THE ESSENCE OF BIATHLON
Biathlon is an Olympic winter sport, which combines competitive, free-technique cross-country skiing and small-bore rifle marksmanship.
The Challenge
The combination of two very contradictory disciplines, skiing and shooting, in the same competition confronts an athlete with a very demanding challenge. Cross-country racing requires intense, full out physical exertion over an extended period of time while shooting demands extremely fine control and stability. When athletes arrive at the shooting range, they have to shoot at a very small target, with a racing heartbeat and heaving chest because the clock is running even while they are shooting.
Governing Bodies
International Biathlon is governed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU), an International Federation with 58 member nations and an office in Salzburg, Austria and governs international and Olympic biathlon events. Biathlon Canada is the National Sport Organization and governing body for Biathlon in Canada, and has an office in Gloucester, Ontario. The Association has jurisdiction over events within Canada. All Canadian provinces and territories have a Biathlon movement and are Divisions of Biathlon Canada.
The Competition
In a Biathlon competition the Biathlete skis distances varying from 7.5 to 20 km and stops at the shooting range to shoot two or four times, with both the distance and number of shooting bouts in the prone and standing positions depending on the type of competition in question. The shooting distance is always 50 m. and five rounds are fired in each bout at five targets, except in the Relay competition in which the competitor has three spare rounds for each bout.
Competition Types
For the Individual and Sprint competitions, starts are done with one competitor at a time with a 30 second or one minute interval. In a Pursuit competition, starts are based on time intervals from a qualifying competition and for the Mass Start all competitors start together simultaneously. In the Relay competition, the first members of all teams start simultaneously in a mass start and after completing their part, tag the next member to start them on their way. For Team competitions, teams start with all members as a group, with one minute between teams.
Shooting
The rifle is designed for Biathlon with an action which is a variation of bolt or lever action, .22 inch in caliber, with a minimum weight of 3.5 kg. The magazines for the rifle may only hold five rounds of ammunition and the maximum muzzle velocity for a bullet is 380 m/s. The rifle is carried on the back with a carrying harness, vertically – barrel up. Target diameters are 115 mm (4.5 inches) for standing and 45 mm (about 2 inches) for prone. During the entire competition, from start to finish, the clock is running for the competitor – there is no time-out for shooting. Targets are made of a white metal face plate with five holes in a horizontal row. Behind the holes in the face plate are the black hit plates which fall backward, or send an electronic pulse, when hit by a bullet and at the same time raising a white flap in front of the hole – thus causing a color change from black to white. When the target is scored, the black spots are counted to determine the number of penalties the competitor has.
Penalties for missed targets are imposed either as one minute of added time per target for the Individual competition or as a 150 m penalty loop – done immediately after each bout of shooting – for all other competitions such as relays or mass starts.