Summarizing our upcoming schedule and getting some signups for W. Yellowstone over Thanksgiving week, Youth and Junior World Team Trials at the end of Dec and US Nationals at the end of March.
First—would anyone be interested in another daycamp at Elk River on Sunday the 14th ofNov? Please let me know asap if you are. This is tentative at this point until I hear from you guys.
Then the annual Thanksgiving camp at West Yellowstone including a biathlon race on Wed the 24th of Nov is coming right up!! The Team leaders will be the Brodersons: emilyruthbroderson@gmail.com
They have some information on housing and the week’s plans—so let them know if you are planning on that and keep me in the loop also!!
Then we have races scheduled at Mt Itasca in early Dec: MN Cup #1 on Sunday, 5 Dec. This is open to all comers, but is also dependent on snowmaking/weather! Regional races/MN Cups Sat and Sunday 11/12 Dec. Again these races are open to all comers
Invitations to these events will be forthcoming prior to the events.
Then at the National level coming up right after Christmas at Soldier Hollow, Utah, 27-31 Dec, US Biathlon is holding the US Youth and Junior Team Trials to determine who makes the team to the YJr World Championships and a few other international events.
This venue is up at high altitude, 5900 feet, so anyone planning on attending should plan to arrive well ahead of the first race. Official Training will start on 27 Dec and races will be on 28,30 & 31 Dec.
We will have a coaching staff headed up by Jeff Bosek with assistance from Marcus/Tara Landrum and Chad/Lynda Bouley headed out. Jean and I will be out prior to the races. Other coaches are welcome to join in!!
Housing in the Heber City/Midway UT appears to be quite expensive. This series is for advanced athletes who have a shot at making the teams. It is also a good chance for an advanced athlete to just experience the National Trials atmosphere, but for most in that category, Nationals would be a better choice. See below. Only age classes <17, Youth and Juniors are eligible for team positions. <17 & Youth are combined into one class.
If you plan to attend Trials—please let Jeff and me know asap!! pro8diver@gmail.com
In Jan:
15/16 Jan – Regional races at Blackhawk in Madison- these are also MN Cup races 29/30 Jan – Regional races at Elk River—MN Cup races also
And more Regional and MN Cup events the rest of the winter.
Then on the 23rd-27th of March—US Biathlon will hold US Nationals at Lake Placid. This venue is lower—and a good place for an aspiring biathlete to dip their big toe in the water of National competition!!!
So please let me know your plans—so we can adequately staff these events!!
Enjoy the Journey—you have been working hard to get to the main season—just now coming up!!
On Sunday, it continued with a 5 km Super Sprint with 4 shooting stages for all athletes. The wind continued to rise- estimate in the high 20’s or low 30’s mph—but the penalty loop was only 75 meters for that format.
Sam Stertz, Grand Rapids, took 1st place in the Youth Men’s division with 2,1,3,1 shooting! Another National Championship for MN!! Kaisa Bosek continued her run with a 2nd in the Youth Women’s class with 1,0,1,1 shooting! And Evelyn Hudrlik moved up to 7th, shooting 3,2,4,3. Nice result for a 1st yr in Biathlon!! Saylor Landrum finished in 10th, shooting 1,1,4,2.
On Tues, Marc Sheppard sent out the overall shooting results. Kaisa Bosek was the top shooter for Nationals this year with 83.3% Avg, followed in 20th place by Sam Stertz at 63.3%, Saylor Landrum in 26th at 60%. Cheresa Bouley only was able to do two races, but her average was 70% –about in the top 10.
The distances are not correct—but all in each class raced the same course for that class. Conditions yesterday were tough at 35F with a lot of sloppy new snow. Today was much improved with 28F and just a touch of snow coming down.. Great grooming and really good race organization!!
Below please find the Invitation to the first Midwest Regional Race to be held at the Blackhawk Ski Area near Madison WI on the 16th and 17th of Jan, 2021. Signup information is below and please note: You must sign up online!
I really hope we can get a good turnout from MN. The results from these races will be sent in to USBA for consideration along with other results from Dec and Jan as to selection for the US Team to the Youth and Junior World Championships. Hope you can make it!! Bill Meyer, Coach
On Saturday and Sunday, January 16th & 17th, Blackhawk Ski Club will host the second set of WI Biathlon races of the 2020/2021 season! These will be USBA Midwest Regional Open Biathlon races for USBA safety certified athletes.
Note that you must register for these races online prior to Noon on Friday, January 15th. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and other practical issues, there will be no same-day registration. All Open race participants are required to supply their own rifle and ammunition unless you make prior arrangements with one of the race organizers.
No fees will be collected online during the registration process so we have no concerns if you register for the race but are unable to attend the race for whatever reason. Please register online immediately if you have even the slightest thought of racing!
Note four important points:
No same day registrations will be offered on Saturday or Sunday. Register online at Webscorer before Friday, January 15th or do not race.
Arrive with your USBA membership current (see below) or do not race.
Read and understand the COVID-19 adaptations in the Webscorer event announcements below. If these are unacceptable to you in some way, do not race.
Do not attend the race if you have, or recently have had, flu symptoms and/or a fever.
Important: For the OPEN races, athletes 15 and over (calculated on 31 Dec 2020) must select the 10K “Distance” (7.5K for females entering the Saturday Sprint race) of the race when registering online with Webscorer and athletes 14 and under must select the 2.5K (Saturday) and/or 4K (Sunday) “Distance”.
For Open racers, the USBA membership number entry is optional in Webscorer, please enter your membership number if you are a Competitor level USBA member. If you are not a USBA member, arrange your USBA Member-for-a-Day purchase in advance of race day. Annual USBA memberships expire in October every year so be sure to renew your membership for this season, if necessary.
Biathlon liability insurance is provided by the USBA for race participants so USBA membership is mandatory on race day.
The links to USBA membership options are on the Webscorer registration page.
When you complete your online Webscorer registration, it is important to email the registration to yourself as proof that you are registered properly in case of last minute IT issues with the Webscorer web site.
Important: After registering on Webscorer, scroll down the Webscorer page to verify that your registration was accepted by Webscorer (and to access the “email to self” option).
Bib exchange and race fee payment will take place at the Biathlon Range Shelter according to the times posted in Webscorer. Here are the materials that are required for the bib exchange on race day:
Online registration printout (email to yourself by scrolling down after “Submitting” your online registration)
Exact cash or check payment (to “Blackhawk Ski Club”, see fee schedule on Webscorer registration page)
USBA Red Book (received at your USBA safety training class) (Open Racers Only)
USBA Membership Card (if you are a Competitor member of USBA) OR Online USBA receipt confirmation (online at USBA web site)
Volunteers are needed to facilitate the running and scoring of the race.
I look forward to seeing you at Blackhawk! Best regards, Mike Larsen WI Biathlon
Proposed weekend schedule from Mark Torresani
After receiving comments the below race format and schedule is proposed. I will work with Mike Larsen to get the sign up for races live on Webscorer. All races will be in a time trial fashion due to Covd restrictions with approximately 30 seconds between racers at the start.
Saturday January 16th 10:00 AM Set up and Registration [payment!] See note above!! Must sign up online! 11:00 Sight in U15, U19, U22 12:00: Sprint U19 and U22, 7.5K Women, 10K Men, PS 1:00, Sprint U15, 2.5K, 75M penalty lap PP (first prone shooting on standing target) 1:30 Masters, Seniors: site in/zero 2:15: Masters, Seniors, 10K PS 4:00 4K 4 person “fun” relay, PPSS (two skiers shoot prone, two skiers shoot standing, with 3 extra rounds for misses for all racers) 30 second penalty for missed targets. Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Rifle?
Sunday January 17th 8:00 AM Set up and Registration 9:00 Sight in U15, U19 ,U22 10:00 U19 & U22, 10 K PPSS 11:00 U15, 4K PPPP, 75M penalty (two prone on standing targets and two prone on prone targets) 12:00, Seniors, Masters Site in/zero 12:45 Seniors, Masters 10K PPSS 2:00 Awards
Below is an email from Sara Studebaker at USBA regarding the list of candidates for the US Youth and Junior World Championships.
I believe it is self explanatory , but if you have any questions please get in touch with me. If you are not on the list and wish to be, also get in touch with me. Bill Meyer, Coach MNBiathlon
Dear Coaches,
As you know, Youth and Junior World Championship Trials have been cancelled and a discretionary selection process has been set forth and approved (more info here, if you missed it). The initial list of athletes for consideration to the Youth/Junior World Championships Team has been posted. If you have athletes that should be on this list and are not, please email Tim Burke (tburke@usbiathlon.org). Additions and changes to the list must be received by Jan. 23 at 11pm ET.
Please note that ALL ATHLETES ON THE LIST, including those added now, must fill out the form agreeing to the USBA Covid Travel policies. The form can be found at the link below. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Tim, Danika or me.
