most World Cup sites get three to four years’ advance notice Presque Isle got eight months. It is also important to remember that you were just coming off the most event-intensive year in the history of the Nordic Heritage Center and the entire volunteer community was exhausted. Not only did you need to coalesce an army of hundreds of volunteers, raise a large sum of money and develop a logistical model that would meet the many challenges of putting on a world-class event, you also needed to completely rebuild the stadium.
I can think of no other community that has had to overcome more hurdles to host a World Cup, all of which makes your superb performance last week even more remarkable.
The most satisfying part is that the IBU understood those challenges and is as impressed by your performance as I am. In the words of Norbert Baier, who has been a technical delegate with the IBU for years and who is retiring after this season, “This World Cup was perfect. The volunteers listened when we had advice, they did what was asked and they did their jobs from their hearts. I have very warm feelings for Presque Isle.” Norbert is German and he can sometimes struggle to find the right words in English, but in this case he had no problems expressing himself flawlessly. I believe your flawless performance also brought the best out of him at that moment.
Nicole Resch, Secretary General of the IBU said, “After this week, it is hard to believe that this is Presque Isle’s first World Cup.”
From those within the IBU technical delegation most responsible for ensuring that the exacting standards of the IBU are met, there was nothing but congratulations and “warm feelings,” for the job that you all did. The athletes also expressed a universal appreciation for the warmth and hospitality of the fans and the hotels and restaurants.
I already referred to exceptionally high standards of biathlon at the World Cup level. Those standards are to ensure a fair competition for the athletes and create the most attractive viewing experience for the 800 million TV viewers and for the sponsors who are paying millions of dollars to promote their brands. As a result, the IBU is not in the business of lowering standards because there is a community that has never held a World Cup before. Against those very high expectations, against those exact standards, you set a new standard — a hard thing to do in this business.
There have been many proud moments in the history of the Maine Winter Sports Center, but none more so than on the first day of the Presque Isle World Cup, when a huge, enthusiastic crowd filed into the stadium to fill every corner of space available, the TV cameras started up with the German TV pre-race show and the army of volunteers were handling everything that was thrown at you with the predictable professionalism, intellectual curiosity, grace and humility that has come to define your community. I know that everything did not go perfectly smoothly behind the scenes and that there were significant challenges presented over weekend, but the fans, the IBU and most importantly, the athletes, saw only the remarkable finished product.
You were exceptionally well led by Dave Peterson, Steve Towle, Max Saenger, and the rest of the chiefs, and you took full advantage of that leadership. I appreciate all the hard work, the sacrifice and the dedication that went into making this event possible and hope that you will feel the pride and satisfaction of a job profoundly well done. You have reinforced that World Cup Biathlon belongs in Aroostook County for years to come.
The eyes of the world were on you and you have left them smiling.
Andy Shepard, president & CEO
Maine Winter Sport Center
