Yesterday, I walked out on to Lake Michigan with the event organizer Mark Sposito and one of our special event volunteers, Mike Kamyszek, it was 23 degrees and a stiff wind was biting at our nose….the ice between Green Island and the Lake Michigan shore on Boulevard Drive appeared thick and solid, 8-10 inches… we all smiled, this was good news….because it just could be the backup site for the upcoming February winter events, LaBatt Blue U.P. Pond Hockey and WISSA championships. (World Ice & Snow Sailing Association) . Who would think, a little town like St. Ignace, located at the most southern tip of Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula, would be the location of 2 world-class events in one month. Well, no surprise to us, we live here and appreciate what we behold every day…but mother nature has not cooperated so well up to this point.
What was a thriving winter economy years ago due to the great snowfalls enticing snowmobilers and cross country skiers, fisherman or just winter enthusiasts has changed over the years…..thus new winter activities that usually survive all the elements have been put in place. Now we pray and dance for snow and ice. With under 3 weeks to the first event, and 160 pre-registered hockey teams from across the country await their challenge, and Ice-Sailors from across the world merge into the U.S. for the first time in 17 years, into unknown territory, and a small town awaits their arrival and pulls together to make these events successful, some very sleepless nights for many, hover over us.
The location for both events is the wild blue icy bay of Lake Huron in downtown St. Ignace. It’s just a great location…..but lack of good ice may throw us into a backup plan. The good thing is, THERE IS A BACKUP PLAN….it could move to Lake Michigan, just a few miles south, towards the Mackinac Bridge, at a spot that, well, maybe the best backdrop for these 2 events one could ever ask for. Perched behind the backup spot, as big as big gets, is the majestic Mackinac Bridge. The logistics are being put together and with a little cooperation here and there and this and that, if the downtown bay conditions aren’t great…..this Green Island/Straits of Mackinac site will do just fine, in fact, it will be a photographers dream.
So, as months and months of efforts from so many people involved in these special events come to a head….and people from everywhere make their plans to come north, someone out there is looking over us and saying, don’t worry “all will be well in the U.P.”
