Inductees

Niilo Itkonen (2012)

Cross Country Skiing Builder/Administrator

On Oct. 10, 1998, the Prince George ski community lost a champion athlete, visionary and tireless worker in the development of the Otway Nordic Centre and trail system.

Niilo Itkonen was already a legend in cross-country skiing circles worldwide when he left his home nation of Finland in 1951, settling first in Burns Lake and, eventually, Prince George.

Before his death at 80 years of age, Itkonen was instrumental in the design and construction of the Otway facility and trails. Otway has a 75-kilometre trail network, including lights for night-time skiing, and put Prince George on the map in producing national-level skiers and coaches. Itkonen’s diligence in creating the ski centre is a significant reason why the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club is the largest in the B.C. with more than 1,300 members.

In addition to serving as president of the Caledonia club, Itkonen founded the “Ski for Light” program for the visually impaired and was a ski guide at the 1992 Paralympics in Albertville, France, for Prince George’s Kris Dittman.

Itkonen also served as an instructor at Otway from 1984 to 1987 and with the Sons of Norway from 1971 to 1976. His coaching resume includes a stint from 1965 to 1966 as Canada’s national biathlon team coach and from 1959 to 1965 as national cross-country ski coach. In 1965, Itkonen also took on the responsibility of president of the Canadian Ski Association for the cross-country ski division.

Later in life, from 1988 to 1990, he was president of the Canadian Masters cross-country ski association.
Twice, Itkonen was a coach for Canada’s Winter Olympians. In 1960 at Squaw Valley, California, he led the cross-country skiers, and in 1964 in Austria, he doled out advice for the biathletes.

Itkonen’s first Olympic coaching experience came when he led Finland’s cross-country skiers at the 1952 Games.

He was Finland’s national cross-country skiing coach from 1947 to 1950. That assignment came after his graduation from The Sports College in Vierumski, Finland, as a teacher in cross-country skiing.

As an athlete, Itkonen was a consistent winner in the various cross-country ski events he entered in northern B.C. in his age group. He competed in various distances at the Canadian Masters cross-country championships from 1983 to 1990, winning 16 gold medals and three silver medals.

In 1988, Itkonen competed at the Western Canadian Masters cross-country ski championships at the Nelson Nordic Club and finished on top of the men’s 60 to 69 category with a time of two hours 41 minutes 41.3 seconds -- a clocking that placed him third overall.

Itkonen was the veteran champion at the Canadian cross-country ski championships in 1964 and earned the senior championship in 1952 in the same event, held at Grouse Mountain in Vancouver.

Itkonen began cross-country ski racing when he was seven in his hometown of Savolinna, Finland, and captured the Finnish Championship for the 15km event in 1946 and 1947. During his mandatory tour of duty in the Finnish Army in 1939, he earned first place in the biathlon and finished second in the 20km cross-country race.