Courtesy Tahoe Cross Country ·
Hopefully, you had the opportunity to see a bit of the biathlon in the recently completed Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Biathlon first appeared as an Olympic sport in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Tahoe, so you could say that biathlon is in Tahoe’s blood.
Biathlon is one of the most interesting spectacles at the winter games, and has become a popular spectator event in Northern Europe. Olympic-caliber biathlon requires not only the enormous physical endurance and training necessary to be a world-class, cross-country skier, but also the subtle, relaxed continence needed to be a successful marksman. It begins with skiing hard, driving your heart rate through the roof, and then you stop, try to relax and quickly shoot at targets. Every missed shot means skiing a penalty lap before reentering the biathlon ski course. Sounds like something you might want to try?
You can ease into biathlon by trying laser biathlon before picking up a 22-caliber rifle and shooting with live ammo. Laser rifles shoot a laser light at a target from a short range, instead of a bullet from a longer range, and thus can be less intimidating for the beginner (and simpler and safer set up for a range.)
Courtesy Tahoe Cross Country
In recent years, Tahoe-Truckee area children have been lucky enough to have several after-school laser biathlon programs they can participate in from Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area’s Strider Glider program and Tahoe Donner Cross Country’s youth clinics. The Strider Gliders eight-week program is in its third year for third to fifth graders and costs $110 for the season (which also includes another day of skiing for each student in addition to the biathlon). The 31 available spots this year were snatched up quickly by an eager group of kids.
“The kids love it because they get to shoot at a target. Meanwhile, it makes them stronger skiers because the faster they ski around the course, the sooner they get another chance to get that rifle in their hands,” says Valli Murnane, director of the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Association, which runs the Strider Glider program.
“We’re excited to have been able to introduce kids to this Olympic sport here at Tahoe Donner with our new Junior Biathlon program,” says Sally Jones, Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Area manager.
Sally Jones | Tahoe Donner Cross Country
Tahoe Donner’s program was designed for eight weeks, costs $120 and includes second to eighth graders. Students are taught by Tom McElroy, a former Olympic biathlete.
Tahoe Donner Cross Country, in an effort to spread some of the fun to adults, also is conducting several laser biathlon on-snow clinics this winter for all ages, including one on March 16. The cost is $30 (plus a trail pass) and will include training on the use of the rifles and the rules of the rifle range. Once you’ve been trained, the fun begins with a chance to face the challenge of shooting followed by a fast-paced ski around a loop, hopefully with a minimum of penalty laps. It’s a great chance to get a quick introduction to the sport.
If after Tahoe Donner’s laser biathlon clinic you are excited enough to decide this is a sport for you, you can move on up to the Auburn Ski Club, one of the few places in the West with a full biathlon range. Murnane says that she’s seen the after-school biathlon classes become a “feeder program to encourage athletes to try out biathlon at Auburn Ski Club. Skills transfer well over to the 22-caliber rifles, we’ve had a number of kids from the laser program go to the Auburn Ski Club range and shoot five out of five right away.”
While the distance you are shooting is longer with the 22 caliber rifles, how you hold the rifle, how you stand, and how you breath during shooting remains the same.
Courtesy Tahoe Cross Country
Auburn Ski Club provides a variety of biathlon options and programs, including several youth clinics that were held in December. On March 29 and 30, Auburn Ski Club is holding a training session on Saturday, followed by the Chuck Lyda Memorial Biathlon Race the next day. In order to shoot on the range or participate in a race, the United States Biathlon Association requires a Red Book Certification for every racer. The process begins with a clinic, where you learn rifle safety and range practices, followed by the Red Book Certification Test, which once passed allows you to participate in races or use the range facilities during open range times.
Auburn Ski Club also provides season-long biathlon training programs for $350, which include coaching, trail passes, use of the range and ammunition.
Biathlon is one of the few sports that requires the mastery of two, seemingly opposite, skills. If you are anything like the kids in the youth programs though, it will come to you quickly. I mean, what could be finer then shooting and skiing?
For more information on local biathlon programs, visit tahoedonner.com, auburnskiclub.com or tahoexc.org.
