Maine may be off list of World Cup biathlon sites

FORT KENT, Maine—Prospects for World Cup biathlon races in northern Maine next March are fading.

A little more than a year ago, Fort Kent was named as a stop in the 2009 World Cup, with events scheduled for March 12-15.

By adding Fort Kent to the schedule, the International Biathlon Union calendar was extended to 10 events instead of its traditional nine. But biathlon teams have been concerned about excessive travel in a schedule that includes stops in British Columbia, Korea and Siberia.

Now U.S. Biathlon Executive Director Max Cobb says the biathlon union plans to shrink the 2009 schedule by one. A plan to keep Fort Kent failed because six other hosts would have had to change their dates.

The Fort Kent Organizing Committee is "disheartened," says chair Nancy Thibodeau.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com