a href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mrH2aLzeZss/SvSP-Cms0RI/AAAAAAAAAVo/FNtFNKYHZuE/s1600-h/Coach+Kathy_07.JPG”img style=”cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mrH2aLzeZss/SvSP-Cms0RI/AAAAAAAAAVo/FNtFNKYHZuE/s200/Coach+Kathy_07.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401100149137920274″ //a You may think it would be difficult for skiing to take you anywhere…especially when you don’t ski. However, you would be very wrong. strongemPicture: the author working the range/em/strongbr /br /strongIn The Beginning…/strongMy daughter got involved with MWSC and skiing between her freshman and sophmore years in high school. We lived an hour away from both Nordic Heritage Center and the 10th Mountain Ski Center. We decided to go to Nordic Heritage Center and Coach Will Sweetser. It didn’t take long before Will placed a biathlon rifle in my daughter’s hands. I remember the first time she shot, laying there on the mat. She turned around to me and said, “Wow, mom. I really like this!” Her love for biathlon began. It wasn’t long after her first biathlon practice that Andrea started focusing on biathlon and it became clear to me that I needed something to do during practice. I am not much of a shopper so I decided that getting involved in Biathlon would be a much more appealing option. So it began. That was 3 years ago. After spending the first year in Presque Isle and volunteering at the 2006 Biathlon Junior World Championships, we made the decision to relocate to the 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent and biathlon coach Gary Colliander. That is when my Volunteer career took over. I was as hooked on biathlon as my daughter was. br /br /strongFinding My Niche…/strongGary took me under his wing and taught me biathlon. I spent most of my time on the “range”. Learning the mechanics of shooting, scoping shots, wind factoring, taking a rifle apart, cleaning it and putting it back together again. I was also directed in the fine art of video-taping. I will be the first to admit I gave Gary and probably the athlete’s motion sickness on more than one occasion! After the first year I began to “travel” with the team during camps, Nor Ams and trials. I had the best of all worlds. Not only was I able to be with my daughter, I was helping Gary and getting to know the kids. Sharing their ups and downs, triumphs and setbacks. It didn’t take long before the kids started calling me the team mom. I had earned their trust and confidence and that was very rewarding.br /br /strongWorking 9 to 5…/strongIt wasn’t long after we started making the trek to Fort Kent and the 10th Mountain Ski Center that I was introduced to Nancy Thibodeau, who in turn introduced me to Jeff Dubis. They introduced me to the other side of biathlon. Nancy and I became very good friends immediately, it was if we had known each other a lifetime. She got me involved in the management side of the sport, working side by side. In my first year at the Mountain I was the Event Manager for the North American biathlon championships and then the Event Director for 10th Mountain’s first summer biathlon championships. I have also been on the range and most recently been asked to be the Chief of Timing. About a year and a half ago I was invited to join the Steering Committee of the 10th Mountain Ski Center and got involved with the operations of 10th Mountain events. Last year we received the disappointing news that the World Cup event scheduled for Fort Kent in 2009 would have to wait for another 2 years. We will be ready for 2011.br /br /strongThe Next Step On The Journey…/strongI returned from a camp in Utah this past week where I worked on the range, did some timing and spent quality time with the athletes. During that time I also received a phone call, a phone call from Vancouver. The next step on my journey will be on the range as a volunteer for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler Canada.br /br /Where can skiing take you?div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6813061107698506856-2167117888078052959?l=mwscbiathlon.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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