BRILLION (NBC 26) — On your mark. Get set. Ski.
- More than 350 children from around Wisconsin left it all on the snow during the 2024 Wisconsin Nordic Ski League Sprint Championships
- Ariens Nordic Center was created to satisfy the need for a place for youth skiers to compete and train
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
It was a race to the finish for hundreds of Wisconsin middle and high schoolers across the state. Cross-country skiing, also called "Nordic skiing," is a popular activity wherever there is snow and the desire to compete. Even young kids like 11-year-old Finn Dickman can partake.
“We used to ski jump when I was five. That’s when I got started. Then, a couple years later, we didn’t really want to do it anymore, so we started cross-country skiing and I’ve been cross-country skiing for about six years.”
For people like Katelynn Breckinger and her friends, they got involved because it ran in the family.
“My dad was actually one of the starters of Bay Nordic [Ski Club], so I got into cross-country skiing when I was.... two years old or something like that.”
But it was only until recently that these kids actually had a place to do it. The Ariens Nordic Center just opened last year and started hosting events this year. General Manager Sean Becker runs the mammoth operation.
“I just think that it's great we are able to put this event on here. It helps a lot of these kids right now because there isn't any other ski place that gives them the opportunity to come here to train and race local teams at home course, so that means a lot to us here.”
Above all, it certainly means a lot to these kids to be able to race for the gold.
