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
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
Midwest Regional Race 3-4
Hosted by Mt. Itasca Nordic Ski Association
Date: Saturday, Sunday, January 30-31, 2021
Place: Mt. Itasca, Coleraine
Race Format: Saturday: Sprint 7.5k – All M, F
Sunday: Mass Start 10k- All M, F
Registration: Both Days- 9:30 AM – 9:55 AM
Zero: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Race Start: 10:45 AM
Cost: $20/race (cash or check payable to MINSA)
COVID-19: Do not attend the race if you have, or recently have had, flu symptoms and/or a fever.
Masks should be worn unless you are out skiing or on the firing line. Wax building will be close except for the coaches waxing athlete skis.
Same Wax policy: Athletes trying for the JYWCH MUST use the wax provided by the organizers! Wax will be available on Friday afternoon and in the morning on Saturday. For the Sunday race we will wax the skis on Saturday afternoon. I pair skis per athlete!
Pre-registration via email to Vlad – cervenkv@gmail.com necessary!
Questions? Call Vlad 218- 256 8323 or email cervenkv@gmail.com
Due to the last Covid rules which curtail competitions per se until the 14th of Jan, MN Cup #2 as rescheduled is now cancelled. Our planning has gotten short range by necessity, and for that I apologize—but we do have a couple of events that should be ok and should happen!!
This coming Sunday—Elk River- we will have a time trial course set up where you can come, zero yourself and time yourself. It will use the normal winter course Pursuit format so PPSS and a 5 lap total of 9.1km of skiing plus penalty loops.
To accommodate both zeroing and time trialing we will need to do this by 10 maximum wave appointments with me. 9:30 or 11:00. Please sign up shortly. If we run out of slots [10 x 2], I will open up another time slot in the early afternoon We will need to zero quickly so be there on time and ready to go. I anticipate no more than 15 min to zero. Once we switch to metal, all zeroing will be done for that wave. Watch your email, as I might move you or your group to anther time slot.
The 23rd/24th weekend is not yet determined—we may do more time trials at Elk River
and the 30th/31st will be Regional races at Mt Itasca, with an announcement/invitation coming out shortly.
I am anticipating at least two events in Feb, another Regional event in March along with Nationals in West Yellowstone.
I did note this past weekend that quite a few of our Biathletes participated in the JNQ races in Houghton MI with some really spectacular results!! Training pays!!
Enjoy the Journey!
Bill Meyer, Coach
Good Morning,
As you probably are aware, the Governor yesterday extended the “pause” on youth and adult sports competitions until the 4th of Jan at the earliest. The COVID rates are simply not dropping enough to warrant a return to normal. Again, too many are not following the protocols that the health experts have laid out—so we all suffer!!
Accordingly, MN Cup #1 & #2 are cancelled. The Midwest Regional Races tentatively scheduled for the 2nd & 3rd of Jan will be rescheduled.
In addition, USBA announced this morning the the US Youth and Junior World Championship Team Trials have been cancelled. You can read the full announcement on the USBA webpage.
As they will be looking at regional results to make up the US teams, being prepared, well trained and racing in Jan will be doubly important!!
In the meantime, skiing at Mt Itasca is good, and there is a 1.5 km course that you can use to mark your progress!
It’s a long journey- and certainly not always easy!!
Bill Meyer, Coach
MNBiathlon
Due to new policies in MN, limiting gatherings and concerns for high rates of Covid, the Midwest Region Biathlon race scheduled to be held at MT Itasca on December 5th and 6th has been postponed. Bill Meyer and VladCervenka will be monitoring the situation closely and rescheduling the race when it is considered safe to do so.
Please pass this information on to the clubs and biathletes you work with.
Stay safe and healthy!