The Similkameen News Leader
Sports Page - May 20, 2008
CHINA RIDGE PROJECT 2010 IS COMING!
The next three years should be called The Years of the Anniversaries. This year British Columbia turns 150 years old, in 2009 the China Ridge Cross-Country Ski Association turns 20 - and in 2010 - also the Olympic Year - Princeton turns 150!
A few months ago Ernie Lawrence started talking about a great idea. With all those anniversaries coming up, and with the Olympics coming to Vancouver - why not find a way in which Princeton could celebrate the Olympics, and its anniversary?
Subsequently, a group was formed to investigate the possibility of Princeton hosting and supporting a foreign Olympic team. Most teams come over well in advance of the Olympics in order to train, acclimatize, and recover from jet lag - and Princeton has so much to offer in terms out outdoor sports, and cross-country skiing in particular.
China Ridge Cross-Country Ski Association has taken the lead, and is proud to announce 'China Ridge Project 2010.' The Project has invited the Slovene Olympic Cross-Country Ski Team to train with us this coming winter, and before the Olympic Games. The Slovenes have officially and enthusiastically taken up the invitation.
The steering group members are John Akerly, Nat Brown, Bob Coyne, Kelley Cook, John Hughes, Ernie and Marilyn Lawrence, and Lyle Thomas. Please speak with any of these if you have questions or offers of support or sponsorship!
Trail preparation is already under way with the construction of a warming hut at China Ridge, and improvements on Nat Brown's course on the Princeton-Summerland Road. The athletes will be housed privately.
Princeton's first chance to greet the Slovenes will be in late July-early August, when Marko Gracer (Team Leader) will visit the area with his family to have a look at accommodations and skiing possibilities on offer.
The first athletes will arrive this coming January, preparatory to the Pre-Olympics (every Olympic venue is required to host a pre-Olympic event so teams may check out arrangements and preview venues; in the case of the cross-country skiers, this will be a full-on World Cup event at Whistler's Nordic venue). They will be in the area for about a week, living in private homes and skiing at China Ridge and at Nat Brown's ski course. The main event will be in January of 2010, when the Team will be with us for a week to ten days, just before moving into the Olympic Village. Slovenia and Nordic Skiing
The Slovene Ski Team inherits one of the oldest competitive ski traditions in Central Europe. One of their main training areas is Planica/Ratece which sports the world's largest ski flying hill, and hosts regular World Cup jumping.
Marko Gracer is the long-time Head Coach and Team Leader of the Slovene ski team, and will be leading the team in the 2009 pre-Olympics, as well as at the 2010 Olympics. Marko has visited Princeton before, and Nata'a Lačen, Matej Soklič and Peter Klofutar have all trained in the Princeton area in previous years, as have Ale Dolhar and Marjan Zagorek. Slovenia and Princeton have a long unofficial history of athletic association!
It is impossible to say at this stage just who will be on the 2010 Slovene Olympic Team - Trials will be in the early winter of 2009. But the athletes who will be coming to Princeton will be world-class skiers with a chance at top-ten finishes and a long history of solid success. The team will be on the China Ridge trails regularly, and plans are afoot for at least one afternoon to ski with Princeton-area skiers; moreover, all skiers are invited to come ski with the Team! Princeton will show the Slovenes what Canadian hospitality is all about, and send the team on to the Olympics well-rested, well-trained, and ready to do their best. We'll be watching them! More Will Follow!
Stay tuned! There is a great deal of work to be done in preparation, but Princeton is on the road to significant participation in the 2010 Olympics.
We will be playing a valuable part in supporting a group of athletes who will have spent years preparing rigorously for these Olympics. Some will have trained 800 or even 1,000 hours per year. Most will have dreamed of this since they began skiing.
Most will have known other Olympians and will be burning to follow in their footsteps, or even to achieve better results. Some may finish in the top ten or fifteen, or set new records for their country. All will be dreaming of a spot on the podium.
The Olympics will be one of the two or three great moments of their lives, along perhaps with their wedding and the birth of a child. They will remember what they did - and what we did! - for the remainder of their lives.
Come join us! Anyone with an interest in supporting Project 2010 is welcome to participate - simply contact any of the committee members named below.
Nat Brown (from Wednesday, at (250) 295-4175), John Akerly, Bob Coyne, Kelley Cook, John Hughes, Ernie and Marilyn Lawrence, and Lyle Thomas.
