News: Summer 2010

26 Oct 10 - WESSEX ROLLER SKI RESULTS

Click for Results from the week-end Wessex Roller Ski races. Congratulations to the BBU NDS team from East Grange for winning the Men's Relay.

A further two GBR athletes have announced their international retirement during the summer training camp in Ruhpolding. Although only 25, Steve HILL 3 RHA first raced for GBR as a Junior in 2005-06 and made his World Cup debut 2 years later, when he competed in the World Championships in Östersund SWE. he missed two complete seasons but ended last year with some very good results at the European Championships .

Carl Kelly from 1 LSR RLC is also 25 but only broke into the IBU Cup team last winter. He has shown great potential in a short career and whilst Steve is hoping to eventually transfer to the APTC, Carl will ski for his regimental team before probably spending a holiday in Afghanistan next autumn!

10 Sep 10 - IBU CONGRESS:

START FIELDS REDUCED; NEW BOARD ELECTED; KONTIOLHATI TO HOST 2015 WORLDS

The 9th Regular IBU Congress was held in St Petersburg RUS 02 - 05 Sep 10. Forty Eight Nations were represented with some 200 delegates & spouses / members of bidding committees / marketing & sponsors / European Broadcasting Union and IBU / RBU staff in attendance. GBR was represented by Sec Gen Mark Goodson & Sport Director Eddy Lowe.

The organising staff managed a very professional and interesting few days, and Merano ITA will have a lot to live up to when they host the 2012 Congress!

START FIELDS REDUCED

Arguably the most important decision was agreement to reduce the start fields in World Cup, with immediate effect, based on the WC Nations Cup score of the previous season. This means that GBR will start with only 2 men and one woman at WC 1 this coming winter. The quotas remain constant throughout the season, but an athlete must attain one "under 15%" (behind average of the first 3 athletes in Sprint or Individual race) each Trimester in order to start the following Trimester. 15% is also the target for athletes on the IBU Cup to attain qualification for WC, although 20% (in either Cup) is the qualification for the World Championships, and is also the IBU / IOC Olympic qualifying standard. (The BOA standard is more severe).

A "Wildcard" will be given to athletes who attain 12% in IBU Cup from a Nation not already competing in WC. At the end of each season the top 27 Nations will retain their WC start slot, and the others will be relegated to IBU Cup. The 3 top IBU Cup Nations not in the 27 will then be promoted for the following season, so it is possible to be both relegated and promoted at the same time!

The new World Cup start quotas (same for men & women) from Dec 2010 are:

The IBU Cup start quotas will also be reduced, but not until the 2011 - 12 season. They will be based on the IBU Cup NC points from the previous season and an athlete must record one "Under 30%" in each Trimester in order to start in the following Trimester

The new IBU Cup start quotas from Nov 2011 are:

NEW IBU BOARD ELECTED

The new IBU Executive Board was elected and will be in office for 4 years. Long serving Russian First VP Alexander Tikhonov was not re-nominated by the RBU, but was honoured at the Opening Ceremony for his services to Biathlon with the award of an IBU Gold Medal. All the Board were elected unopposed, except for VP Development who won comfortably, and Marketing who won by one vote on the 2nd round.

The new IBU Executive Board is:

KONTIOLHATI TO HOST 2015 WORLDS

With a majority of 23 - 20 Kontiolahti FIN were the surprise winners over Oslo-Holmenkollen NOR in the vote to host the 2015 World Championships. "Konti", which hosted an extremely cold 1999 Championships lies in central Finland, near the town of Joensuu close to the Russian border.

CONGRESS - OTHER DECISIONS

• A number of minor rule changes were approved and these will be promulgated to National athletes and to the Army / RAF /civilian Clubs in due course. Much praise was given to the outgoing IBU Board for their financial acumen in not only weathering the recent world-wide financial storm, but also for actually obtaining increased sponsor and TV income in the next 4 year cycle.
   

• The following were elected (*re-elected) as Honorary Auditors:
  
  Ray Kokkonen, CAN *
  Kalle Lähtesmäki FIN
   

• The following were elected (*re-elected) to the Technical Committee:
  
  Max Cobb, USA *
  Borut Nunar, SLO
  Christophe Vassallo, FRA *
  Viktor Maigourov, RUS
  Hubert Leitgeb, ITA
  Johnny Rognstad, NOR *
  Kari Korpela, SWE *
  Frank Ullrich, GER
  Ville Haapala, FIN *
  Walter Gapp, AUT
  
  After many years on the Committee and a decade as Chairman, Norbert Baier GER stood down, although we shall see a great deal of him on the circuit as a TD and Chief of Competition for the Ruhpolding World Championships in 2012. The new Chairman of the TC will be announced shortly.

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Bev has been skiing since 1997 and for some 3 years from approx 1999 was in the GBR women's European Cup team. We say "approx" because there are no electronic records of that period; only hard copy at the IBU Salzburg office. One day we will copy them! Bar a couple of seasons she has been a member of the RLC Ladies Team ever since, and is also a stalwart with 29 Regt RLC Ladies team. She has also been a great supporter of younger and novice skiers, cheering them on in all weathers, as well as being the life and soul of many a long evening of aprés biathlon! Macca has competed at Regimental level for many years starting with 1 GS Regt RLC, and is now at 25 Trg Regt / HQ DRLC in Deepcut.

We shall raise a glass (OK Bev, more than one) to the happy couple, and hope they and all the guests, especially Bev's biggest fan, Mrs Robinson,  have the day of their lives.

Two Munich based global companies have made a significant move into winter sports sponsorship. BMW which was already a sponsor of the Munich 2018 Olympic Winter Games bid has been joined as a partner in that bid by financial services provider Allianz.

Of greater significance for Biathlon, in the short term, is the news that BMW has signed up with the IBU as the Official Car Partner. More details will be announced at the IBU Congress, but it sadly does not mean that Team GB will be racing round in Beemers!

A couple of our eagle-eyed readers deserve a special word of thanks for spotting errors on this site!

Last month we were hacked into and several completely unconnected sites became linked to us. Paul Wood of Wood Communications alerted us, and advised on where to find and how to remove the bad command. We have no hesitation in recommending Paul for Website Assistance and Development.

Biathlon fan Jeffrey Tindle pointed out a couple of date errors in our listings for WC 2 & 4 next season. We then found a couple more inconsistencies; even your Sec Gen can make errors in a simple cut & paste!

Thank you both, and if any other reader spots a mistake please let us know; alas there are no rewards of BMWs!

The provisional programmes and timings for the 2010 - 11 World & IBU Cups have been published. The World Cup opens in its now traditional Swedish venue of Östersund on Wednesday 1st December.  Five days earlier Beitostölen NOR hosts the opening IBU Cup. With two World Cups in the USA and the World Championships in Russia, the athletes will be clocking up their fare share of Air Miles. There will  be only four World Cup Relays this season with the Ruhpolding race being replaced by the 20 / 15 km Individual as a test of the new 2012 World Championships track. 

Unfortunately, due to our finshing positions in last season's Nations Cup, GBR has only 2 men (4 last season) starting in each World Cup whilst the women will either stay at two or be reduced to one; the final quota will be confirmed at the IBU Congress early next month.

08 Aug 10 - ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, AGAIN!

08 Aug 10 - END OF SEASON ROUND UP

If you did not catch the final results from 2009 - 10 on the IBU website, they are now available here:

World Cup 2009 - 10 (includes OWG)     IBU Cup 2009 - 10  (includes European U26 Champs)    

British Champs 2010  (Ex Rucksack)

Amongst the highlights of the final Trimester were:

• "Lightning LIGHTFOOT" when Amanda (AGC Ladies) came 19th in the European Champs 15 km Indiv, shooting 0-1-0-1. The following day she was in an Estonian Hospital, but that's another story!

• "Tremendous THORN" when Olwen (Huntly NSC) was 21st in the same race (1-1-0-0) and made her 4th WC qualifier of the season.

• "Unfazed Fay" when Fay POTTON (RAF) recorded her first ever WC qualifier in the final IBU Cup race of the season.

• "Great GIBSON" when Carl (2 CS Bn REME) had a WC qualifier in only his second ever GBR race

• "Rob's Record" when CHUDLEY (3 RHA) shot his first ever IBU Cup 0-0 to record his first under 10%, as did Pete BEYER (1 LSR RLC) but with a 0-2 in the same race in Pokljuka.

• "Kevin in Kontiolahti" when KANE became the only GBR athlete to beat Jacko in a WC race all season.

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The Olympians are a unique Club of male and female athletes who have represented Great Britain in the Olympic & Olympic Winter Games. Membership is free, but only a handful of the Army's many Olympians ever attend any of their functions!

This year the AGM and Lunch was hosted at the home of the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC) in Aldershot on Sat 19 Jun. The APTC celebrates its 150th Anniversary this year, so is actually 46 years older than the Olympic movement!, and the Olympians were given a personal tour of the APTC Museum which displays many Olympic and other sporting memorabilia representing those 150 years.

All Army Olympians are invited to contact John (J.A.G.) Moore (OWG 1956, 60, 64). Even if you do not attend future events he can at least put you on The Olympians mailing list!

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