We apologise for the missing Photo Header; it is our problem - not yours (but we may not be able to fix until mid March)!

News: Season 2010 - 11

Magdalena Neuner was little short of sensational as Germany claimed their 4th Gold medal of the Khanty-Mansysik World Championships in the Relay this morning. Starting over a minute behind at the 3rd exchange her shooting was almost flawless as she came home to win by 24 seconds ahead of Ukraine and France.

GBR were not quite so flawless and finished last after being lapped, albeit so were 4 other teams. Nevertheless the experience will have been a big factor in the preparation for next season and although we remain in 26th in the Nations Cup rankings, overall the women finished in 20th place from 31 on the Points awarded at the Championships.

Result   Nations Cup

Nothing spectacular in Annecy - Le Grand Bornand this morning when, anchored by Kevin KANE, the GBR IBU Cup Men's team secured 10th place in the IBU Nations Cup points and thus guaranteed 5 (not four as we earlier reported) start places in the IBU Cup next season.

In the final Sprint of the season KANE shot 1-1, and with 11.3% was 51st in a field of 90. Ben WOOLLEY and Carl KELLY scored the remaining necessary points although for WOOLLEY and John DUNNETT a visit to the opticians or Bisley may form part of their Leave next month!

Men:  Result   Percents   IBU Nations Cup  

Although our women did not compete in  the final 6 races of the season their earlier results ensured that GBR finished in 20th place and will thus have 4 stat places in the IBU Cup next season.

Women:  IBU Nations Cup

The GBR Men ended their World Championships campaign today by recording the 3rd best shooting results, out of 26 teams, in the 4 x 7.5 km Relay today in Khanty-Mansysik. All four athletes (Lee-Steve JACKSON, Marcel LAPONDER, Pete BEYER and Simon ALLANSON) hit all 40 targets (ten each), using only 8 spare rounds.

JACKSON gave GBR a terrific start handing over in 14th place - an equal British best ever - but alas, in spite of the great shooting, the remaining athletes were an average of 1:30 slower than Jacko and the team finished 23rd. Ironically this is our Nations Cup position for the season, although at the World Champs the team were 22nd overall. It is a mark of the quality of the other Nations that even if all four had equalled Jacko's time we would have only climbed 4 or 5 places; such is the standard on the WC circuit today. And, as such, it is a reminder how important our back up staff are. But we need to be in the World Top 20 to secure 4 Olympic Start places!

However, without a large injection of financial support (and we hope YOU have bought your BBU Lottery ticket), we are simply not in a position to provide more than the bare minimum of support and back up for the athletes! UK Sport are not interested, so please find us more sponsors ands support!

Click for:   Result   Nations Cup  (GBR well clear in 23rd - so 2 x start places on WC next season).

The final GBR race at the Worlds is the Women's Relay at 10:00 GMT on Sun 13 Mar Live on Eurosport -   For the Start List check out www.biathlonworld.com.
11 Mar 11 - ATHLETES VOTE FOR THEIR OWN

The IBU Athletes' Committee is chosen every 4 years on the vote of all the Athletes competing at the World Champs following an Olympic Games. Two women and 2 men form the Committee and the result this week is below.

Each athlete who is present at this event had the possibility to vote for four athletes (two male and two female). In total, 236 athletes from 38 national federations were electing their four representatives. 13 voting papers were invalid. According to the votes of the 223 valid documents, the following election result can be announced:

3.  USA   BURKE, Tim 75 votes
4.  FRA   FOURCADE, Simon 72 votes
5.  BUL   KLECHOROV, Mihail 42 votes
6.  ITA   WINDISCH, Markus 39 votes

*Elected as a member of the athletes committee by the athletes

Amanda LIGHTFOOT today became the first ever GBR woman to score World Cup Points (a top 40 finish), and the first British athlete - male or female - since Mike DIXON did so in the OWG Albertville in 1992!

Shooting 0-2-1-0 in very windy and cold conditions at the World Championships 15 km Individual in Khanty-Mansiysk, she finished in an obvious PB of 34th with 11.8%. Amongst the big names she beat were Olympic Gold medallists Andrea Henkel GER and Anna Carin Zidek SWE. Her ski time was only 4 minutes behind the winner, so again a big credit to our German waxman Martin GLAGOW. It was a pity that a sparse crowd was present in the Stadium.

Nerys JONES continued her good start to her Senior International career with 2-1-1-1 and a 62nd place finish (19.0%). Adele WALKER (71st) has still to regain her shooting skills, missing 9, with Fay POTTON coming 85th of the 96 starters.

After scoring a GBR record 256 points (16th best of the day) the GBR Nations Cup top 27 slot is all but secure for next season, giving the Women one guaranteed WC start place next season. The Men are also effectively home and dry to maintain their two start places.

All in all a VERY good day for GBR and especially for Amanda. It was also a good day for Ruhpolding and the PICHLER family as Wolfgang coaches the race winner Helena Ekholm SWE, whilst his cousin Walter is of course the coach to Amanda.

Results:  Race    Percents   Nations Cup

Next up: The Men's Relay Live on Eurosport at 13:00 GMT Fri 11 Mar. For the Start List check out www.biathlonworld.com.

Wax Technician Martin GLAGOW continues to provide great skis for Lee-Steve JACKSON who equalled his PB of 47th in the 20 km Individual in the World Championships today. After shooting 0-0 his name was on the screen in 2nd place for a good 15 minutes but the last two shoots (1-2) pushed him down the field, but he was still well inside 10%.

Neither Marcel LAPONDER (1-3-1-1) who was 90th nor Pete BEYER (0-3-1-1) and 91st could match Jacko for ski speed. Carl GIBSON was one of only two in the field of 123 to be making his "Senior" i.e. World Cup or World Champs début. After 0-2-0 he tired a bit on the final lap and missed 4 in his final shoot, but  his 110th place was under 25% which many a past GBR debutant would be happy with.

Russia's Maksim Maxsimov got their first medal of the Championships - a Silver behind Tarjei Boe NOR. Perhaps Russian Biathlon President Mikhail Prokhorov had arrived in town, after somewhat bizarrely missing the opening weekend as he was supporting his NBA basketball team the New Jersey Nets in the O2 in London. (We say "his" - he owns the team!).

Results:  Race    Percents   Nations Cup

Next up: The Women's Individual - Eurosport at 12:15 GMT Wed 09 Mar. 

Lee JACKSON had us all on the edge of our seats after his second shoot yesterday in the World Championships Pursuit as, following clean prone shoots he rose from 48th to 35th. Alas he then missed 3 in standing and fell back to 47th, but this was still a PB and a rise of one place.

Marcel LAPONDER started 57th but with shooting of 1-2-1-2 he was lapped and pulled from the race, whilst Amanda LIGHTFOOT was one of 14 women to be lapped in spite of missing only 3 from her first three shoots.

Results:  Men   Women

Next up the Individual - both on Eurosport at 12:15 GMT (Men Tue 08 Mar; Women Wed 09 Mar). 

Oh, and we hope you took our advice to watch the Oslo 50 km. It was breathtaking on TV and for the 150,000 crowd must have been heart-stopping as with 500 m to go any of 10 men could have won! Petter Northug the Norwegian favourite did so buy under 2 seconds (after 50 km!) whilst Huntly NSC's Andrew MUSGRAVE was not disgraced; not at all, as he finished 59th.

For the first time ever GBR will have two athletes in the Pursuit at the World Championships (or even a World Cup!). Watch on Eurosport at 09:00 GMT tomorrow, Sun 06 Mar.

Congratulations to Lee-Steve JACKSON (1-1) and Marcel LAPONDER (0-0) who finished 48th (8.8%) & 57th (9.8%) respectively from 125 in this morning's Sprint in Khanty-Mansiysk RUS. LAPONDER was one of only two athletes from the entire field to shoot clear! Even race winner Arnd PEIFFER from Germany missed one, whilst runner up Martin FOURCADE FRA missed two!

Pete BEYER had another very good shoot (0-1) to finish 72nd (12.5%). Simon ALLANSON failed to find his European Champs form and after missing six probably wished he had stayed in bed, and not faced the -15° at zeroing, although it was 5 degrees warmer during the race!

GBR's Nations Cup 23rd place was never threatened as the team scored a season's best of 246 points.

Men:  Race Results    Percentages   Nations Cup

Amanda LIGHTFOOT qualified for the Pursuit in the Women's race, held in even colder evening conditions. Her 0-2 shoot (16.6%) gave her 54th place. She shares the honour, alongside the two male qualifiers, of being the first British athletes to qualify for a World Championships Pursuit since 2005. It will be the first time ever that we have had both Men & Women in a World Champs Pursuit. Her race is on Eurosport at 11:30 GMT (and we strongly advise you then stay with Eurosport for the culmination of the World Nordic Champs in Oslo - the men's 50 km Mass Start).

Adele WALKER had a "Ginge nightmare" on the range missing 6 but Nerys JONES and Fay POTTON can be well pleased with their first ever race at this level; indeed Nerys has never even raced in a World Cup before!

Nerys (3-0) finished 84th (24.6%) and Fay with 26.1% shot 1-1 to finish 89th. Race winner was Magdalena NEUNER who added to Germany's great start in Siberia of 2 Golds & one Silver in 3 races. Like the men, the GBR women recorded their best Nations Cup points of the season to remain in 26th spot.

Lee-Steve JACKSON was a very competent guest commentator in the Eurosport Box and will be back tomorrow for the Women's Pursuit.

Women:  Race Results    Percentages   Nations Cup

GBR competed in our first ever Mixed Relay when The World Championships opened yesterday in Khanty-Mansiysk RUS. Although Pete BEYER was just lapped towards the end, he continued his excellent recent shooting form with a 0-0, and the team finished 19th from 26 taking the notable scalps of CHN, JPN and KAZ amongst others.

After a slow start from Amanda LIGHTFOOT (1-0), Adele WALKER (0-0) pulled back a couple of places but an excellent run from Lee-Steve JACKSON (0-0) was the highlight of the British day. He was 11th fastest in his leg and only 59 seconds slower than leg winner!  Let's hope this is all a good omen for the Sprints tomorrow (Men 09:00 GMT; Women 13:00 GMT).

Mixed Relay Result

The full World Championships race programme is on our World Cup page. All Results are also available direct from the IBU website (including LIVE results and web TV footage).

All the races will be on Eurosport (usually live) and of course on ZDF / ARD for those in Germany. With "our own" Mike Dixon commentating from the FIS Nordic World Champs in Oslo, we are delighted to thank Patrick Winterton who has asked one of our current athletes to join him in the commentary box!

The FIS World Champs end on Sunday, and are also on Eurosport. GBR has a full man's team and Andrew MUSGRAVE has competed in every race, whilst his sister Posy who became the British 10 km XC Champion last month in Ruhpolding is also in the team. If the Biathlon relays next week are as good as the two XC relays this week, then it should be an eventful few days in Russia.

 The GBR team for the IBU Biathlon World Championships is:
 

Men
Bdr Simon ALLANSON	40 Regt RA		LCpl Pete BEYER	1 LSR RLC
LCpl Carl GIBSON	2 CS Bn REME		LCpl Lee-Steve JACKSON	2 YORKS (Green Howards)
Bdr Kevin KANE *	40 Regt RA		LCpl Marcel LAPONDER	28 Engr Regt
* selected but unable to attend
Women
Cpl Amanda LIGHTFOOT	AGC		Sgt Adele WALKER	29 Regt RLC
Cpl Nerys JONES	AGC		Flt Lt Fay POTTON	RAF
Support Staff
SSgt Marc WALKER 1 LSR RLC	Manager		Martin GLAGOW GER	Wax Technician

NDS 1:  11 - 22 Apr;  NDS 2:  09 - 20 May;  NDS 3:  06 - 17 Jun. The Biathlon Academy then runs all summer for the more talented students. For amended Course Joining Instruction, click here.

Sprs Christian LEWIS 33 EOD Regt & Joel SMITH 28 Engr Regt, and LCpl Dave SCOTT 1 RTR have been "promoted" to the National Squad and will train in Ruhpolding. EYOF athletes Calum IRVINE and Scott DIXON, both Cairngorm BNSC will be invited to ADS training when their school homework allows!

The 14th AGM of the BBU was held in Ruhpolding on Sunday 30 January.

Key decisions and announcements were:

• The retirement of inaugural President David CRANSTON CBE.

• The re-election of Board Members Bill LAURENCE and André OSZMANN.

• The announcement that Skandia will be terminating their sponsorship at the end of the 2011 - 12 season.

Click for the full Minutes.
26 Feb 11 - NDS 2011 - SELECTION & CJI

The CJI (Course Joining Instructions) for NDS 2011 were sent to Regiments and Athletes on 15 / 16 Feb. We understand that some have not received the information; so Click Here!

Sprs Christian LEWIS 33 EOD Regt & Joel SMITH 28 Engr Regt, and LCpl Dave SCOTT 1 RTR have been "promoted" to the National Squad and will train all summer in Ruhpolding. Cpl Abby HORNER AGC Ladies has been added to NDS. Amendments and more details to follow (once the BBU Office returns to UK in a few days!).26 Feb 11 - RUHPOLDING 2012 - TICKETS ON SALE

The second wave of Ticket Sales for the 2012 Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding went on sale last week, and are selling as fast as "Event Ambassador" Magdalena Neuner skis the tracks!

Although the BBU can not help with the purchase of tickets, we strongly advise that you consider booking now - especially if you want to attend the entire two week period (29 Feb 12 - 11 Mar 12). All details on the English language ticketing page of Ruhpolding 2012.

Phase 2 tickets are now available for the individual weeks if accommodation has already been booked. General Tickets (without accommodation) go on sale at a date to be announced.

13 Mar 11 -  KANE'S FRENCH FINALÉ

The IBU Cup campaign drew to a close today with the Men's Pursuit in Annecy - Le Grand Bornand. Kevin KANE was the sole GBR athlete and by shooting 0-3-1-1 he ensured he was not lapped, and finished 53rd from the 57 starters.

Annecy FRA will be hoping to be in the news again on 06 Jul 11, for all the right reasons, when the IOC vote on the Host City for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The other two candidates are Pyeongchang KOR and Munich GER.

Result

Sweden have soared away into 9th place pushing GBR down to 10th following the Indiv 20 km IBU Cup race in Annecy - Le Grand Bornand this morning. Bulgaria are now only 84 points behind GBR in the Nations Cup rankings having scored 54 more than GBR today.

It was not exactly a vintage day for the GBR team, and Kevin KANE returning after 5 weeks off snow was clearly a little "rusty", was the best of the Brits in 57th (2-2-0-1) with 17.3%. However unless the Bulgarians are absolutely brilliant in Saturday's Sprint we should just hang on to 10th place, and thus have 4 start places next season.

(All Nations can have up to 7 start places this season - new quotas come into force in 2011 - 12)

Results:   Race   Percents   IBU Nations Cup 

With GBR, SWE & BUL all vying for a top 10 place (and thus four IBU Cup start places next season) competition will be intense over the next 3 days at the new venue of Annecy - Le Grand Bornand. Starting with the 20 km Individual tomorrow (08:30 GMT), Kevin KANE, Ben WOOLLEY, John DUNNETT & Carl KELLY are flying the flag for GBR with Walter PICHLER acting as both Coach & Waxman.

Le Grand Bornand is actually 30 km from Annecy itself, but then Annecy is a candidate city for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Le GB is also famous as a finishing stage on one of the Tour de France Alpine stages; in fact Le Tour and IBU share the same finish line in the new Biathlon Stadium.

It did not take long to find the answer as to who last shot clear in a four shoot race for GBR ("Beyer's Best - 03 Mar - below). It was Marcel LAPONDER less than 2 months ago in the Altenberg IBU Cup Pursuit. Congratulations! Before that we think it was Jason SKLENAR in the Pursuit at WC 7 in Ostersund 2001 - 02  Mike DIXON at the Oslo World Champs 2000 in the 20 km and also in the same race at WC 3 Osrblie in the same season.

Carl KELLY 1 LSR RLC comes out of International retirement for the final IBU Cup event of the season next weekend in Annecy Le Grand Bornand FRA. A new venue on the IBU circuit, it will the home of WC 3 next season.

With GBR currently in 9th place in the men's IBU Nations Cup, and the World Championships running concurrently, it will fall to Carl and 1 LSR RLC team-mates John DUNNETT and Ben WOOLLEY to keep the top ten slot, which gives us 4 IBU Cup start places next season. Hopefully they will be joined by Kevin KANE 40 Regt RA who is scheduled to return from compassionate leave, which forced him to miss the British & World Championships.

Pete BEYER 1 LSR RLC scored the perfect 0-0-0-0 in the European Championships in Ridnaun ITA last Sunday. In doing so he moved up ten places to finish 32nd and was one of only two athletes to hit all 20 targets. It is so long ago that a GBR athlete last did this in a four shoot race (Mike Dixon Albertville OWG 1992 perhaps?) that we do not have time to trawl through all our records to find out when! Anybody out there got the answer? * Amanda LIGHTFOOT finished two places above Pete in the Women's race and didn't shoot badly either, missing just 3.

* Sorry Marcel LAPONDER - it was you in the IBU Cup Pursuit at Altenburg in January of this year!

Results:   Men   Women

Ruhpolding GER will once again be the main training centre for the National Squad in Summer 2011. (Often this is often referred to as the "Senior Squad", which is not strictly correct as there are Juniors & Seniors in the Squad! Colloquially it is also know as the "National Team". but of course it is not a team until after the November Selection Races!).

It has been a mixed season for GBR Team Athletes' Rep Simon "Ginge" ALLANSON but it has all come good in the last two races in the European Championships in Ridnaun ITA, during his build up to the World Championships. After using only one spare round to clear down in the Relay he recorded a perfect 0-0 in the Sprint today to finish 39th with a 10%. Pete BEYER (1-0) was just behind in 42nd.

In the Women's race Amanda LIGHTFOOT returned to form with a World Cup qualifier in 11.7% and finishing 32nd (1-1).

It is just as well that all the World Championship athletes who are also racing Italy are "hot" at the moment. The temperature in Siberia is currently -27; they fly out on Monday!

Men Relay   Men Sprint   Men Sprint Percents   Women Sprint   Women Sprint Percents

The BBU has started a Lottery for all our athletes, families and friends of which half of the raised funds get donated towards the British Biathlon Union.

The first draw is on 01 April 11, so read more and complete your application form NOW!

The BBU is not funded by UK Sport, Sport England, the National Lottery nor by the BOA. The athletes and sponsors, primarily Skandia & The Army, keep YOUR sport alive in the UK. So, PLEASE JOIN THE LOTTERY NOW!

Pete BEYER and Carl GIBSON made a great start to their European Championships campaign in Ridnaun ITA yesterday both missing just once in the 20 km Individual with BEYER finishing in 33rd at 9.3% and GIBSON on 10.4% in 42nd place. Simon ALLANSON & Ben WOOLLEY were less fortunate.

In the women's race Amanda LIGHTFOOT, who is the sole British competitor, was a disappointing 34th (but there were only 48 starters!) on 19.3%.

Men:  Results  Percentages    Women:   Results   Percentages

GB Flag Bearer Calum IRVINE from Cairngorm Biathlon & Nordic Ski Club made a fantastic start to his biathlon campaign at European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, in Liberec CZE. Shooting 0-1-1-2 he finished 25th race. This followed on from his recent successes at the British Championships where he won both his races.

Scott DIXON, also CBNSC, had a very bad fall in the 12,5 km and could only finish 81st (1-2-2-4) but improved in the Sprint to 66th (1-0). However IRVINE again finished ahead in 52nd with 1-3. To round off a superb week, IRVINE then was the best of the GBR quartet in the 7.5 km Cross Country finishing 60th with 198.29 FIS points -  a personal best.

In 2012 the first Youth Olympic Winter Games will be held in Innsbruck AUT. GBR will only have one start place in both Biathlon and Cross Country. Could it be a double for Calum or will Scott follow in Father Mikes' footsteps and start his own road to 6 Olympic appearances?

Biathlon Results:  12.5 km Indiv  7.5 km Sprint

The IBU Cup team of Simon ALLANSON, Pete BEYER, Lee JACKSON and Marcel LAPONDER recorded the best ever IBU Cup results for GBR in the recent IBU Cup 6 in Brezno-Osrblie SVK and IBU Cup 7 in Bansko BUL.

Going into Brezno in 18th spot in the IBU Cup Nations Cup rankings in the Team more than justified the decision not to attend the two World Cups in the USA as they rose to 10th after the Slovakian races and then one better with 9th place after the Bulgarian trip.

Lee-Steve JACKSON had a personal best of 6% in the Brezno Individual and 17th place, but also went better in the first of the two Bansko Sprints with 15th place, All four athletes confirmed their qualification for the rest of the World Cup 3rd Trimester and should now retain this for next season's Trimester 1.

For results see the IBU Cup Page

We know that keen followers of the sport watch "live" results or catch up from the Biathlon World Website. Eurosport also show most World Cup races live. However for those who, like ourselves, have had little time to draw breath in the past 6 weeks all the GBR results from the World Cups in Oberhof, Ruhpolding & Antholz are on our World Cup 10 -11 page.

IBU Cup results from Nove-Mesto, Altenberg & Brezno-Osrblie are on the IBU Cup 10 - 11 page.

The Championships ended last Thursday, after 2 weeks of almost perfect snow, and not bad weather, the new track configuration was a little severe for some of the novice (and some of the more experienced!) athletes, but then this is an IBU Calendar event!

For all the results, and photos (some of which are still to be uploaded), please see our British Champs 2011 page.

As there are sometimes different schedules you need to check out www.eurosport.co.uk for the UK or www.eurosport.com for Europe / International. If you live in Germany then ARD or ZDF also show all races LIVE. Remember to check if timings are CET or GMT!

29 Dec 10 - AGM 2011

The 14th AGM of the BBU will be held in Ruhpolding at 18:00 on Sun 30 Jan 11. Click here for the Agenda and Nomination papers for Board members (Directors). Please remember that under the BBU Constitution proxy votes are not allowed - members must be at the AGM in order to vote. All athletes attending the British Championships are automatically Members and eligible to vote; all other Members (old or new) must renew their subscription at the Race Office in Ruhpolding!

4th is no mean achievement as he was up against fellow Olympians, English Rugby 7s players and a Commonwealth Games silver medallist in shooting, Major Angus McLeod. (Can he ski?!).

Congratulations Jacko; "A year to remember".

19 Dec 10 - HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

The Athletes, Staff and Board of the BBU, and Mr Wilson (left) wish all our Members, supporters and website viewers a very Happy Christmas. We hope that the Men's Relay Team - or is it the Chairman, Sport Director, Sec Gen, and Spud Leaning (right) - will be able to ski their way out of the office in Wales in time to join you for a prosperous and successful New Year.

Magdalena NEUNER of Germany also returned to form to record her first victory of the season in the women's race. For GBR's Amanda LIGHTFOOT it was another good day with a second "Max 15%" of the week and her best yet (14.3%) when she finished 70th after a 0-1 shoot.

RESULTS  

Men:  Sprint    Sprint Percentages    Nations Cup   (GBR 23rd)

Women:     Sprint     Sprint Percentages    Nations Cup  (GBR 26th)

The GBR athletes thus end the 1st Trimester a day early, as there is no GBR entry in tomorrow's Mixed Relay.

Result

Lee-Steve JACKSON (1-0-1-0) finished 49th in the Men's Individual in Pokljuka SLO with 8.6%, and beat the great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen! Kevin KANE (0-4-0-0) was 66th at 11.1%. It was the second best ever percentage result for both athletes and Jacko, who secured a Trimester 2 qualification, was a mere 30 seconds off scoring the first World Cup points for GBR since Dixon did so in 1992!

Not to be outdone Amanda LIGHTFOOT shot 0-0-2-0 in the Women's race to record 14.8% and finish 57th - her best ever WC result. All in all Pride & Passion was restored, and WC quotas for next season probably guaranteed. Mind you we are just one third through this season and OEB is likely to be back on the Podium sooner than a GBR athlete!

RESULTS  

Men:  Indiv     Indiv Percentages   

Women:     Indiv     Indiv Percentages   

Pride .... Passion ... now roll on the Sprints on Saturday!

17 Dec 10 - QUALIFIERS IN OBERTILLIACH

Obertilliach in Austria hosted the final IBU Cup before Christmas with huge fields - 174 starters in the Men's Sprint and 111 in the Women's race.

Pete BEYER (0-1) was the best of the Brits with a 9.4% (and WC qualifier) finishing 64th. Marcel LAPONDER (1-1) was 92nd at 12.3%  and Simon ALLANSON (0-2) 103rd and 14.6%.

Adele WALKER had an odd day shooting 3-1 but this gave her 60th place and a start in tomorrow's Pursuit and, most importantly a spot on 15% so she is qualified for the next WC Trimester.  

RESULTS  

Men:  Sprint     Sprint Percentages    IBU Nations Cup   (GBR 16th)

Women:     Sprint     Sprint Percentages    IBU Nations Cup   (GBR 11th)

Well, to be honest there were not many for GBR! It was very snowy, very windy and cold - although not as cold as Sweden.

Kevin KANE (0-2) came 93rd in the Sprint but gained a 2nd Trimester World Cup qualification with 14.3%. Lee-Steve JACKSON  (0-3) was just 3 places behind but had a percentage of 16.3%.

In the Men's' Relay Jacko had a tremendous start and was lying 16th after his second shoot and ahead of the eventual winners (Norway), but faded a little. However with a 0-0 he set up the rest of the team who were Kevin KANE (0-2), Pete BEYER (0-1) and Marcel LAPONDER who caught the Koreans on the final shoot with a fine 0-0, to finish in 24th.

RESULTS   Men:  Sprint     Sprint Percentages    Relay         

Amanda LIGHTFOOT was the sole GBR female in the Sprint and although 84th with a 1-1 was just below her qualifier of the previous week.

For only the 3rd time GBR started in a Women's WC Relay, and to be honest, it was for the points and not the placing. It was thus no surprise to finish last, but we picked up 120 valuable Nations Cup Points. But, it was a surprise that Amanda LIGHTFOOT shot 2-2 and Adele WALKER 2-1, thus leaving the WC debutants Olwen THORN (1-0) and Fay POTTON (0-0) to salvage some respectability. However all the women (and the BBU) know that unless we can improve a little, there may be no more Relays this season - not even in the World Championships!

RESULTS   Women:   Sprint     Sprint Percentages     Relay

Not one of the "great" IBU Cups for GBR, but Simon ALLANSON showed a little of his old magic in Martell ITA with a WC qualifier of 12.9%  finishing 54th from a field of 154, shooting 0-1-0-3 in the 20km Individual. In the Sprint Ben WOOLEY had a remarkable 0-0 in very windy conditions, to record his best ever result, and a WC qualifier with a 13.0% in 82nd place.

None of the GBR women showed much magic, but as some had raced in the Hochfilzen relay the day before the Sprint we put it down to jet lag - and the very technical and windy course.

RESULTS   Men:  Indiv   Indiv Percentages   Sprint     Sprint Percentages   

RESULTS   Women:  Indiv   Indiv Percentages   Sprint     Sprint Percentages

Sadly there will be no GBR participation in the Pursuits tomorrow as both Lee-Steve JACKSON and Pete BEYER joined Amanda LIGHTFOOT in failing to make the "Top 60". JACKSON (2-2) was 97th with 17.1% but BEYER (2-3) was a DNF ("Did not Finish") after getting into what can best be described as a "muddle" in the Finishing Area. Sadly the shooting was not up to the standard set last week in the IBU Cup in Beitostølen, but at least neither athlete fell, unlike the great OEB, who did so for the first time in almost a decade!

So, it's an early departure to the relative warmth of Hochfilzen AUT for the GBR team. Today's 1-2-3, who were the same as on Thursday (Emil Hegle Svendsen NOR, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen NOR and Martin Fourcade FRA), will be fighting for the Pursuit title in another freezing day in Sweden.

Results:   Men Sprint   Men Sprint percentages   Men Nations Cup

Viewers of a certain age; OK, some quite elderly athletes, will recall that Ski Orienteering (Ski-O) used to be a feature of the Army Nordic Championships (Ex Rucksack) in the late 70's early 80's. It fell out of fashion as it required a great deal of real estate, was difficult to organise and was pretty uninspiring for spectators. However the sport has survived, and GBR is hoping to enter a team into the World Championships in Sweden, 20 - 28 Mar 11.

Anyone interested should not contact the BBU, but should check out the Championship website and then deal direct with the GBR team Manager John Kewley by Email.

03 Dec 10 - IT WAS EVEN COLDER IN ÖSTERSUND

The lunchtime temperature of -22°C in Östersund warmed sufficiently due to a snowfall just before the start of the race to allow the Women's Sprint to go ahead - just. The lowest part of the course was -19°C and the Stadium -17°C!!

There were two big surprises with Finland's Kaisa MÄKÄRÄINEN recording her first ever WC victory and Germany's Miriam GÖSSNER finishing second in only her 4th WC race. GBR's Amanda LIGHTFOOT shot 1-1 to finish 72nd. Although this was 15.6%, she remains qualified for Trimester 2 as a result of her 15% in the Individual on Wednesday.

Results:   Women Sprint     Women Sprint percentages   Women Nations Cup

With a snow and air temperature of -16°C it really was cold in Östersund tonight. perhaps it froze the trigger fingers of Kevin KANE (0-3-2-1) and Lee-Steve JACKSON (1-1-3-1) who finished 87th and 89th with 17.9% and 18.3% respectively. But, just as in the Women's race ... if only ... 2 more hits each and they would both have shaded the magical 15% mark.

The race was a Norwegian 1-2 for Emil Hegle Svendsen & Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (who else?), but watch out for Slovenia who are just behind them in Nations Cup points! Russia are 5th (perhaps they were all watching the FIFA "X Factor" in Zurich), and what is Qatar anyway?

Results:   Men Indiv     Men Indiv percentages   Men Nations Cup

Check out the exact meaning of "maximum 15% behind" in the PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES story below.

Amanda LIGHTFOOT recorded her best ever WC result finishing the opening 15 km Individual in 72nd place. After a wobble on the opening shoot she went on to clear down (3-0-0-0). Even more impressive was her percentage: 15.0%. It was also the best GBR women's result in WC for 2 years. Always "so close" in this sport ... if only ... if only she had cleared on the first shoot it would have been a top 30 result ... but what a start!

15% means that she has already qualified for World Cup Trimester 2, but by the closest of margins, and with a touch of crossed fingers. Although the new "percentage Results" are shown to one decimal point, the IBU Rule Book merely states a "maximum of 15% behind" - but either way she should be safe.

The Men's race is at 16:20 GMT / 17:20 CET tomorrow by which time England will have won the FIFA vote in Zurich ... if only ... but it's looking closer and is also LIVE on Eurosport (and BBC 2) at 14:30 / 15:30. Lee-Steve JACKSON starts 71st (in Östersund, not Zurich) and Kevin KANE 96th. Hopefully they will take heart from Amanda's great run today, and perhaps even better Kane's 13.3% in this race last season.

Results:   Women Indiv     Women Indiv percentages    

Check out the exact meaning of "maximum 15% behind" in the PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES story below.

Book your courses for next year now! 

30 Nov 10 - PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES

(very slightly amended on 01 Dec to clarify "maximum behind" - as opposed to "Under"!)

Regular viewers will note a "new" type of Results this winter, and that is "percentages".

These are the IBU equivalent of FIS points and although start quotas for World Cup & World Championships have always been based on percentages, this form of score is more important than ever from this season. Hence the new Results page, rather than a line being drawn (literally) under the last athlete to be Under 20% which was the old marker on the main Results page.

There are a few variations, but these do not affect GBR this season. "Percent" is the % behind the average of the first 3 in the race in Individual or Sprint.

Basically, an athlete must be a maximum 15% behind in an IBU Cup race in order to qualify for WC. The athlete keeps his or her qualification until they start in a WC. Once the athlete starts in WC they must then be a maximum 15% behind in WC at least once in the Trimester in order to start in WC the following Trimester. However, if they do not keep their WC qualification they re-gain it as soon as they achieve a maximum 15% result in that following Trimester. (E.g. athlete could loose WC qualification in WC 3 and then regain it at IBU Cup 4 meaning they can start in WC 5).

An IBU Cup athlete must record at least one maximum 30% behind in the Trimester in which they start IBU Cup, in order to start IBU Cup the following Trimester. If they do not, they must miss an entire Trimester before being allowed back into IBU Cup.

The qualification for World Champs is maximum 20% behind in either WC or IBU Cup up until the registration date for the Champs. It is expected that the GBR qualification for the European Champs will be maximum 25% behind in IBU Cup. The European Champs are only open to athletes Under the age of 26 on 01 Jan 11. 

For this WC season GBR has 2 start places (Men) and 1 (Women) - regardless of how many are qualified. For the IBU Cup it is 7 & 7. For World & European Champs 4 & 4. It is not envisaged that GBR will enter the Youth / Junior World Champs this season.

Athletes who hold WC qualification from last season (20%) are qualified to start WC this season (but must then record at least one maximum 15% behind in their first WC Trimester, as above). It should be noted that Pete BEYER did not hold WC 20% qualification, which is why even though he won 2 of the 3 Selection races he was not selected for the WC team on 21 Nov. Having had a cracking 7.70% in the first IBU Cup Sprint (bettered with 7.10% in the second Sprint) he became WC qualified and was duly promoted to the GBR WC Team.

Up to 3 athletes from Nations not already in the World Cup can be promoted after Trimester 1 if they record maximum 12% behind in IBU Cup (max 1 per Nation). 

Relay / Mass Start / Pursuit participation play no part in any of the Percentage qualifications - only Individual & Sprint. However it is obviously important to keep as many athletes WC qualified as possible because an athlete must be qualified as an individual in order to start in the WC Relay. There are thus likely to be occasions towards the end of a Trimester when one of our "best" athletes may be pulled out of WC, if he or she has not had a maximum15% result in order to try and get one at the last IBU Cup of that Trimester. It is important to start in Relays because all four this season count towards Nations Cup points - as do all the Sprints & Indivs; no longer do we "drop the worst two results". (Mixed Relays do not count for Nations Cup). The WC Nations Cup finishing position at the end of the season determines whether a Nation starts WC the following season - regardless of how may athletes may be qualified as individuals. Only the top 27 Nations stay in WC, however the IBU Cup Nations Cup then determines which Nations will be "promoted" to WC for the following season. It is possible to be demoted from WC and promoted back to WC, depending on the IBU Cup Nations Cup final positions.

The GBR selectors may need a degree in applied mathematics, but it should all become as clear as mud, or hopefully crystal clear as the season progresses!!

30 Nov 10 - NEW WAX TRUCKS FOR SWEDEN & GBR
 

It will not take long to work out which is the new Swedish Wax Truck and the British one. GBR Wax Technician Martin Glagow tasked Pete BEYER to procure him a truck after the Swedish monster (which certainly puts the former state of the art Norwegian truck to shame) was unveiled this week in Östersund. Full story

Kevin KANE moved up a gear in the 2nd Sprint at the IBU Cup in Beitostølen NOR today. It was just as cold although windier than yesterday, but KANE (1-1) had one of his best races for a long time finishing 29th in a GBR best ever IBU Cup percentage of 5.2%.

Just 30 seconds but 10 places behind him was Pete BEYER (1-2) at 7.10%, who now joins KANE and Lee-Steve JACKSON, who did not race today, in the World Cup Team. Although Marcel LAPONDER (0-3) improved with a 10% to finish 55th, the rest of the GBR team fared slightly worse than yesterday. Newcomer John DUNNETT had a day to forget on the range but like the rest of the IBU Cup team now has almost a fortnight before the next race in Martell ITA on 11 Dec.

Results:  Men Sprint 2    Men Sprint 2 percentages   Men IBU Nations Cup

And no, Jian-Cheng FU of Chinese Taipei did not start!

28 Nov 10 - THORN ON TARGET

Coming from Huntly in the Scottish Highlands, Olwen THORN must be used to the cold weather because she was right on target today with a 1-1 and her 17.3% gave her 43rd place in the second IBU Cup Sprint at Beitostølen today. She will now join the World Cup team in Östersund, as cover for Amanda LIGHTFOOT who did not start today.

The rest of the team all improved on yesterday and Jamielee McCREADIE will be delighted with her 27.9% which guarantees IBU Cup starts in the 2nd Trimester after Christmas. Just as happened in the Men's race the start field was much lower that anticipated, but we expect many more for IBU 2 in Martell ITA and especially at Obertilliach AUT for IBU 3.

Results:  Women Sprint 2   Women Sprint 2 percentages   Women IBU Nations Cup

Pete BEYER had the race of his life and returned to his best form after a disappointing season last time out, when finishing 33rd in opening IBU Cup Sprint at Beitostølen today.

Shooting 0-1 and with a time of 29:58.7 he was just 7.7% behind winner Simon Fourcade FRA, who was three times on the World Cup podium last season.

Olympian Lee-Steve JACKSON (2-0) was 39th, Kevin KANE (1-2) 60th, Marcel Laponder (3-1) 75th and Carl Gibson (1-1) at 14.8% was 78th. Newcomer Paul GORBOLD, a British civilian who lives and works in Vail Colorado but skis for the London Hyde Park Club, was 87th - one place above Simon ALLANSON.

Results:  Men Sprint 1    Men Sprint 1 percentages  

Next race is the second Sprint tomorrow (Sun 27 Nov at 09:00 CET / 10:00 GMT) and we suspect it is unlikely that Jian-Cheng FU of Chinese Taipei will be starting. He came last just over an hour behind the winner at 215.6%. No, you could not make this up - but perhaps having Bib  Number 1 threw him a little, or maybe he had just heard the Australian 1st Innings score from Brisbane?! 

27 Nov 10 - AMANDA THE ACE IN THE COLD

At -16°C for the start of the first Women's Sprint of the new season it was at just 1° warmer than for the Men. But, Amanda LIGHTFOOT shrugged off the effects of her own slight cold earlier in the week to record a very good 11% when finishing 36th and shooting 1-0.

Adele WALKER, who has been suffering from a knee injury for the past few weeks, was the only other GBR athlete to go under 20% with her 56th spot (3-0). There was just 30 seconds between Olwen THORN 63rd, Fay POTTON 68th and Nerys JONES 70th. Debutantes Roxy MASTERS and Jamielee McCREADIE had a real baptism of fire in the cold, and will be hoping for better things tomorrow in the 2nd Sprint (12:00 CET / 13:00 GMT).

Results:  Women Sprint 1   Women Sprint 1 percentages

27 Nov 10 - EUROSPORT LIVE COVERAGE

EUROSPORT show almost all World Cup Races LIVE in Europe and most in the UK. There also several "repeats". 

As there are sometimes different schedules you need to check out www.eurosport.com for Europe / International or www.eurosport.co.uk for the UK. If you live in Germany then ARD or ZDF also show all races LIVE. Remember to check if timings are CET or GMT!

Following their generally surprising failure to win the vote to host the 2015 Biathlon World Championships the Norwegian Biathlon Association has launched a strong bid to host the 2016 or 2017 Championships. The venue will be the stunning setting of Holmenkollen situated high above the fjord of Oslo which has just seen an expenditure of EUR 100 to reconfigure the tracks and modernise the Stadium (and famous Ski Jump) in time for the 2011 FIS Nordic World Championships.

Two of Norway's greatest ever biathletes Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Liv Grete Skjelbreid Poirée are World Championships Ambassadors for Norway. "OEB" alone has 91 individual wins in World Cup and has won 6 World Cup Total titles, oh, and the small matter of 45 Olympic and World Championship medals. For more information about the bid which is fully supported by GBR, click here. 

24 Nov 10 - BEITOSTØLEN BECKONS BRITS

The opening IBU Cup of the new season will be held at Beitostølen NOR this weekend, with a double header of Sprints on Saturday and Sunday. Although the GBR Team know the tracks well, having been based there for the past 2 weeks as well as holding our own selection races there last weekend, this "home" advantage will count for little.

Traditionally the opening event is one of the best supported and consequently one of the hardest from which to gain a World Cup qualifier, which is now 15%. Moreover the leading Nations have had their own World Cup start quota reduced by one athlete, who will now be in the IBU Cup field.

Nonetheless the GBR Team are confident of improving on last year's slow start to the IBU season, and, with Pete BEYER having beaten Olympian Lee JACKSON in two of the three Selection Races the omens are good. The snow is also good, but the temperature at 07:00 this morning was -20°C (and unlike the UK today the schools have not closed!). This first IBU Cup will not be on Eurosport (but the following week's World Cup from Östersund SWE will be), however you may be able to pick up semi live results on the IBU website.

GBR results will be published here over the weekend. There have already been changes to the GBR team announced on 21 Nov, below. As a result of some unavailability the duo from 1 LSR RLC sees LCpl Ben WOOLLEY return to the Team, whilst LCpl John DUNNETT makes his International début; congratulations! Click for Selection Results

24 Nov 10 - IBU's NEW SPONSOR

The International Biathlon Union (IBU), has signed the ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendor, IFS, as a sponsor of the E.On IBU World Cup Biathlon and the IBU World Championship Biathlon. 

Former BBU President (Sep 1997 - Feb 2006) Lord Moynihan has been appointed as Chairman of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Commission for Collaboration Between NOCs and Governments.

Prior to being elected as Chairman of the BOA in 2005, Moynihan spent 10 years serving in government, including as Minister for Sport under Baroness Margaret Thatcher from 1987-1990.  He entered the House of Lords in 1997.  As an athlete, Moynihan was a two-time Olympian and a silver medallist in rowing at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.   Full BOA News Release

Thank you to all who bid for a London 2012 ticket. Over £ 5.5 K worth were received and we will know the success of the bids in February 2012.

Mark GOODSON, the BBU Secretary General has been re-appointed to the IBU Information Committee by the IBU Executive Board, for a 4 year period. Mark, a former Chairman of the now defunct IBU Constitutional Committee is only the third GBR representative on an IBU (formerly UIPMB) Committee. He follows Olympians John MOORE and Spud LEANING, and his invitation is a recognition of the important role that GBR continues to play "behind the scenes" in world biathlon.

21 Nov 10 - RUSSIA FINED € 50,000 FOR MULTI ANTI-DOPING VIOLATIONS

The RBU has been fined €50,000 by the Executive Board of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) at its 99th meeting in Going (Austria). The IBU Anti-Doping Rules stipulate that the IBU may impose fines on a national federation (NF) if more than one athlete from a NF violates the IBU Anti-Doping Rules within a twelve month period.  More

21 Nov 10 - GBR TEAMS SELECTED UNTIL CHRISTMAS

The GBR National teams for the 1st Trimester (until Christmas 2010) have been selected following the Selection Races in Beitostølen Norway, which concluded today. (A big thank you to all the BBU & Norwegian Range Staff and especially to Podge & 1 RTR for their support!). Click for all Results

Although Ryanair have scrapped their Dublin - Salzburg flight this coming winter and Easyjet have reduced the frequency of Gatwick -Salzburg (now only Sat & Sun), it is not all bad news!

BA (from Gatwick) will fly 5 times per week (not Tue & Thu) with a new 09:45 departure time. Ryanair also fly on the same days from Stansted (3 flights daily sometimes!) whilst Air Berlin start a brand new Stansted - Salzburg service every Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun - at "civilised" times!

With many, many scheduled flights from all over UK to Munich and quite a few weekend charters to Salzburg there has never been a better time to visit the best of International & British Biathlon!

08 Aug 10 - AGM 2011

The 14th AGM of the BBU will be held in Ruhpolding GER on Sun 30 Jan 11. For Minutes of the 13th AGM (31 Jan 10) click here!

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