Construction on the Callaghan Valley Nordic Centre has started up again for the season, but getting the site prepared is only part of the work underway to get the Olympic facility ready.
The Squamish-based Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is preparing to help run five events next winter, including three national championships, in a run-up to 2010.
"There has been so much talk about 2010 that people haven't really been looking at 2008 and 2009," said Denise Imbeau, manager of the Chamber of Commerce and LOC member.
"If we're going to be in a position to take advantage of the Games, then we have to work now to put ourselves in the right spot." To that end the LOC is beginning to ready for the Canadian National Championships in biathlon, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined and ski jumping, starting next winter.
The first event, the ski-jumping and Nordic combined championship will start on January 4, 2008.
"It's really not that much time," said Coun. Greg Gardner. "There are fantastic commercial opportunities linked with this."
Similar events in the United States have drawn as much as $1.5 million in direct spending into local economies.
In 2007, the ski-jumping Continental Cup and a NorAm event will also take place in the Callaghan Valley.
And to prepare the Nordic Centre for the elite level athletes coming their way, coach Amy Caldwell will serve as the training centre's head coach.
Caldwell will be moving to Squamish in the next few weeks and will start work on Friday (June 1) when the new Training Centre program officially gets underway.
Caldwell brings a vast degree of experience from her 12 years of coaching with the Stratton Mountain School in Vermont. She's coached more than 10 cross country athletes that went on to represent the U.S. at the World Junior Championships, some of whom went on to become members of the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Olympic Team.
Caldwell has a passion for coaching and cross-country skiing, according to Cross Country BC (CCBC) website, and the commitment necessary to lead the centre's objective of qualifying athletes for the Canadian National Ski Team.
In addition to the Training Centre program, Caldwell will be coaching at all CCBC Provincial Camps this year - the Spring Camp (May), Haig Camp (July), Smithers Camp (August) and Snow Camp (November).
