WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Kevin Cummings knows how quickly a good idea can snowball.

 

The executive director of the Bay State Games is excited to see games offer two new events when it returned to the Berkshires for its 31st season.

 

"I started with the organization in 1984, and I remember '85 was the first figure skating competition," Cummings said. "We had under 50 skaters."

 

This year, there will be hundreds of skaters descending on Williams College's Lansing Chapman Rink for three days of competition that run from 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12, through 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

 

But the big news in the Bay State Winter Games is the addition of cross country skiing and snowshoeing, which will take center stage on the festival's final weekend, Feb. 27 and 28.

 

With last year's addition of bowling, that makes for six sports (master's ice hockey and downhill skiing are the others) in six venues over the course of four weeks. The games started Jan. 30 with downhill skiing at Bousquet Ski Area in PIttsfield.

 

"We've doubled the number of sports in the Winter Games in two years," Cummings said. "We're pretty excited about that.

 

"It's a little bit of a risk with cross country skiing and snowshoeing because of the snow. We used to have cross country skiing, and one of the reasons we stopped doing it was the uncertainty of the conditions. But with the interest out there, it was worth giving it another shot."

 

Cummings said the Winter Games' newest events have the support of enthusiasts within the disciplines. Joe Miller, director of the state high school Nordic championships and Amber Dodge, the youth program manager of the New England Nordic Ski Association, are on board with the cross country skiing. Bob Dion of North Bennington, Vt.'s, Dion Snowshoes is on board with the snowshoeing event.

 

The cross country skiing will be held at two venues over two days. A freestyle (skate) race will be held at Windsor's Notchview Reservation on Saturday, Feb. 27. A classical race will be held the next day at Canterbury Farm in Becket.

 

The entry fee for the Nordic events is $25 for youngsters through Grade 8 or $35 for people in high school or older. There will be 10 age divisions ranging from Grades 1 and 2 up to age 60-and-over.

 

Snowshoeing will be a one-day event at Canterbury Farm on Sunday, Feb. 28, and registration costs $30.

 

There will be six age divisions for snowshoers, starting with juniors 19 and under, who will compete in a 5-kilometer race. Adults will compete on a 10K course.

 

All of the competitions are free to view for spectators. There is one event that charges admission at the Winter Games, the annual Bay State Skate, the Saturday night figure skating show that features the Christmas Brook Figure Skating Club, regional U.S. Figure Skating Association and Ice Skating Institute medalists and medalists from the winter games themselves.

 

Tickets to the show are $10. Winter Games athletes are admitted free of charge — one of the features that sets the games apart from other competitions.

 

"When we were planning for this year's games, the word to us from figure skating officials in the New England area was that the trend over the last year or so was numbers for competitions were down," Cummings said. "Events that used to be three-day events are now one-day events.

 

"But we literally are where we were last year. And that's a credit to the experience. People tell us that the experience of the Berkshires is as important as the competition itself.

 

"The folks at Christmas Brook work hard making sure it's all about the athlete's experience. And that's a credit to them and other volunteers."

 

More information about the games is available here.

 

Local participants at the 2016 Bay State Winter Games (as supplied by the Bay State Games on Tuesday) include:

 

FIGURE SKATNG

Adams: Emily Daigneault, Alexis Desroches, Ashton Goyette, Shaleigh Levesque, Mackenzie Rougeau.

Cheshire: Hannah Fuller.

Dalton: Rebecca Drager.

Hinsdale: Katie Malone-Smith.

Hoosick Falls, N.Y.: Ayla Senecal.

North Adams: Vincienza Alicandri, Samantha Dorwin, Yvonne Koperek.

Pittsfield: Aimee Boulais, Madison Quinn, Scott Raymaakers, Daniella Santamarina, Brooke VanBramer.

Pownal, Vt.: Maia Sheppard, Lara Shore-Sheppard.

Williamstown: Abby Coleman, Samantha Whittum.

 

BOWLING

Adams: Matthew Melito.

Clarksburg: Amanda Vallone, Brandon Vallone.

Dalton: John McKenna.

Hinsdale: Micahel Oakes, Tiffany Oakes, Chris Paro.

Lee: James Feeley, J.P. Sorrentino, David Zukowski.

North Adams: Jacob Boillat, Nickolas Johnson, Olivia Mazzacco, Preston Oakes, Nicholas Vallieres, Kalley Vanuni, Zach Yeaton, Aleasia Yeaton.

Pittsfield: Craig Clemons.

Stamford, Vt.: Gavin Bourdon.

Williamstown: Mark Hayden.

 

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING

Dalton: Samuel Pyser.

Worthington: Katarzyna Wisnauckas.