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.
One of our newest members, Ryan, found these two on line. With our newfound time again for most, it is worthwhile reading through the Coach’s doc especially for those in Coaching positions!! Actually Art Stegen in NY, Marc Sheppard in West Yellowstone, and I collaborated on this about 10-15 yrs ago. There is a newer Coach’s document out by USBA, but this covers the basics like taking a shot and rifle fitting in more detail. Also note, since this was written, I have found a 4 week training cycle with an easier 2nd week works better than stepping up the load 3 weeks in a row then recovery. Kind of a mini recovery week in #2 and a bigger one in #4. The principles of load and recovery then supercompensation are still valid!! You won’t improve your fitness without that supercompensation!! The youtube clip is interesting also!!
Bill Meyer, Coach MNBiathlon
I found a coaches handbook online from the USBA that I’ve been reading through, attached below. I’ve been enjoying learning about the technical aspects of the sport and it’s been helpful to mentally prepare myself for firing posture, sequence and cadence. I also found a great video explaining how biathlon came to be. https://youtu.be/14NTlDvmzyc
Feel free to forward as appropriate. Thanks again for coming! -Brian
Awesome pictures, Brian!! Thank you so much for doing that, along with starting, timing, signing and all the other things you do!! Bill Meyer, Coach MNBiathlon
Now is your chance to compete head to head with other biathletes from Canada and the US. See the note below from Danika Frisbie, with USBA, for the “virtual” summer biathlon competition August 3 to 9. Lets show what the Midwest has in numbers of biathletes and what we can do. All age groups and abilities encouraged to participate. Sign up and instructions are below in Danika’s emial. The competition consists of a 3K run on a track and the American shooting test.
Lets have some fun with this!
Please pass this note along to others that may be interested.
Mark Torresani USBA Midwest Coordinator
Virtual North American Biathlon Summer Nationals 2020
Coaches and athletes,
Here is an opportunity for you to compete from your home training grounds at a national level.
While it’s not the same as Jericho, we hope this alternative competition format will give athletes in all stages of development a chance to challenge themselves against peers across the U.S. and Canada while head-to-head opportunities remain limited.
To compete, you should be an active athlete or coach member of U.S. Biathlon or Biathlon Canada.
Let’s do this! Best regards, Danika & U.S. Biathlon Staff
The Competition
The competition is to achieve the fastest overall combined time from a 3000m running time trial and an American test executed to completion. A 15 second time penalty will be added to the overall time for each missed target in the American test.
3000m time trial + American test (P,S,P,S) + 0:15 seconds per penalty = total competition time
This format allows us to best mimic elements of biathlon competition with standardized, repeatable components that can be completed from any track or range in the county.
U15 athletes will follow a shorter format. All other competition categories will use the format above. The competition categories are: U15, U17, U19 (Youth), Junior, Senior, Open Masters, Grand Masters. See competition rules for details and competition category guidelines.
Plan sessions between August 3-9th to complete your competition segments.
Compete! Get a coach, training partner, or friend to time an American test for you, and head to the track to complete a 3000m time trial. The tests do not need to be completed on the same day.
Submit your run time and your American test results by August 9th at 4:00pm EDT using the online entry form sent to you.
Results and awards will be announced on August 10th, and the traditional Jericho race socks will be mailed to all North American competitors!
Details on competition format, categories, and instructions are provided below. Please do your best to follow the competition rules! Though we cannot guarantee standard conditions were met for every competition entry, we trust that everyone entering this event will participate in the spirit of a fair and honest competition. Do your best!
Other ways to celebrate biathlon
All competitors will receive a pair of race socks from “the summer nationals that never was” thanks to the generous spirit of Ethan Allen Biathlon Club.
Design the socks for this year’s competition in our sock design contest! Submit your designs to Danika Frisbie at dfrisbie@usbiathlon.org by August 1, 2020 using the template attached to this guide. Socks are produced by Save our Soles knitting in Colorado.
Share photos of you and/or your teammates competing! Use the hashtags #usbiathlon, #biathloncanada, and #jericho2020.
Attached please find the annual MN Biathlon Membership form for this training year. This is due each spring—US Biathlon membership is due in Oct each year.
While many athletes from the Twin Cities area are using the range at Elk River periodically, at this point we have been unable to organize weekly coached practices. I do anticipate I will be down once every couple of weeks, and we will hopefully have a camp there in June along with 4 summer races scheduled there. We will send notices and invitations out as those get closer to fruition.
As to everyone across the state, if you plan to lease a rifle from MN Biathlon this year—and I have talked to most of those folks recently, you do need to be a MN Biathlon member even if you belong to one of the subsidiary clubs.
Thanks for your interest in Biathlon! Bill Meyer, Coach
With all the issues of recent years regarding athlete abuse, US Biathlon Association has adopted the above policy and program. Parents, athletes, and coaches please review. Coaches, a reminder that you need to go through this training and also an annual update.
