Minnesota Biathlon

2012 Regional & National Junior Development Camp Schedule Posted

http://biathlon.teamusa.org/events/10117

Fasterskier.com interviews Anna Kubek, check it out here:
http://fasterskier.com/2011/09/youth-olympic-games-presents-anna-kubek/

Fasterskier.com interviews Nick Proell, check it out here:
http://fasterskier.com/2011/09/youth-olympic-games-presents-nick-proell/

Day 2- US Biathlon Nationals – Pursuit – Mt Itasca, Coleraine, MN

Pursuit Results pdf

Pursuit Results xls

An incredibly beautiful March day greeted the athletes for Day 2 of the US Biathlon National Championship. Overnight temperature of 20F let the ski trail firm up nicely for today’s competition, and the bright sun and low winds were a big improvements over the rain and wind of  the Day 1- Sprint. The athletes were all relieved to see the rain of Thursday replaced by fast and firm track.

The Women’s 10km Pursuit came down to a battle on the skis, as Annelies Cook, Tracy Barnes, and Lanny Barnes all shot clean for both prone stages. Cook picked up three penalties in standing, while the Barnes twin each picked up two penalties a piece.   Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) was able to ski fast enough to take the victory, with Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO) and Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) finishing second and third.

The Senior Men 12.5km race was punctuated with many more penalties. Bill Bowler (Wausau, WI) held the early lead, hitting 9 of 10 prone targets, but seven standing misses over the two standing stages pushed him back to 4^th at the finish. Wynn Roberts (Battle Lake, MN) was able to overcome 8 total penalties with a  good final standing stage and fast skiing for 1^st Place. Mark Johnson (Grand Rapids, MN) had the best shooting with 5 penalties and finished 2^nd, only 8 seconds back. Russell Currier (Caribou, ME) put on the afterburners to finish 31 seconds out, with 9 penalties and a big crash in the first loop.

Mt Itasca has hosted at least one major national biathlon event annually since the development of the Biathlon/Nordic center in 2000. Snowmaking and all grooming are run completely by volunteers, and the quality of skiing for  these Nationals was truly World Class.

The 2011 National Championships  will conclude with Mass Start events in 7 men’s and 6 women’s categories.

Additional photos on Fasterskier.com

View Slideshow – Photos from Randy Proell

2012 Youth Olympic Games
January 10-24, 2012
Innsbruk, Austria

Dear Athletes and Coaches,

The inaugural Youth Winter Olympic Games will be held January 13-22, 2012 in
Innsbruk, Austria. This is a new event, and as the title indicates, it’s a big deal. This
is a REAL OLYMPICS for Youth athletes (age eligibility described below), and will
include virtually all the winter sports that are included in the “regular” Olympic
Games. This event will be fully funded by the US Olympic Committee and the USBA.

The U.S. Biathlon Team will be allowed to bring 2 female and 2 male biathletes.
Athletes must be US Citizens born between January 1, 1994 and Dec 31, 1995.
There will be 4 events for biathlon:

• 6km/7.5km Sprint
• 7.5km/10km Pursuit
• Mixed Relay (2 women and 2 men)
• Combined Biathlon and XC Relay (2 biathletes, 2 xc skiers)

The qualification process for US biathletes wanting to represent the United States at
the Youth Olympic Games will begin this winter season, 2010-2011. The
International Competition Committee has not yet approved criteria, but they will be
available in the next month. Criteria will be emailed out to coaches and will be
posted on the USBA website as soon as they are available.

Because the names for team selection must be submitted to the International
Olympic Committee by early December 2011, we will most likely need to use results
from major Biathlon races during the 2010-2011 season. Athletes and coaches
need to keep this in mind when planning the winter race schedule. Though our
criteria are not yet complete, this letter is a “heads up” regarding the importance of
racing at the Jr/Youth World Team Trials, Dec 28-30, 2010 in Jericho, Vermont and
the US National Championships, March 17-20, 2011 at Mt Itasca, Minnesota.

The International Competition Committee will work to complete its work on the
Youth Olympic Games qualifying criteria by the middle of November. The inaugural
Youth Summer Olympic Games were held this summer in Singapore. From all
reports it was a resounding success. The host city website is not yet up, but here’s a
link for some more basic information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Winter_Youth_Olympics

A friend of Petra Cervenkova from Czech Republic is organizing unofficial Open Master European Championships in Air Rifle Cross Biathlon in the beginning of October 2010 in the Czech Republic. Only Master categories will be held as ECH. They provide air rifles too.
FYI, here is the info  www.gpbiathlon.estranky.cz