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Nordic Centre could lose biathlon events without upgrades

CANMORE – If the Canmore Nordic Centre isn’t upgraded soon it will be unable to host any more biathlon events after the world cup in February. That was the stark message shared by Ken Davies, chair of the Alberta Event Hosting Society for Biathlon.
Nordic Centre
Emily Young shoots in the Canmore 2017 Para Nordic World Cup biathlon sprint races at the Canmore Nordic Centre.

CANMORE – If the Canmore Nordic Centre isn’t upgraded soon it will be unable to host any more biathlon events after the world cup in February.

That was the stark message shared by Ken Davies, chair of the Alberta Event Hosting Society for Biathlon. 

“We run the risk of this being the last world cup Canmore sees without any future upgrades,” said Davies. “I don’t want to make it a dire thing, but that’s a very likely outcome.”

According to Davies, hosting a world cup event is extremely competitive with 45 venues around the world competing to host the races every year.

In order to host a World Cup event each venue must maintain an A-licence from the International Biathlon Union (IBU), however the current facilities at the Nordic Centre, which were built for the 1988 Winter Olympics, are outdated and fall short of the requirements.

“From a biathlon perspective, unless we make changes to the building and expand the stadium we won’t get more world cups in Canmore,” said Davies. “We have amazing mountains and amazing snow, but our facilities are just OK by comparison.”

According to Davies, the Nordic Centre’s IBU licence is up for renewal in June and the international sporting organization has indicated that if the upgrades don’t happen the Nordic Centre will not be able to host future world cup events.

“We were shocked to find out at the end of November from the IBU that we weren’t on their calendar for the next three years, which is really out of the norm,” said Davies.

In fact, he said it appears the IBU isn’t interested in allowing the Nordic Centre to host any biathlon events, including lower level races, if the upgrades aren’t completed.

“We’re not on the current published calendar for any IBU events in the next three years past this year’s world cup,” said Davies. “I’m not using brinkmanship or scare tactics, but it’s a true statement.”

Christian Winkler, the communications director for IBU, avoided directly stating whether the Nordic Centre’s A-licence was in jeopardy if the upgrades aren’t approved.

“The IBU A-licence for the Canmore Nordic Centre is valid until October 2019. The regular process is that the national federation usually requests the IBU renewal, which then starts the prolongation process. The IBU Technical Committee decides about the prolongation of the licence after evaluating the venue,” wrote Winkler.

“Only venues with an A-licence can host world cup events and world championships.”

In order to upgrade the facilities, the Nordic Centre recently completed a feasibility study which identified $10 million worth of upgrades, including a new biathlon building, expanded biathlon stadium and renovations to the range.

The study also identified the need for a viewing deck to be attached to the day lodge, revamping the air handling system in the wax room building and expanding Frozen Thunder by tripling the amount of snow stored over the summer to open six to seven kilometres of ski trails in October every year.

The $10 million project has been included on the provincial government’s capital priority list for the past two years, however at this point in time it remains unfunded.

“The Canmore Nordic Centre has an excellent reputation for hosting world-class international sports events, including the 1988 Winter Olympics and more than 50 international cross-country and biathlon competitions over the past 30 years,” wrote Matt Dykstra, press secretary for the minister of environment and parks. 

“We recognize that venues like the Canmore Nordic Centre need to meet international standards to host international events. The project to upgrade the Canmore Nordic Centre is being considered as part of proposed projects and priorities for budget 2019. We will have more to say in the coming months.”

Norbert Meier, the events coordinator for the Alberta World Cup Society, said the upgrades aren’t essential to keep cross-country ski events at the Nordic Centre, but would attract more teams and competitions.

“From a cross-country perspective what we’re really excited about is the increase in Frozen Thunder, to triple the size we’ve had these last eight years,” said Meier.

If approved, he said it would allow more people to use the facility before the winter season gets underway and attract more foreign teams for training camps in October.

“We think the window for getting the project approved is coming up right now,” said Meier, in reference to the spring provincial election.

“We know that the government likes the business case that was prepared for the upgrades that showed it makes good sense from a business and economic perspective.”

An economic impact assessment from 2016 indicated over 16,000 spectators visited the Canmore Nordic Centre during the Alberta portion of Ski Tour Canada, which generated $6.8 million in economic activity for the town.

Both Meir and Davies said they have being working with provincial government officials and architects over the past six months to complete a detailed design plan so that the project can be shovel ready in the spring.

“It’s a big deal to me because I volunteer my time to run these events at the Nordic Centre,” said Davies. “I put my heart and soul into it, so I’m pushing hard to make sure it doesn’t fall off the table because there’s a risk of that.”

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