The 2014 Congress will be held in the Belarusian Capital of Minsk. They defeated their only rival Kiev in Ukraine 26 to 22. Kiev gave a low key but measured presentation which was somewhat overshadowed by the presence of Alexander Tikhonov and wife Maria from the Minsk bid. Last seen in his white leather coat, dangling an arm bearing an expensive watch out of his rather less expensive but brand new white Rolls Royce, “Sasha” left us in no doubt that we could expect a very different sort of Congress in two years time.

17 Aug 12 - BOA CHAIRMAN MOYNIHAN STEPS DOWN

On the day after the London 2012 Closing Ceremony and on the day when the IOC awarded him the Olympic Order of Merit, BOA Chairman Lord Colin Moynihan made the surprise announcement that he would be stepping down from the BOA in November.

Colin, who was the inaugural President of the BBU from 1997 - 2006, will also be stepping down as Chairman British Ski & Snowboarding (BSS).

The BBU was extremely grateful for all his work as our President; the Nation owes him a great debt for his tireless efforts on behalf of "Our Greatest Team", at London 2012.

Click for full BOA Statement





17 Aug 12 - JACKO GOES GUNNER

The Royal Artillery has a new Olympic biathlete in their ranks. After 15 years in The Green Howards / 2 YORKS Lance Bombardier Lee-Steve JACKSON is now a member of 16 Regt RA.

He joins a distinguished list of previous Gunner Olympic biathletes:

Bdr Fred Andrew 1964 & 68; Gnr Roger Bean 1968; Lt Robin Dent 1964; Sgt Mick Goode 1980; Bdr Trevor King 1984 & 88; Capt John Leaning 1968; Capt John Moore 1960 & 64 (and XC in 1956);LCpl Hugh Pritchard 2002; Gnr Ben Rex 1988; LBdr Ken Rudd 1992 & 84. In addition a further 13 members of the Royal Artillery competed in the OWG in Cross Country.

Other than Jacko, the Infantry's only Olympic biathletes have been Cpl Tom Clemens DDLI 2006; Sgt Malcolm Hirst DWR 1972 & 76 and Cpl Alan Notley RGJ 1964, 68 & 72 with none in Cross Country!


17 Aug 12 - KINLOSS & NDS UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

On the day The Games opened, the NDS said farewell to RAF Kinloss and welcome to their new hosts 39 Egineer Regiment. By chance Jenna BEDDOE who raced on the IBU Cup circuit last year is a member of this Regiment and is on re-hab and light training with the Biathlon Academy under the direction of NDS Coach Shane CLASH.

01 Jul 12 - YES! THEY ARE SOLDIERS AS WELL

" ... well Kevin and I got the uniform at the Army Surplus Store in Woolwich," Ginge tells Lt Col Zach Freeth, "whilst we picked up the medals in Ruhpolding, Antholz and Khanty."

Zach who was a multiple Army & Inter Services Alpine Champion met our two soldier biathletes at the 40 Regt RA Disbandment Parade in Edinburgh Castle last week.

"Forty" were one of the great names in Army skiing having won the Princess Marina 5 times, and been Army Nordic Champions on 7 occasions - the last time being in 2006. (Oh, and the medals are genuine, and well deserved).

• 2 potential Sochi 2014 Athletes and one coach on the BOA Ambition Programme.
• 5 Olympic Torch runners - one for each Olympic Ring - and who represented England, Northen Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• 7 young biathlon supporters on the free BOA "Ticketshare" scheme.
• 10 BBU VIP guests we are privileged to host at the BOA "Team GB House" - alas just outside Olympic Park, so no event tickets!
• 15 lucky members who bid some twenty months ago, and received Games tickets - at full cost!

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 01 Jul 12 - FRENCH ALCHOPOPS

The Tour de France has started and there are real prospects for a British victory for Bradley Wiggins. Unfortunately there are also real prospects that GBR biathletes, Regimental teams and anyone else travelling through France by car will be fined by the French police quicker that Bradley can time-trial or Martin Fourcade clear down 5 targets!

From today it is French law that all vehicles must carry at least 2 breathalyzers, or (from 01 Nov) face being fined. Fines already are in force if you do not have first aid kit, warning triangle, headlight adaptors, or need to use a spare bulb or fire extinguisher but do not have one.

And ... it is a EUR 100 fine if you do not carry the compulsory Hi-Vis vest inside the vehicle (not inside the boot).

Team Subs will not be paying for any fines!

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The BBC London 2012 Torch Relay site (bbc.co.uk/torchrelay) now allows you to look back at most of the previous days Torchcam. It is not 100% reliable, so if it does not work try later! Nor does it cover every day, yet. As at today, there is no playback for 21 May when Emma Fowler ran at approx 18:38 (although the signal was lost then in any case!). 

Playback is available for our other 4 runners:

Matthew Rees - 26 May @ 11:39, Eddy Lowe – 07 Jun @ 08:04, Carl Gibson – 18 Jun @ 18:38, Kevin Kane – 20 Jun @ 18:08

Camtasia Studio software, free 30 day trial allows you to record the full screen or a cropped image of them (or anyone or thing else!). Nice bit of software....

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30 Jun 12 - MORE TORCH TALES

Although our Torch bearers have had their day of fame, there are still 27 days of the Relay to run, which of course means 27 days until the Games open on 27 Jul. 

At last we have a shot of Kevin KANE, who looks very happy just before the start of his run in Carlisle on 18 Jun.

All our Torch Runners say that it was an amazing and emotional experience, and they will not be selling their Torch! We hope to gather all 5 together at the Army & British Champs in Ruhpolding in January.

The next London 2012 event for us is when Marc WALKER, Pete BEYER and Amanda LIGHTFOOT attend the 2 day BOA "Ambition Camp" at Loughborough tomorrow - and the Torch will be there




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22 Jun 12 - BOA OLYMPIC SCARFS

The BOA does not make as much money out of London 2012 as many people think, as much of the merchandising and all the ticketing sales go to LOCOG. They will eventually receive some payments which will go towards Rio 2016 and, for us, Sochi 2014. One way of supporting "Our Greatest Team" at London 2012 is to purchase one of the very smart and remarkably inexpensive scarfs. these come in 2 sizes at just £ 5 or £ 10 each and can be bought in store at Next or on line:

CLICK HERE to get your own official Team GB supporters scarf

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22 Jun 12 - CARL RUNS LIKE HULL

A smiling and very smart LCpl Carl GIBSON, from 2 CS Bn REME takes over the Torch during his run on Mon 18 Jun in Hull. More pictures to follow

08 Jun12 - WAS OUR THIRD TORCH RUNNER EDDY OR JEDWARD?

The 3rd BBU Olympic Torch runner was Sport Director Eddy LOWE, who ran early in the morning on Thu 07 Jun in Downpatrick NI.

Apart from a very short clip of Emma FOWLER, and thanks to Warren Sennett, he is the first of our 3 runners for whom we have a clip from the BBC TorchCam however TorchCam today announced the following exciting news:

"We've just introduced a new player giving you the ability to pause and rewind the picture. There are two sessions each day, morning and afternoon. At the moment, you can only rewind to the beginning of the current session. In the near future, you'll be able to go back further to previous sessions and in fact, to the first day of the torch relay on 19 May. This will allow you to see video from then, providing we didn't lose the 3G signal at the time and it was in fact streamed live. Another new feature is that you can watch live video on your iPad and additionally, on your iPhone over the 3G network."

See below, pics of Eddy on the Relay

		... but knock off a few years  ... and could he have been a young Jedward?

12 Jun 12 - ATHLETES' BLOG ON LINE

The GBR Athletes' Blog is now up and running and becoming more popular. It is early days, but the Blogmaster Marcel LAPONDER is hoping that it will just get better and better.

Go now to the Brit Biathlon Blog!


27 May 12 - SUDDEN FAME FOR BBU TORCHBEARER MISTAKEN FOR RUGBY HERO

Matthew REES the BBU's back-office Support Staff Olympic Torch carrier got more than five minutes of fame yesterday when he was mistaken for a rugby hero. Our Web and IT guru who runs the results service at the Army & British National Championships (Ex Rucksack) carried the Olympic flame around Merthyr Tydfil expecting to see Scarlets hero Matthew Rees, the Wales and British Lions international. Instead they got "our Matthew" who, through no fault of his own, was assumed to be his more famous namesake.	Photo: PA
After he had been saluted by the crowd at the end of his 700 metre steep up-hill run, then presented to the Mayoress of Merthyr and photographed with the winners of the local School Sports Gala he was interviewed live by BBC Radio Wales.
Interviewer Chris (Korkey) Corcoran, standing in for Rhod Gilbert and Matthew had a most amusing 10 minute interview during which Matthew gave a fantastic résumé on the BBU, the Army's contribution and our lack of funding, There was then a brilliant hilarious spot when Corcoran asked Matthew to role play that he was his more famous name-sake and quizzed him about missing out on the last Grand Slam through injury. The answers provoked huge cheers from the crowd and ended when Matthew was asked whether, with injuries, he would consider moving into something else like skiing or shooting.
Chris and fellow presenter Ben Partridge closed their show and declared that Matthew's interview had been their highlight of the day, even beating the arrival of the Torch (which he carried!), and that as his day job is that of a carpenter, he would be selected for the next British Lions Carpentry tour! This great day of publicity for the BBU also featured on BBC Torchcam, ITV News, Wales on Sunday and got "our" Matthew Rees onto page 1 of Google. That is a feat matched by Emma FOWLER (Below) who was featured in The Daily Mail, The Sun and all over the web last week! What on earth will Eddy LOWE, Carl GIBSON and Kevin KANE do to beat this when they run (see below)?!Listen to hear the BBC Radio Wales interview with Matt. He starts at approx 17 minutes and goes on to the end! To hear the full BBC Radio Wales coverage from Merthyr Listen here. Matt's interview is at approx 1 hr 37 min - he comes on after Queen's "Somebody to Love"!. Make sure you listen to the end of the full programme; he isn't finished when you think he is	Photos: BBU

 22 May 12 - EMM.i.am Kisses WILL.i.am

The first BBU London 2012 Torch Relay runner was Sgt Emma FOWLER of the Royal Logistic Corps, yesterday in Taunton. It was always going to be a Day to Remember but even more so when she took over the Relay from Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.i.am, who is also a judge on BBC's "The Voice".

And the "kiss" ...? That is the technical term when the two torches touch in order to pass the flame from one to another, so technically the two did kiss!!


"Our" Emma takes over from Will.i.am







(Photo: PA)
Click here for You Tube clip of Emma and a Radio Interview  from Army Media Ops
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1 May 12 - GBR ATHLETES - SUMMER SQUADS

Ruhpolding Squad
SSgt	Marc Walker	1 LSR RLC	Coach
Bdr	Simon Allanson	3 RHA	Asst Coach
	Scott Dixon	CBNSC
LCpl	Dan Fuller	2  RTR
Cfn	Alex Gleave	2 CS Bn REME
Bdr	Steve Hill	3 RHA
	Calum Irvine	CBNSC
Spr	Christian Lewis	33 EOD Regt RE
Cfn	Warren Melia	2 CS Bn REME
Spr	Joel Smith	28 Engr Regt
LCpl	Ben Woolley	17 P&M Regt RLC	From Aug 12
LCpl	Jenna Beddoe	39 Engr Regt
Cpl	Nerys Jones	AGC
SSgt	Adele Walker	29 Regt RLC
Independent Training
LCpl	Pete Beyer	1 LSR RLC	Training in Norway; co-ord by Hldr Scott BANES 4 SCOTS
LCpl	Lee-Steve Jackson	2 Yorks
Cpl	Amanda Lightfoot	AGC
LCpl	Carl Gibson	2 CS Bn REME	Kinloss / EGBC
Bdr	Kevin Kane	3 RHA	Ruhpolding
LCpl	Marcel Laponder	28 Engr Regt	Ruhpolding

  18 May 12 - BBU RUN WITH THE OLYMPIC TORCH

The London 2012 Olympic Torch arrived in the UK tonight, and in just 3 days time the first of five BBU runners will participate in the Torch Relay.


We were allocated 3 slots for Athletes and 2 for Support Staff. One of the athletes had to be an Olympian and one Under 25, and we also wanted a GB & NI-wide representation! The Famous Five who will surely remember the day for the rest of their lives are:


Emma FOWLER was GBR's first, and so far only, female Olympic biathlete (Turin 2006). Emma is a Sergeant in the Royal Logistic Corps and has been given a day off from her RMA Sandhurst Instructor Cadre to run very close to her home at Cannington, Somerset. She will run on Monday 21 May at 18:36 near the railway bridge / Belvedere Road in the area of the junction A 3027 / A 3038 in Taunton.


Matthew REES has been a member of the BBU "back-office" Support Staff since 2002. He is our Web and IT guru and runs the results service at the Army & British National Championships (Ex Rucksack). He lives in Neath, Wales and will be running close to the Cyfarthfa Industrial Estate on the Cyfarthfa Road to Cyfartha Castle in nearby Merthyr Tydfil at 11:35 on Saturday 26 May.


Eddy LOWE was the GBR Olympic Team Manager in both 1992 and 1994 and has been a Member of the BBU Board (currently the Sport Director) since our foundation in 1996. Eddy, who served in the Royal Engineers for 40 years, is the TD for the British Championships and will be running in Downpatrick Northern Ireland at 08:00 on Thursday 7 June.


Carl GIBSON is our Under 25 athlete, although he has already represented GBR in two World Championships. A Lance Corporal in 2 CS Bn REME, he is currently training at East Grange Biathlon Centre in Kinloss. He will run (time tbc) on the afternoon of Monday 18 June close to his home town of Withernsea, East Yorkshire.


Kevin KANE is our Scottish athlete living in Dumfries, although he will actually be running in England! Kevin is a Bombardier in 40 Regt RA who sadly hold their Disbandment Parade at Edinburgh Castle just 3 days after he runs in Carlisle, late on Wednesday 20 June. He is currently training in Ruhpolding and hoping to go to his 5th World Championships next year.


In addition  to our Torch Relay runners, two Athletes Cpl Amanda LIGHTFOOT AGC and LCpl Pete BEYER 1 LSR RLC plus Coach SSgt Marc WALKER 1 LSR RLC have been selected to participate in the BOA's "Olympic Ambition" programme. This will give them a unique insight into the Olympic preparation and logistics prior to Sochi 2014.

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   01 May 12 - BOA LOSE DOPING CASE AT COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT


The repercussions of the BOA loosing their case at CAS to continue their policy of a life-time Olympic ban for convicted doping cheats will be debated for some considerable time. Our view is that a minimum 4 year ban for any conviction should be enforced. British Summer & Winter Olympians overwhelmingly backed the BOA's stance, as does the BBU.

BBC pundit, former athlete and former President BBU, Colin Jackson says "he has no doubt that Dwain Chambers will now be part of the British Olympic team in London."

"Dwain is in the top tier of sprinters in our country," he told BBC Sport. "There is no doubt that he will be at the Olympics. Fans are used to him being in the team so already he has been accepted and it has no relevance to the other athletes."

Not quite what he said in 2008 when he (Jackson) was President of the BBU of Chambers (who was convicted of taking 7 different drugs in 2004):

 "I'm really happy Dwain has lost his appeal (against non-selection for Beijing). This is more about a principle than anything else and the decision has sent out a clear message that we are not going to accept people in our team who have committed offences such as this. Dwain, get on with your life, whatever that might be - we don't want you in our team.

We tend to share the views (through BBC) of some other Olympians:

Double Olympic gold-medallist James Cracknell believes Chambers will find it difficult to gain the respect of his fellow athletes in London.

Cracknell said he would have "no desire to talk to Chambers", adding: "I have no respect for him on any level. Especially as he was cheating and he still didn't win. He made the decision to cheat, therefore there is not going to be a level of respect from someone who hasn't."

Cracknell, who won rowing gold at the Sydney Games in 2000 and Athens in 2004, added: "From a personal point of view, when Dwain Chambers tested positive he, as most cheats do, said 'I didn't take anything, it was my supplements'.

"It turns out Dwain was busy injecting himself with all sorts of stuff. It wasn't his supplements. He affected the performances of other people. He lost his team-mates relay medals. He cheated his opposition."

Former 400m runner Roger Black, who was against the overturning of the lifetime ban, told the BBC: "It's a sad day. It's hard to cheer someone on who's purposefully tried to cheat other athletes. I'm not going to boo him, I'm just going to be indifferent."

He added: "I like Dwain. I think he's remorseful, but it's easy to be remorseful when you're caught out. He didn't have to do it in the first place, because most of us didn't."

A sad day for CLEAN Sport ...

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01 May 12 - RETURN TO RUHPERS The main squad has returned to Ruhpolding where they will not be enjoying the May Day Holiday as training starts today.  Squad Names Lee-Steve JACKSON (below, at the World Champs) continues to train in Norway although his support staff (Scotty BANES) is currently on a military exercise in Gibraltar!		01 May 12 - ATHLETE RETIREMENTS Fay POTTON (below) has retired after, unusually, competing in more World Championship races than in World Cups! She was also the RAF's first GBR female biathlete and shortly also retires from the RAF. Paul BIRMINGHAM has retired, after 2 years in the IBU Cup team, to learn to fly Army helicopters, whilst Ben COTTOM is taking a sabbatical in Afghanistan!
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Pete BEYER (below) at the World Champs		... and Nerys JONES
... and Amanda LIGHTFOOT		... and Marcel LAPONDER
... and Adele WALKER		... and Ben WOOLLEY
... and Roger ROBERTS		... and Ginge ALLANSON
		...and of course we could not have operated at the World Champs without the help of Michele ROBERTS, Scotty BANES & Clemens FREUND and of course, "waxman of the year" Martin GLAGOW. The reserve athletes were Carl GIBSON & Kevin KANE. Horst WALLNER and his drivers from the Ruhpolding OK moved us around, and the whole GBR show was managed by Marc WALKER.

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