Thank you from Paul Kulas

To the Ladies of Minnesota Biathlon,

Thank you for the signed picture from your trip to Madison. It was a pleasure to host you at Blackhawk Biathlon. I was very fortunate to be the “Random Guy” skiing through when you graciously asked me to be in your photo. Best of luck to those of you competing at Nationals and hope to see you again next season.

Paul Kulas (Random Guy)

MNCup at Mt Itasca – Sunday, March 14, 2021 – RESULTS

Minnesota Cup – March 2021
Hosted by Mt. Itasca Nordic Ski Association

Date:               Sunday!, March 14, 2021

Place:             Mt. Itasca, Coleraine

Race Format: Mass Start (PPSS)

Distance:       All approx. 8k (base on the snow situation)

Registration:   9:30 AM –  9:55 AM ( day registration only) 

Zero:              10:00 AM – 10:30AM

Race Start:    10:45 AM – Mass Start 

Cost:             $20 (cash or check payable to MINSA)

Questions?  call Vlad 218 256 8323   or e-mail

cervenkv@gmail.com 

March Biathlon Race Schedule

Sunday the 14th of March- Mt Itasca—10:00 zero [Saturday’s event is cancelled for that weekend]
This was supposed to be the last Midwest Regional Race of season covering both Saturday and Sunday. But the MN State meet got scheduled about a month late onto both Thursday and Fri just before.

If you plan to attend this event, please let Vlad Cervenka and me know by the 11th of March.

US Biathlon Nationals—24th-28th of March- West Yellowstone, MT
The actual races will be Fri the 26th, Saturday and Sunday. More information will be available shortly. Jeff Bosek will be our MN Biathlon Trip Leader. The latest information we have is the races will be held, and details were being worked out with USBA for final approval.

In addition, we have received word that US Biathlon Nationals in West Yellowstone has been approved by USBA with some additional Covid protocols that are still getting sorted out. The first race is Friday the 26th with a Sprint, Saturday will be a Pursuit and Sunday a Super Sprint. We have some planning to attend and the trip will be lead by Jeff Bosek. Please let Jeff and me know if you plan to attend. Some are staying at the Day’s Inn in West Y, but call directly to the hotel for the best rates. The online booking services are charging a lot for their service. 

One last note: if you sign up for the races in West per the Invitation attached, you should sign up for the Youth, Junior, Senior or Masters categories. So an under 17 athlete should sign up as a Youth. Remember, the venue is at 6700 feet of elevation, so arriving a day or two ahead for acclimation is advised! 

If you plan to attend this event, please let Jeff Bosek and me know by the 20th of March at the latest. Jeff is working on which hotel we might all focus on. The venue is at 6700 feet of elevation so it is recommended that you try to arrive a few days before the first race to acclimize. Normally there will be an ‘informal practice day’ 2 days before and a ‘formal’ practice day the day prior to the first race. More information as it becomes available.

Currently, we have two from MN at the YJWCH in Austria, Sam Stertz and Vasek Cervenka. Sam raced this am in the Youth Men’s Individual 12.5km – missed 8 and finished 65th. Top US was Cale Woods, Bozeman MT, with 7 misses in 58th, 5:59 behind the winner from Russia. Top US Youth Woman in the 10 km was Sidney Bennion from Midway, UT with 9 misses in 64th place, 9:15 behind the winner from France. The time penalty for misses was 45 sec per penalty.

Vasek races tomorrow am at 6:30 CST. You can follow him on the IBU webpage live under ‘datacenter’ with all the same split and range information they have on all the competitors. The electronic scoreboards at this level are incredible!!

Some of the races will normally be available on TV or at least the highlights, normally just the Juniors.

For those entering the MN Sections week: Good Luck in your races!!

Enjoy the Journey—its not over yet!!
Bill Meyer, Coach
MNBiathlon

MN Cup race at Snowflake schedule change – moved to Feb 21, 2021

RESULTS available here: Snowflake Biathlon Race – Duluth – Feb 21, 2021 – RESULTS

First we have a MN Cup schedule change.
The MN Cup race at Snowflake scheduled for the 14th of Feb will be moved to the 21st of February due to cold weather. The forecast for next Sunday is –11F overnight with a high of +4 at 3:00 in the pm with windchills still at –10F at 3:00. Then for those familiar with that range it is exposed to a long sweep of wind from the W—and the winds in the pm are forecast at 10 mph from the WNW plus gusts—so not fun. Please let John Gould and me know if you will be attending on Sunday, the 21st of Feb.