RUMFORD – The United States Ski and Snowboard Association is recommending Black Mountain as the venue for the National Cross Country Ski Championships for 2011 and 2012.

If Rumford gets the event, it would be “a huge boost to the local economy,” said Wendall “Chummy” Broomhall, a former Olympic skier and a longtime member of the Chisholm Ski Club, including past president. He also is a board member of Black Mountain of Maine.

The USSA Cross Country sport committee recommended Rumford during a meeting last month, according to Tom Kelly, the association’s vice president of communications.

The USSA, with headquarters in Park City, Utah, has named the Rumford mountain as the site for races used to choose the national teams for the World Cup several times in the past, including 2003 and 2004.

Each of those times, Broomhall said, more than 500 racers, including 80 from Canada, traveled to Black Mountain for the 10-day event. Motels and hotels from Rumford to Bethel and Wilton, along with restaurants and other local businesses, benefited from the races, which also drew hundreds of spectators.

The 2011 and 2012 events will take place during 10 days in early January of each year.

Broomhall said the Chisholm Ski Club maintains a volunteer base of about 130 people who help prepare for such events as the National Cross Country Ski Championship.

Other national events held at Black Mountain also include the national collegiate competition, among others.