CAMDEN — The 23rd U.S. National Toboggan Championships' only failure this year was its unwillingness to let a blizzard be the thing that cancelled the event.

Some wondered if the show would go on, and others wondered if it should, but with considerate and cautious planning and preparation — and a whole lot of shoveling — 75 percent of the 425 registered teams were able to race their hearts out Feb. 9.

The Toboggan National Committee was dealt a tough hand in the days and hours leading up to this year's event, Feb. 8, 9, and 10. The National Weather Service was predicting big snow and bigger winds that weekend, but weather forecasters were hesitant to commit to which day would bear the brunt of what would eventually be dubbed "Nemo" — and just how bad it would be for the Midcoast.

The core committee met with Camden public safety officials Feb. 7, and with a blizzard warning on the board beginning Friday afternoon, a one-day race format was created in the event the weekend wasn't going to be a complete wash. The committee then agreed to meet again Friday morning at 8 a.m., review the morning's weather update, commit to a format and make a public announcement by 9 a.m. Feb. 8.

The event is now history, and while it took a lot of hard work by many dozens of dedicated individuals to pull off, Toboggan National committee members said it had Camden Town Manager Patricia Finnigan to thank for believing in so many people. Finnigan listened to everyone, and in the end, she was a calming voice that helped the committee and others have the confidence to make the best of what was going to be, at times, an uncomfortable situation.

A weather system ahead of the blizzard brought more snow than anticipated to the region Friday, but it also proved to be a busy day on the mountain and at the toboggan chute. Undaunted, nearly one-quarter of the teams showed up Friday to register and many took practice runs on the chute. Registration and inspection volunteers manned their posts until 6 p.m., when the winds were just beginning to pick up and at least 6 inches of light, fluffy snow covered the ground.

For the out-of-town racers who arrived early, to beat the storm, as well as the locals and other Mainers who would have traveled to Camden Saturday morning, it was a day for many to stay inside and heed the travel advisories.

But for others, it was a day to shovel at the Snow Bowl. Ski School and Marketing Director Andrew Dailey and Facilities Manager Bill "Fitzy" Fitzcharles worked with crews at the Snow Bowl plowing the parking lots and roads, and shoveling the toboggan chute, stairs and landing area at the top. Assisting with the work were one race coach, six ski school instructors, two ski patrollers and 10 mountain staff — as well as five toboggan race volunteers who showed up on their own to help.

According to Dailey, there were 4-foot snow drifts to be shoveled at the top of the toboggan chute, and they worked in shifts chipping away at it.

The shoveling began in earnest at 8:30 a.m. and everybody was finally sent home around 4 p.m. Saturday.

"We rotated around, and some people might have hiked to ski during the work day, but we got it done," said Dailey.

Beth Ward, the Snow Bowls' acting general manager, was also on site Saturday working in the office, fielding phone calls and keeping the committee apprised of conditions. At 4 p.m., Ward and Committee Chairman Holly S. Edwards spoke on the phone and determined that Sunday was a go, unless the storm decided to linger overnight and wrecked the progress made by the shovel brigade Saturday.

When the first crews arrived well before dawn Sunday, it was clear, this was going to be a good day and the races would commence. Sunday racing was slow to start for the racers, vendors and organizers, as there were new piles of snow to be moved. But all in all, the venue looked pretty good and the racers were soon making their way up the stairs toting their wood toboggans, some talking launch strategy and others looking at the chute with newbie anticipation of the ride to come.

It was a long day, and concessions had to be made for tents that couldn't be erected or that had been damaged by winds, but it all came together in the end. Due to the single-day format, each team took a single run, with the 25 fastest times qualifying for the finals in the two-person and three-person divisions and the top 50 fastest four-person teams advancing to the finals.

Finals ran like normal, with each team taking two runs and the combined times determining the first-, second- and third-place winners in each division.

Award winners were announced just after 5 p.m., with trophies handed out to the winning teams alongside the toboggan chute, where a small crowd of spectators and racers had gathered.

"For all that we went through, agonizing over whether to run the event or not, the positive feedback we received from the racers, spectators and others in town made it all worthwhile," said Edwards. "I personally had a lot of faith that the town could step up and help us pull it off, and they did, and for that, we should all be thankful."

A little more than a week later, final numbers have been collected from various entities and tallied. With a few small outstanding entries in the income and expenses columns yet to be firmed, the 23rd U.S. National Toboggan Championships is confident in reporting income of close to $55,000.

That total is just $6,500 shy of the $61,458 earned in 2012. The Toboggan National's in 2011 earned $60,518.

Down this year were souvenir sales and general parking fees, as well as income that would have been generated from partner events, including West Bay Rotary's Down the Chute Beer and Wine Challenge and the Chili Challenge, as well as the Juston McKinney comedy concert at the Opera House.

All of those line items and events were impacted by the storm Saturday, and the cancellation of that day of racing and spectator visits.

Last year, the event brought in 12 vendors, each paying $300 for a space to set up near the chute. But complaints of too many vendors, by the vendors themselves, prompted the committee to vote to cut that number back to eight.

"It made for less vendor income for the event, but happier vendors this year, despite only have Friday and Sunday to sell," said Edwards. "It was a workable number, and they all left happy at the end of the event Sunday."

A silver lining has also emerged on the partner-event side, as just this week it was announced that the Juston McKinney concert has been rescheduled to Saturday, March 2, and West Bay Rotary has reorganized and rescheduled the Down the Chute challenge for Saturday, May 11, at the Snow Bowl. A portion of the McKinney concert proceeds will benefit the Toboggan Nationals bottom line, while the Ragged Mountain Development fund will benefit from a portion of Rotary's event proceeds.

Souvenirs will also continue to be available for sale at the Snow Bowl this year, and there is talk of creating an online store to sell both Toboggan National and Snow Bowl souvenirs.

In addition to the positive impact the U.S. National Toboggan Championships brought to Camden two weeks ago, the Snow Bowl reported a tremendous ski day on the mountain Feb. 10.

Ward said 400 ski tickets were sold for Sunday, bringing in $8,000 in new Snow Bowl revenue. In addition, approximately 150 season pass holders braved long lines Feb. 10 for a chance to slice through several feet of fresh powder on Ragged Mountain.

"It was a busy day here, for sure," said Ward. "We don't see many days like that."

Related stories, newest to oldest:

• Qualifying and final race times for all teams

• U.S. National Toboggan Championships finish in record one-day splash

• Seen around Camden; National Weather Service lifts blizzard warning

• Blizzard continues: Roads unsafe, power outages, and snow "up to my waist"

• Camden Toboggan Nationals committee announces schedule changes

• Toboggan Nationals committee to assess weather, make decisions Friday morning

• Blizzard, flood warnings issued for coastal Maine

• Wobbly storm track has weather experts casting wary eyes

• All systems 'Go!' for Camden Snow Bowl's 23rd annual toboggan races