The community of Fort Kent has put a lot into the sport of Biathlon. Now it is getting a little attention paid back.
The Nintendo Corporation's Wii Video Game Console has come out with a new game called Ski and Shoot. It features fourteen World Cup ski courses including Fort Kent. The Maine course is the only American venue.
Mainers who follow biathlon think it's a wonderful occurance noting it's the kind of credibility you can't buy. In fact, Fort Kent was not notified that Wii would be using the venue as a backdrop.
"I think it's really tremendous," said Walt Shepard, a member of the U. S. "B" Ski team who has won seven national championships. "They really took the time to make sure the details of the venue in Fort Kent were represented even better than some of the European venues."
The course is easily recognizable as Fort Kent, right down to the signature architectural headquarters, which is designed as a blockhouse. Fort Kent takes it's name from a blockhouse built during the Aroostook War.
"I think it's really tremendous that even though the game was produced by Germans, they really took the time to make sure the details of the venue in Fort Kent were represented even better than some of the European venues."
Some of the backgrounds have led Fort Kent's biathlon commuinity to think video of the 2004 World Cup Biathlon races was used in the making of the games. "The angles are similar to what we saw in that broadcast and that video is widely available," said MWSC President Andy Shepard.
It also includes on architectural feature that isn't there-a seven story hotel. Organizers have dreamed of such a facility, but have no plans to build it. They are amused that the hotel is placed on land that would be available for such a product. This, too, leads them to believe that someone with significant inside information had a hadn in the project.