NEWPORT — Kingdom Games, in partnership with Marathon Skating International (MSI), has been selected to host the North American Marathon Speed Skating Championships, January 31 and February 1, 2015 on Lake Memphremagog. Each year the event alternates between venues in Canada and the United States. For 2015, the bid was awarded to Kingdom Games, who will sponsor 25 km and 50 km marathons on the natural ice of the lake.
Participants are expected from all parts of Canada and the US.
As it did earlier in 2014, Kingdom Games will build and maintain a 700-meter oval track on Lake Memphremagog in front of The Eastside Restaurant & Pub. Kingdom Games and MSI is also seeking volunteers as well as financial support to purchase equipment dedicated for this purpose.
Earlier this year, Kingdom games and MSI agreed to establish the Lake Memphremagog venue as a permanent yearly spot on MSI’s speed skating calendar. The two-day speed skating event is dedicated to Hutch Jenness, a beloved husband, father, physician, and good friend to many in the community.
Hutch loved endurance athletics and was often seen sculling on Lake Memphremagog, a lake he loved. He caught the passion for long-distance skating when Dutch speed skating enthusiasts came to Newport in February of 1983. In 1985 he was out on the lake alone, training for the Elfstedentocht, the famous eleven cities race in The Netherlands, when he fell through the ice and drowned near Georgeville.
It is a bittersweet moment for organizers to name this two-day event The Hutch Jenness Memphremagog Speed Skating Marathon.
For more information, contact Phil White at [email protected]. Additional information, including online registration, will be available soon online at marathonskating.org and kingdomgames.co.
