Announcer Tim Glaeser and scorekeeper Gary Dotter both of Tomahawk, WI have been named Badger State Games' Volunteers of the Year. Also honored as the Spirit of the Games award winners are a group of eleven men who worked through the night in an effort to preserve the trails for the Nordic ski races in 2005.
Despite the warm temperatures at last year's Games, all of the Saturday events ran as scheduled or with a modified start time for the 2005 Winter Games. But by noon, water was running down parts of the Nordic trails, and there was question as to whether the snow would last through the night. In an effort to save the trails a group of men rolled up their sleeves and worked all night to preserve the snow on the ski trails at Nine Mile County Forest.
Armed with shovels and a sled attached to a snowmobile, they hauled snow from the woods and the top of a nearby pond to the trails. They carted 20 sled loads of snow to the trail for the 43K race. Groomers were on stand by waiting to lay the tracks; however at midnight it began to rain, and the trails were deteriorating rapidly. With nothing more that could be done, Sunday's Nordic Skiing events had to be cancelled.
"It was too bad it started raining. With the amount of snow those guys hauled and the work they did, we would have run the events. We made the call at about 5:30 am to cancel because the rain had turned everything to slush. Anyone who came to Nine Mile on Sunday saw the conditions and agreed the decision to cancel the races was the right call," said Ryan Richards, Director of Operations for the Games.
The group included the three Nordic skiing commissioners Darrell Kurth, Pat Meyer and Gary Zimbric, as well as Greg Freix, Pete Gebhardt, Mark Gebhardt, John Howard, Steve Konkel, Mike Marshall, Ron Roloff and Ron Wood.
Also being honored will be Tim Glaeser and Gary Dotter, the 2006 Volunteers of the Year. They are the announcer and scorekeeper for Badger State Games mite hockey. Tim does more than just read rosters and announce when a goal is scored. He gets everyone fired up. Tim got involved with the Badger State Games 10 years ago when "Uncle Bob" Nelson, the commissioner at that time, asked him to help out. He's been coming back ever since.
"I like watching hockey. My sons played in the (Badger State) Games throughout the years. It's a great tournament, and I'm happy to be part of it. I look forward to it every year. The kids' eyes light up when you announce their names at the start of the games or when they make a good play. That's neat to see." The kids aren't the only targets. Tim does his part to get the crowd involved too. "There's never a dull moment when Tim is on the mic, he gets everyone fired up," said Gary Dotter, who is seated next to Tim the entire weekend. Gary operates the score clock and keeps things lively in the booth while giving Tim ammunition to fire over the mic. Tim jokingly refers to the two of them as "serious professionals" who are dedicated to their duties. The Tim and Gary show will take place this weekend at SARA Park Ice Rink in Tomahawk.
The awards will be presented at the 2006 Badger State Winter Games Opening Ceremony on February 3, 2006 in the Village of Rothschild, just south of Wausau. The festivities start at 5:30 pm and will include free food, snowshoe demonstrations, a bon fire and a hot air balloon on display. Comedy Sportz, a family-friendly improvisation act out of Milwaukee, WI will perform from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
The Ceremony starts at 7:00 pm with the athlete parade led by 2006 Honorary Athlete Gary Shuchuk, former Badger Hockey star and NHL alumni and special guest Bret Bielema, the current Badger Football coach. Fireworks will follow. All events are free and the public is encouraged to attend.
The 2006 Games will take place the last weekend in January and the first weekend in February. Archery, Bowling, Youth and Women's hockey will take place January 27-29, 2006, while the remaining sports, Alpine Skiing, Billiards, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Men's Hockey, Nordic Skiing, Quadrathlon, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Snowshoe Racing, Speedskating as well as the Opening Ceremony will occur February 3-5, 2006 in and around north-central Wisconsin.
For more scheduling information and to register for the 2006 Winter Games, log on to www.badgerstategames.org or call 608-226-4780.
Wausau Insurance Companies presents the Badger State Winter Games. Major sponsors are American Family Insurance, Charter Communications, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Saint Joseph's Hospital-Ministry Health Care, with special thanks to TravelWisconsin.com and the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation is a nonprofit sports management organization that helps develop sports tourism in Wisconsin and promotes positive lifestyles and physical fitness through amateur athletic events and health education programs. WSDC owns the Badger State Games, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Sports Foundation, Paddle & Portage, Shape Up Wisconsin Kids, Lighten Up Wisconsin and the Fit Kids Challenge. WSDC is also the local host of Ironman Wisconsin.