Corner Brook ski club hopes facility additions will increase ability to host major events

Blow Me Down Trails hopes additions to its facility will better position the cross-country ski club to host more major events.
At a recent unrelated public event, club president Bill Barry said plans are in place to purchase a new groomer and construct a new storage building at the site, off Lundrigan Drive in Corner Brook.
Barry revealed there is a plan under way to apply for government funding for the project. His fishing company, the Barry Group, will be making a contribution to the project, too.
He said the overall cost is estimated to be around $520,000, with $125,000 coming as a private donation from the Barry Group.
The ski club currently has two groomers, its old Bombardier and the PistenBully it acquired for the 1999 Canada Winter Games.
“We’ve maintained the equipment we have, but the cost of maintenance is higher,” said Barry, explaining the need for the upgrade.
The plans also call for a new storage and maintenance shed for the new groomer.
The club will retain its current equipment as backup. 
Barry hopes it will come in handy if the club can land more major events like some of the regional, provincial, Atlantic and national events Blow Me Down Trails has hosted in the past.
“We’re hoping to do some more national races with not only the cadets and biathlon, but also some for less-abled kids,” said Barry. “We have some things in the pipe we’re not quite ready to announce yet, but we’re making plans for the next three, four or five years.”
Barry is hoping the funding will soon be in place so the groomer can be ordered and ground broken on the new storage facility in time for the upcoming cross-country ski season.