Beginners Guide to Biathlon
(aka. stuff I have learned in the past year or maybe actually the past couple of days from Emma)
By Luci Anderson and proofread by Emma Stertz.
Vuokatti training day, shooting practice with USBA national team head coach Armin Auchentaller. Picture by Alex Dohm - Maloja
First of all, what even is Biathlon? Biathlon is a winter sport that involves cross country skiing and rifle target shooting. There are several different race formats, which we will get into later in this blog post, but the main thing you need to know about biathlon is that competitors ski around a loop of a race course, shoot at targets, and get penalties for every shot they miss. If you have no biathlon knowledge, that very short summary probably doesn’t make much sense, but I am confident that by the end of reading this beginners guide you will be a pro. Or at least as much of a pro as I am right now.
I am assuming if you’re reading this article you definitely have knowledge of basic cross country skiing terminology and equipment, but if not please read this article written by my friend and former LNR teammate Renae Anderson. Now that I’m sure you have that information, let’s start off simple with some Basic Biathlon Terminology.
Rifle - The rifle is pretty self explanatory. I’m sure you’ve seen one before. There are three main parts; the stock, action and barrel. For biathlon it is a specially modified .22 LR rifle. Most biathlon rifles used on the World Cup are the Anshutz model 1827F Fortner. If you know something about rifles this should mean something to you, but if you don’t, like me until very recently, let me explain. A .22 caliber rifle means that the diameter of the bore is 22 hundredths of an inch. Why do they measure this in inches? I don’t know. But if you want to know that measurement in millimeters it is 5.6mm. Watch this video from my teammate Paul Schomer to learn more specifics. Competitors carry their rifles on their back for the entirety of a biathlon race. Each rifle can carry four magazines and each magazine holds five bullets. Your rifle stock is fit to your body, with most beginner biathletes having a very adjustable stock. Veteran biathletes will get custom stocks made for their specific requirements once they have been shooting for a long time and know exactly how they want their rifle to look and feel.
Rifle Anatomy
From pre-world champs camp in Antholz, Sean Doherty standing at the rifle racks.
Range - The biathlon range is where all the shooting happens in a biathlon race. There is only one range on a biathlon course and it almost always has 30 lanes for shooting. There are some ranges that are smaller that have only 10 to 15 lanes, but on the IBU or World Cup circuit there is always 30.
Rifle racks - Where you put your rifle when on the range. —>
Mat - There is a mat for every lane at a biathlon range. I did not even think about this being a thing that was needed or used but it is an essential part of biathlon! You can’t just be laying on the ground or the snow. That would be so cold. The mats are the perfect size for each lane and are made out of some sort of rubber material. They are kind of squishy and can be a little slippery when it's cold and frosty out, not good for standing position.
Prone -
Shooting position, lying down. Abbreviated as “P”.
Standing -
Shooting position, standing up. Abbreviated as “S”.
Target - There are 5 targets in each lane of a biathlon range. They are in a horizontal row and are black circles on a white background. Standing targets have a diameter of 4.5 inches, about the size of an average apple or orange. Prone targets are smaller with a 1.8 inch diameter, about the size of a small lime or plum. Competitors have to shoot down each target and if they miss, they have a penalty added on to their race.
Target names - The military or phonetic alphabet is used to identify the five targets.
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo
On the left is a single target, showing the prone and standing target size, the right is a series showing the targets being hit left to right. You can shoot the targets in any order you want, but most start from one of the ends.
Paper - This refers to paper targets. They are usually set up to the right of the metal targets and are used for training and zeroing (see definition below). These are helpful because you can see exactly where your bullet hits the target.
Metal - Metal targets are used when racing and training. When hit, a white cover called a paddle comes up and covers the target.
Natural Point of Aim - Where your rifle is naturally pointing when you get into position.
Group - A group is the location and spread of 5 shots. Where your bullets end up on the target matters! Having a tight group means you are very consistent, but it needs to be in the center of the target to be accurate.
Clicks - On the back sight of the rifle there are two knobs that move it up or down and left or right. If your group is to the left of center, you take some clicks right. If your group is to the lower right of the target you would take clicks up and left.
Zeroing - This is the action of fine tuning your rifle so when all your sights are lined up the bullet is hitting the middle. Zeroing happens at the beginning of most shooting sessions and before every race. Usually this process involves shooting 5 bullets standing on Echo, then shooting 5 prone on Alpha. If your group is off of the center of the target you will get corrections to move your group closer to the center.
Corrections - Corrections are given when zeroing and during races. This is when your coach tells you to take clicks. It usually comes in the form of “two up, one right” and can be yelled at you before you go into your second shooting stage of a race.
Wind flags - Red flags are set up down the range to be a visible way to detect the direction and force of the wind. If flags are flying high, almost parallel to the ground then clicks are needed to offset the force of the wind on the bullet. If the wind is coming from the left, a couple clicks to the right will usually be enough to correct for the wind. It is important to note how the flags are moving while you are zeroing, so that during practice or a race you can identify if there is a change in the wind and take clicks to ensure you will hit the target.
Confirmation loop - A confirmation loop is taken when you are at the end of your zeroing session to make sure that your group is still in the center of the target. It involves doing a short loop to get your heartrate up a little and shooting 5 more shots to confirm.
Shooting stage - The point in the race where you stop to shoot is called a shooting stage. They can be prone or standing and there are either two or four stages in a race depending on the length.
Shooting time - The amount of time it takes for you to get into position on the mat, fire 5 bullets from your rifle, and get off the mat.
Penalty - A penalty happens when you miss one or more of the 5 targets during your shooting stage. The penalty can be in the form of an extra 150 meter loop that is completed immediately after exiting the range, or it can be time added to your total race time. This depends on the type of race.
Hit - Successfully shooting down a target :)
Miss - Not shooting down a target :(
Dirty - Missing all five targets in a shooting stage. You are not having a good race if this happens.
Clean - Hitting all five targets in a shooting stage! Usually cleaning all stages of a race is needed to win a World Cup, but not all the time! This is why biathlon is exciting. Anyone can win and you never know how a race will end up until the very end.
Day to day Biathlon training
Before I started my biathlon journey, I thought that my training would stay basically the same, and that has been true for most sessions. Easy days are easy, I go on a run or a rollerski or bike ride. No rifle involved in that part. The biathlon part starts to kick in when we do combo workouts. (New terminology!) A whole different way of training is needed as well, which is pure rifle work. You can’t become a good shot without purely training that skill.
Combos - A combo workout is combining shooting with training. This involves zeroing your rifle, then shooting every once in a while during a run or rollerski. Combo workouts can happen on a normal distance workout day or on a rollerski intensity day. For intensity the rifle is usually carried on your back to simulate racing and you come into the range to shoot at the end of your interval.
Dry Fire - Shooting your rifle but not actually with bullets. This is what it's called when you practice your shooting technique. It helps you to get faster getting into and out of position and become more stable when holding your rifle.
Scatt - Another way to better your shooting techniques. It involves putting a sensor on the barrel of your rifle that shoots a laser out of the end and can follow the movement of where you point your rifle. It can tell you from what direction you’re approaching the target and how fast you come at the target. It can also show you how long you are holding on the center of the target before and after your shot goes off.
IBU vs. World Cup - Who What When Where is my favorite biathlete racing?
There are two main race circuits that US biathletes compete at, the BMW IBU World Cup and the IBU cup. Both race circuit events are mostly held in Central Europe and Scandinavia, with the occasional detour to North America.
IBU - International Biathlon Union.
The BMW IBU World Cup is usually referred to as the World Cup, or the Biathlon World Cup if you’re just a normie cross country skier like I used to be. The people who race this circuit are the best of the best. The fastest skiers and most accurate shooters in the world compete here and get very well compensated in prize money if they can combine both skills to have a good day. If a shot is missed that could cost someone several spots.
The IBU cup is usually just referred to as the IBU cup. Pretty straight forward. This circuit is a step below the world cup. Athletes who don’t make the world cup team for their country compete here. The competition is almost as fierce as at the world cup, with many people racing who would be consistently getting top 20 results or even winning world cup races, but are unable to represent their country there due to caps on team sizes. Some countries are pretty dominant in Biathlon, just like in cross country. For example, the Norwegian team can only have 6 men and 6 women competing at the world cup in each race. They also have 6 and 6 racing at IBU. At the start of this season one of their competitors Martin Uldal was racing on IBU and after some success was moved up to World Cup. In his 5th world cup start ever he won the race! This just shows the depth of the Norwegian team and how hard it is to make it on to their World Cup team. This also shows the insane competition at IBU races! Even though it is technically a step below the World Cup, there are still world class biathletes racing at these competitions.
Biathlon racing vs. Cross Country racing
Race day routines for me have basically stayed the same. I do my same warm up as I have always done, ski for about 25 minutes and then drop in 2 by 3 min L3, 2 by 1 min L4, some speeds and make my way to the start. The only different aspect of biathlon race prep is the zeroing. Zeroing starts an hour before the race and has to happen at the designated time so it must be factored into the start of your warmup.
The biggest difference is obviously the rifle. An additional 8 pounds is on your back, which doesn’t seem like a lot but it makes a difference. Ski technique stays the same, although you do feel like you’re flying up the hills when you take off the rifle. Shooting stages can cause your legs to flood with lactic acid, similar to doing a hard interval and then having not enough rest in between. And no, laying down in the prone position does not feel like taking a little break in the middle of your race.
Race formats:
There are several different race formats in Biathlon. Some with similar names to cross country races, but very different meanings. The first being a sprint race. I was very confused about this one. I still have not had the chance to race all of these races, but hopefully by the end of the season I can give a good explanation and race recap of them all!
Equal distance has not reached the biathlon world, due to television time slots and race times. This allows for both the mens and womens racing to have the same amount of television time, and bring in the same amount of viewers which translates into how much they get paid!
Here is a quick cheat sheet to some of the race formats:
Sprint - The shortest of the individual races, but long by cross country skier standards. This style race usually favors faster skiers, because of the fewer shooting stages. The 150 meter loop usually takes 25-30 seconds to complete and some skiers can ski off a penalty by just being faster than other racers. Since it is an individual start, prone and standing shooting can be happening in the range at any time. This means that the range is split into the first 15 lanes being set to prone and lanes 16-30 being set to standing.
Pursuit - Following a sprint, top 60 athletes from that race start in a pursuit style race. Which means the winner of the sprint starts first and everyone starts after based on their time back from the day before. Sometimes people falling off the end of the race get caught by the leaders and are then lapped out, unable to complete their race. Pursuit qualifiers that are over 4 minutes back start in a wave together at 4 minutes so they have less of a chance of being lapped. Shooting order is PPSS, the penalty is a 150 meter loop. On the first shooting stage racers have to shoot on the lane that corresponds to their bib number. For the rest of the shooting stages racers file in depending on how they came into the range. It is assumed that the person shooting on lane 1 will be done shooting by the time the 31st athlete comes into the range. It is sometimes a strategic move when you are around 28-30th place in a race to let a couple of people pass you so you can glide up to shoot on lane 1 and have a little bit more rest before shooting instead of having to shoot immediately upon entering the range.
Individuals - Self explanatory, individual starts, long or short. This is more of a “shooters race” because the penalty is much bigger so it is difficult to ski it off if you miss many targets. In my first long individual race I missed 9 targets, putting me way out of the race with a 9 minute penalty. It is also the only race that shooting stages alternate PSPS
Mass Start 30 or 60 - Either 30 people start or 60 people start. I don't know why they would do one or the other, but I've also never raced any kind of mass start biathlon race. Start list is based on ranking. Shooting situation is the same as pursuit when it comes to mass start 60s.
Relays! Lots of relay types.
I have only done a women's 4x6k relay, so I don’t know much about how the relays work, but I have enjoyed watching my teammates do them! They are some of the most exciting races because there are so many shooting stages that have to happen before the finish line. All relays have four legs and each leg has two shooting stages each. They are such short races for each individual person that competitors are practically sprinting the entire time. I am most excited to do a single mixed relay because the loops are so short, it mimics a cross country sprint race with the 1.5k loop. I have a lot of work to do on my shooting speed before I can compete with other relay teams in that event.
Women 4x6k Relay
4 Women. 6k total for each, three laps of 2k, shooting prone then standing.
Mens 4x7.5k Relay - 4 Men, 7.5k total for each, three laps of 2.5k, shooting prone then standing.
Mixed Relay - 2 Women 2 Men, 6k or 7.5k total for everyone, three laps of 2k or 2.5k each.
Single Mixed Relay - One woman one man, loops are 1.5k. Each person skis twice, tagging off to their teammate immediately after their second shooting. The last person shoots their standing stage and skis a final loop to end the race.
Picture by Alex Dohm - Maloja
Thank you for reading my educational biathlon blog post and I hope you learned some new terminology for your everyday use. I know I use these terms almost every day and am learning new things about this great sport all the time! I hope this post inspires some of you to start watching biathlon and wow your friends with all these new fun facts about a sport not many people in the US know about! If you want to start your biathlon addiction just like me, you can create an account at http://eurovisionsport.com and watch all the World Cup races for free. Another easy way to follow along is downloading the IBU app on your phone, you can follow your favorite athletes just like on the FIS app.
Thanks for reading! Happy skiing, Luci.
