HOW TO GET STARTED IN BIATHLON
AND WHERE YOU CAN DO IT IN GRAND COUNTY
By Jay Bender / Photos by Carter Photographics

THE CHALLENGE: Learning to shoot accurately with an elevated heart rate is the key to moving up on your competition.

There is a sport that can inject that kind of dark horse, come-from-behind excitement into your Nordic racing – biathlon. Adding an element the faster skiers aren’t automatically better at levels the playing field.

If you can out-shoot another competitor on the rifle range, you can gain a lot of time while they are skiing around in circles on the penalty loop!

Of course, biathlon is primarily a ski race and speed definitely counts. But the element of target shooting can really make it interesting, changing who’s in the lead multiple times during the course of a race. That’s one reason why biathlon is the most watched televised winter sport in Europe.

You’ve seen it on TV during the Olympics, but just to review, biathlon is a timed ski race composed of relatively short loops of generally two or three kilometers, with bouts of target shooting in-between. Shooting bouts are either prone (lying down) or standing. At each bout, the skier has five shots with which to hit five small targets 50 meters away. For every target missed, a 150-meter penalty loop must be skied, so it’s easy to see that five missed targets can be costly.

A skier who shoots “clean” can be well ahead of a faster skier who didn’t shoot so well and is spending time on the penalty loop. The challenge of learning to shoot accurately with an elevated heart rate, and thereby moving up on your competition, is what makes biathlon so much fun.

The different race formats also keep things interesting – the sprint, pursuit, mass start and others. Some, like the sprint, have only two shooting bouts. Some formats have four bouts – two prone and two standing.

The rifle, by the way, is never loaded when on the skier’s back out on the course. The loaded magazine is only inserted when the racer is on the shooting mat, with the rifle pointed safely down range.

Some might think biathlon is all about the guns. It isn’t. Biathlon is a ski race with shooting stops to add an interesting, challenging element. And biathlon is growing. All over the US, clubs are springing up, building ranges, and hosting races.

TARGETS: Shooting for biathlon makes ski racing exciting.

If you’re a skier and think you might like to try biathlon, most clubs will teach the basics of the sport. In most cases these clubs have .22 caliber rifles that new biathletes can use. That way, you don’t have to buy one just to see if you’re going to like biathlon. Rifle safety, of course, is paramount, and all of these organizations will require that you take a short US Biathlon Association rifle safety certification class before handling a rifle or competing.

While many .22 rifles will work for biathlon, there are some rules to follow and some characteristics of a biathlon-specific rifle that will allow you to be competitive. Scopes are not used, only “aperture sights.” The rifle must weigh at least 7.7 pounds and should use five-shot magazines, with a magazine holder attached to the stock. For winter racing, a harness allows the competitor to carry the rifle on his or her back while skiing.

Buying a suitable rifle can cost $1,000 or more. Once you have made that investment, though, you will have only race fees and ammunition to buy. Since the rifles tend to hold their value well, you can usually sell one for at least as much as you paid for it, should you decide to get out of the sport later. Initially, of course, you can use a club rifle. But, if you decide to race often, you will want to get your own rifle so that you can customize the fit, learn its idiosyncrasies and have something to practice with on your own.

Colorado Biatlon Club races at Snow Mountain Nordic Center.

At most club venues in the US the targets used for biathlon are steel “knock-down” targets: five black, steel paddles in a row behind a white, steel plate with five holes. When one is hit, it rocks back, and a white indicator paddle comes up in its place, showing a “hit.” It also makes a satisfying “clank” that, as a biathlete, you will come to love. The immediate feedback and thrill of dropping targets during a race is hard to beat. Leaving the range knowing you will head straight back out on course is a great feeling, particularly if that hot shot you started behind is headed for the penalty loop.

As the sport has grown, more and more junior biathletes have come on the scene. There are a lot of parent-child biathlete pairs attending races these days, and we see kids as young as eight participating with a parent. Sometimes mom or dad just helps out as an official.

Disabled athletes also compete in the sport – a truly inspiring thing to see. There is also no shortage of men and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond having a great time doing biathlon.

Many clubs have specific “intro” days, but most will help you get started at just about any event they have on their schedule. You will find a safety- conscious, fun-loving group of people who enjoy a challenge. And you just might find yourself … on the podium!

Colorado Biathlon 2011-2012 Race Schedule
All races at Snow Mtn Ranch/YMCA of the Rockies - Granby, CO
02/17/11: Sat. Sprint (atl: Certification)
12/18/11: Sun. (atl: Sprint)
12/31/11: Sat. Mass Start
1/14 & 1/15/12: Sat: Sprint / Sun: Pursuit
2/18 & 2/19/12: State Championships - Sat: Sprint / Sun: Pursuit
3/11/12: Sat. Individual

Visit www.coloradobiathlon.org/schedule.html to confirm race schedule dates

READ MORE STORIES FROM THIS ISSUE:
• Winter 2011 Articles