Lack of snow doesn’t keep serious biathletes from practicing their craft in the summer months; they just have to alter their footwear. While some prefer a form of summer biathlon, which requires running instead of skiing, most competitive biathletes race on rollerskis. Many of those athletes will come to the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho on August 7 and 8 for the National Rollerski Biathlon Cup.
Max Cobb, executive director of the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) is proud that just one town east of his home in Westford, a national race will be taking place. The National Rollerski Biathlon Championship alternates every year between the U.S. and Canada. Since this year is Canada’s turn, the Range will host the Cup, a race which also attracts elite biathletes and is the largest non-championship race of the season. Cobb expects 60 to 100 athletes to attend, including several Olympians. This is the second year in a row that the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club has hosted what he hopes will become an annual event. “The club is doing a fantastic job,” Cobb says, “and we want to honor it and respect their efforts. We’re happy to sanction this event again.”
Cobb concedes that without video screens and a big scoreboard, the race may not attract a lot of spectators, but he is hopeful that people will come out to watch the events. Thanks to the Olympics, the sport of biathlon is growing in the U.S. Cobb cites a 30-percent increase in the number of competitors in winter races last year, and notes that several Nordic clubs have inquired about adding biathlon to their programs. USBA is working with some European manufacturers to develop a laser biathlon gun that could be set up for 10-meter targets. Laser guns can’t be used as weapons and, therefore, might be useful for introducing the sport at schools and smaller facilities. There is also an annual paintball biathlon at Mountain Top in Chittenden which Cobb says drew over 350 people in 2009.
Cobb says skiers are often not particularly fast runners, so traditional biathletes gravitate to rollerskiing rather than the running version of the sport. “We generally see rollerski biathlon as more competitive,” he says. The sport looks exactly the same as the winter version, except some junior racers are allowed to leave their rifles at the shooting area, rather than wearing them throughout the race.
Major Andrew Parsons, the National Guard biathlon coordinator, says the Guard is happy to be showcasing the Jericho facility for the event. He notes that this will actually be a weeklong festival, with training taking place during the week before the two-day competition. Guardsmen from other parts of the country will stay in the athletes’ quarters, which have their own kitchens. Parsons expects that civilian athletes will stay in military housing, as well, with the Guard contracting for a caterer to bring in food.
Although there is also a USBA Summer Biathlon National Championship, which involves running, Parsons says most serious biathletes and cross-country skiers train on rollerskis in the off-season, so he expects attendance to be high. “We like the Range to be as busy as it can be,” he says. “It gives some of our development athletes a chance to train side by side with upper level USBA folks. It also gives us the chance to show the USBA athletes how life is on the other side.”
A sprint competition will be held on August 7 with a 7.5K course for women and a 10K course for men. A pursuit competition will take place the following day, with a 10K course for women and a 12.5K course for men. Both races feature a 150-meter penalty loop. The sprint competition has two shooting stages; one prone and one standing. The pursuit race features two rounds each of prone and standing. On August 7, the women will begin racing at 10 a.m., followed by the men, one hour later. On August 8, the men will lead off at 10 a.m., with the women following.
Eric Tremble, coach of the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club (EABC), says there are eight or nine biathletes who come regularly to the twice-weekly training sessions during the summer, and another ten who train with less regularity. Since the program was without a coach last summer, he is hopeful that word will spread and more athletes will arrive to train. Although the EABC holds running biathlete races, Tremble says the best training for winter biathletes is rollerskiing.
Director of the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club John Madigan notes that there are very few facilities suitable for rollerski biathlon, so the National Championship tends to alternate between Canmore, British Columbia, and Jericho. Madigan says rollerski biathlon attracts a more elite group than summer biathlon (running/shooting). He hopes local athletes will volunteer for the event, helping to keep score, reset targets, and count laps in the penalty area.
Because the Olympics have just taken place, Madigan expects a slightly smaller group of competitors than previous years. While he still expects biathletes from western states such as Michigan and Minnesota, he believes that only those from eastern Canada will compete for the Cup. Most athletes are in the 14- to 25-year-old range, although there is an open event which should attract Master athletes. One biathlete who came up through the ranks of the EABC and now attends Dartmouth College, Ethan Dreissigacker is expected to compete and do well.
Dreissigacker has raced in Europe and is looking forward to doing so again. He hopes to qualify for the Junior Worlds team with the Olympics a more distant goal. Although Dreissigacker has taken part in some running biathlons, he believes rollerskiing is closer to skiing and better training for the winter version of the sport. Dreissigacker will take part in the training camp the week before the competition, staying in the barracks rather than commuting from his home in Morrisville. “That’s what’s really special about rollerski races,” he says. “Everybody gets together. For a week, everybody who is anybody in biathlon will be in Jericho.”
Phyl Newbeck lives in Jericho with her partner Bryan and two cats. She spent two winters in the Masters Biathlon program at the Range and marveled at the coaches’ ability to keep a straight face while she shot. Phyl is also a cyclist, skater, skier, kayaker, and lover of virtually any sport which does not involve motors. She is the author of Virginia Hasn’t Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving.
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