Biathalon?

[mokin]

Is anybody out there watching this event or following it? I'm wondering why th US seems to fare so poorly. For being a nation of gun lovers I don't think we've placed higher than 18th yet. Aren't there shooters who ski or skiers who shoot out there. My brother and I used to go out on cross country skis and "hunt" rabbits. Usually we never saw anything but had a good time shooting at chunks of ice floating in the river....

 

[Crashola]

That's a great question, and I wish I knew the answer to it.

It looks like a great spectator sport. If I'm ever fortunate enough to go to a winter olympics, I'll definitely look to get biathlon tickets. Those German fans look like they're having a blast. And what warm-blooded male wouldn't pass up a chance to watch Magdalena Neuner ski and shoot!

 

[gordy]

Yes I have been. The usa has never done well in this sport. Our guy did well in the 1500m mass start yesterday but had problems late with some misses. I think he ended 18th. out of 30
If our team finishes in the top 20 they are doing well. Russia won. the go to guy that always wins came in last this year. very much a euro sport.

 

[rmfnla]

As gordy says, biathalon is very much a "Euro sport," especially in Germany. They've been doing it for a long time so it's popular and gets alot of support.

They have lots of shooting games over there that we never see. I once watched a competition where they ricocheted the bullet off water to hit the target!

Of course, this is the country that combined soccer with cycling (radball) so anything is possible...

 

[youngda9]

Also because gun lovers are all beer bellied drunk rednecks. (sarcasm)

Cross country skiing and Biathalon is a euro sport. We don't find it very profitable in the US, hence our lack of involvement.

 

[MIgunguy]

Cross country skiing and Biathalon is a euro sport

Agreed. It's in their blood. One woman they mentioned last night was a cross country skier who "crossed over." I heard the same was true for most summer biathlon athletes (runners to take up shooting for a summer version of the game, as opposed to shooters who take up running (YUCK!)). I think that was briefly popular 15 or so years ago on a local level, but kind of fizzled out as far as I know.

 

[mp510]

Agreed. It's in their blood. One woman they mentioned last night was a cross country skier who "crossed over." I heard the same was true for most summer biathlon athletes (runners to take up shooting for a summer version of the game, as opposed to shooters who take up running (YUCK!)). I think that was briefly popular 15 or so years ago on a local level, but kind of fizzled out as far as I know.

It's a lot easier to learn how to shoot than to train yourself to be able to run. Additionally, while shooting can make or break biathalon competitions, to think that somebody who is not a (runner, skiier, cyclist, etc... depending on format) would win because of superior shooting ability--is misguided IMHO.

 

[mp510]

Cross country skiing and Biathalon is a euro sport. We don't find it very profitable in the US, hence our lack of involvement.

Our tastes are just different here. Over there, they are big into precision shooting. Here, bullseye and other precision shooting disciplines have lost favor to tacitcal/combat/practical shooting (IDPA, IPSC, 3-gun, SASS, etc...).

 

[Dookie]

being a nation of gun lovers and gun SHOOTERS is different. There may be the larges percentage of gun owners and guns on this continent but most don't care about any type of competition, and an even larger percentage never shoot except for hunting.

 

[d2wing]

Maybe it's too hard to do it while sitting in front of a tv playing videos games and eating chips.
I would like to see manufacturers of equipment and guns support teams
and tv shows about real shooting sports. All the outdoor channels want to show are corny staged animal shoots or trick shots. Or the latest tactical stuff to say nothing of boring fishing shows. While I'm at it, why don't they show biathlon instead of golf? It's beyond me why anyone would watch golf. It's boring to play and torture to watch. Just me I guess. I'd watch that German girl shoot all day. I wonder what she does in the summer?

 

[nelsonal]

I shot smallbore in college and our coach was good enough to be competitive to the national level. He mentioned that he'd looked into biathalon, and found that generally the rules of the game are such that most competitors are a step of olympic level cross country or distance running times which means it's easier to train runners/skiiers to shoot rather than shooters to run/ski. Most but not all of our distance runners/cross country skiiers are pretty granola and so guns aren't something they're comfortable with. Cut the size of the target from a silver dollar to a dime and the US would probably be more competitive.

 

[hammerklavier]

How about downhill skiing while shooting trap? We just might win that one.

 

[M67]

How about downhill skiing while shooting trap?

Your idea might have been considered innovative - if you lived in Norway 300 years ago.

Some of the first organized "biathlon" type competitions did involve shooting on the move although the target was stationary. The winner was whoever could make the best hit on a man-sized target at 50 paces, while skiing down a steep hill. With rather more primitive skis than today, and shooting flint locks.

 

[mokin]

Interesting replies so far. I've known that the sport is for Olympic class skiers and it is easier for a skier to learn to shoot than for a shooter to develop the ability to ski competitively. The comment that most skiers have at least some aversoin to guns was insightful. Having lived in and around ski towns for a long time now I very much agree with it. I also agree that cross country skiing isn't seen as very profitable. Most resorts treat thier nordic areas like red headed step children (no offense to any of you out there...). No expensive lift passes to sell. The image of most American shooters as being hunters or tatical competitors was another interesting insight (all that hunting and tacticool gear to buy).

I am now wondering, if an American was to win a medal, do any of you think it may spark enough interest in the sport to make it at least a little profitable, and hence attractive to a US population?

 

[GJgo]

We have some excellent cross country skiing trails in my neck of the woods, but after searcing I didn't find any groups (on the net anyway) that do any type of biathalon up there. I've been a few times and the skiing was a lot of work! I'd be more interested in going back if there was a marksmanship segment involved. I even went so far as to consider it, but between safety concerns (it's pretty flat up there) and the granola contingent I thought it might be a bad idea unless something was a little more officially organized. Too bad it isn't.

 

[~SG~]

being a nation of gun lovers and gun SHOOTERS is different. There may be the larges percentage of gun owners and guns on this continent but most don't care about any type of competition, and an even larger percentage never shoot except for hunting.

I can go you one better, I know a couple people that own multiple guns and don't even have ammo for them (scratches head, still ain't figured that one out)

I too watched that on the olympics and wondered why we weren't better at it. Anyone else notice the women had alot bigger target to hit and still missed? (embarassed blush)

 

[M67]

Anyone else notice the women had alot bigger target to hit and still missed? (embarassed blush)

They shoot at the same targets. Maybe you noticed the difference between the prone and the standing targets. Prone they have to hit the center part of the target (3 minutes of angle), when shooting standing the whole of the aiming black is the target (bit under 8 moa). No difference between men and women.

 

[~SG~]

They shoot at the same targets. Maybe you noticed the difference between the prone and the standing targets. Prone they have to hit the center part of the target (3 minutes of angle), when shooting standing the whole of the aiming black is the target (bit under 8 moa). No difference between men and women.

thanks for explaining the difference, I didn't know thats how it worked. With 3 kids running underfoot I can see the tv but hearing the announcers doesn't always happen. Now can you explain curling?? LOL JK