About Us


	The British Biathlon Union (BBU) was formed in 1996. The BBU is the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of Biathlon in Great Britain (GBR) and is run by a volunteer Board of Directors on behalf of the athletes and members.

	The BBU is funded almost entirely by sponsors or by the athletes themselves, with some most welcome, but limited, support from the BOA. There is no financial support from UK Sport, Sport England, Sportscotland or the National Lottery. Our budget is, sadly, only one third of the bare minimum we need to make a real impact on the world scene.

	The BBU is a full member of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), the British Olympic Association (BOA) National Olympic Committee (NOC), and UK Sport.

	The BBU trains and selects male and female athletes to represent GBR at Olympic, World and European level. The BBU runs Senior (over 21), Junior and Development squads. (In the past there have also been Paralympic athletes, but there are none at present). Nearly all biathletes in Great Britain are serving members of the Armed Forces, and the Army is our main sponsor, other than Skandia.

	BBU training in the UK is held at the Sportscotland BOA Olympic Training Centre at Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore, East Grange Biathlon Centre in Kinloss, and at Camberley, Surrey. The British National Championships take place in Ruhpolding, Germany, in January. The European Cup squad also trains in Ruhpolding whilst in the summer of 2007 the World Cup squad will train in Sweden.

	The BBU is run on a voluntary basis by the BBU Board. We pay for a "part time" Secretary General. There is no Team Manager, although the Army provides the full time World Cup Team Coach, and from the summer of 2007 a part time European Cup Coach. Development Courses are contracted out to East Grange BC. Financial constraints mean we have no Performance Director or other paid support staff. We admit this is not an acceptable way to run an Olympic sport!