With the wildfire smoke permeating the city the thoughts of a clear crisp February day aren’t all that unwelcome.
It may be hard to imagine the middle of winter is only six months away. But, the city is also just six months away from hosting the 2019 World Para Nordic Championships. The local organizing committee revealed its mascot and medal design with key partners, also highlighting the importance of sponsoring this unique event.
To mark “six months out,” the LOC joined Tourism Prince George, funding partner Northern Development Initiatives Trust, local dignitaries and the City of Prince George at ‘Foodie Friday’ in Canada Games Plaza.
“It’s incredibly exciting to reach this six month out milestone and see all the wonderful people in our community coming together to bring the best of Prince George to the world,” says Kevin Pettersen, LOC Chair. “I have no doubt that we will create a truly exceptional experience for our guests that will enable us to showcase our amazing community and region and shine the spotlight on the opportunities for para sports and accessibility.”
The event highlighted some of the funding partnerships that have already been formed: Province of British Columbia, City of Prince George, Northern Development Initiative Trust, Government of Canada, World Para Nordic Skiing, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, but brought awareness to the importance of local and regional sponsorship for such an event within Prince George.
“Watching athletes from around the world pursue their path to an international podium on world class facilities in Northern B.C. is simply outstanding. Congratulations to the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club on their work to bring this event to Prince George,” said Joel McKay, CEO, Northern Development Initiative Trust. “We’re so pleased, here at the Trust, to have providing funding support over the past five years to enhance the facilities that have attracted this event and international athletes to our region.”
For the championships, a limited-edition version of Tourism PG’s mascot, Fraser, was revealed. Fraser will be customized with a 2019 World Para Nordic Championships t-shirt to mark this notable event and available for sale leading up to the event.
As part of the six-month out celebration, an ice sculpture rendition of the event’s medal design was also revealed. Approximately 140 athletes from 20 countries are expected to compete at the February 15-24, 2019 competition in both cross-country and biathlon events.
“This is the first World Championship of any kind ever held in Prince George and northern BC. We want to share the excitement and opportunity with our corporate community to partner with us and be part of creating an outstanding experience to put Prince George and our incredible region on the world stage. Sponsoring partners are absolutely vital to hosting this world-class event, and we know we have incredible companies with big hearts in our community, said Pettersen. “With a contemporary approach to broadcasting (using professionally produced live-streaming video through social media), we are able to reach over 2 million people around the world—including those right here in our region. It is an unprecedented opportunity to have our world-class local companies partner on a world-class event that has an incredible emotional connection.”
