Alana Ottenbreit Alana Ottenbreit

QVN GoFundMe Campaign

As shooting ranges are being closed across Canada, Qu'Appelle Valley Nordic in Saskatchewan is a bright spot. We have worked hard to have the range certified for this initial season and have appreciated the generous support of key sponsors. However to continue development of the range, the facility, and the trails we seek your assistance to share our Go Fund Me initiative with members.

Attached is a link to the recently created campaign.

https://www.gofundme.com/ddjuz4vw

Thanks for your continued support.

Duane Rieger
Director, Qu'Appelle Valley Nordi

Read More
Alana Ottenbreit Alana Ottenbreit

Racing in the Cold

How To Survive Racing In The Cold

Racing in the cold is a huge challenge that biathletes from Saskatchewan must learn how to manage.

 Racing at -20 is Dangerous

One of the most dangerous situations that athletes often put themselves in is to race when the temperature goes below twenty. What can happen is the athlete will “burn” the top part of their lungs and destroy any chance of them ever becoming an elite performer. The lung damage is permanent and has ended countless careers.

 While is is possible to train in temperatures below minus twenty, training and racing are not the same. Athletes who are going full speed in zone 4 with maximum effort breathe in 68% more air than when they are in zone 1. The frigid air will freeze the tips of your lungs as hard as a piece of bacon that has been left outside for twenty minutes at -25.

 (Interestingly, the Norwegians never race at a temperature below -16.)

 How To Cope If It’s Colder Than -10

·        dress warmly, often two pairs of long johns and a vest help. Two or three pairs of socks are a must – prepare to sacrifice performance for comfort and understand that layers can always be shed if needed

 ·        wind briefs (underwear with windproofing sewn in the front) are a necessity

 ·        boot covers drastically help keep your toes warm, often used in warm-up or for much longer “loppet” style races

 ·        wear overmitts overtop of your shooting gloves. Only take your overmitts off to shoot. Often athletes will leave a hotshot in their mitt and some will even ski the first lap of a race with their overmitt on and discard it before the first prone shooting. (World Champion Jacob Fak lost a finger because he refused to follow this advice.

 ·        make sure your heart is pumping before you go outside. Warm up inside. Zero and go back inside. Be certain that the wax-room playlist is excellent.

 ·        change your dryfiring routine before zeroing to a maximum of five shots or none and be efficient, and consider only dryfiring standing. Athletes that freeze to the matt in zeroing always lose. Accept that your zero may be only 5 or 10 rounds and that you receive a correction after only two or three shots.

 ·        your coach may choose to have you confirm with a short, range loop right after you have zeroed. Then go inside and stay warm.

 ·        don’t forget to eat. You burn more calories in the cold and need to adjust accordingly.

 ·        wear a substantial buff made out of thick cloth (thick flannel or polar fleece) that covers your face. If the coach can see more than eyes, you are risking problems with frostbite. Vaseline and ducktape are for fools. Again, be prepared to sacrifice performance for not doing permanent damage to your face or lungs.  Skimpy nylon/lycra buffs are insufficient at warming enough air which is the main reason that spandex is not used in the making of traditional Inuit clothing.

 ·        make sure that your rifle is ‘clean as a whistle’. If there is too much buildup of residue it with effect bolting and accuracy.

 ·        and the most important rule – never eat yellow snow!

 The Saskatchewan Advantage

Often Saskatchewan athletes tend to deal with the cold better than athletes from warmer places. This is a competitive advantage and helps to balance the fact that we have to wax with Start Green for three quarters of the season. 

Read More
Biathlon Saskatchewan Biathlon Saskatchewan

Officials Development

Volunteers Officials are a very important part of hosting fun and safe races for all participants. Officials play many roles during a race.  Biathlon Saskatchewan supports Officials training.

Entry Level Official

To be licensed as an official, (parent volunteers are still encouraged to help out at races) there is a training program for introductory officials. The training program includes both the completion of modules offered on the internet and competition experience. 

You may study each of the modules on your own time at your own pace. A multiple-choice test follows each module. Competition experience can be gained through hosting a race at your own club and helping with races at other clubs. 

To be licensed as a biathlon official, you must complete at least five of the eight study modules and achieve satisfactory performance during competition in each of the five areas. 

Biathlon Saskatchewan encourages you to successfully complete all eight modules and related competition experience.  This will help you have the knowledge and skills needed to volunteer in any of the numerous, non-supervisory officiating positions at a biathlon competition.

The 8 modules are:

  • Course
  • Timing
  • Results
  • Start-Finish
  • Stadium-Support
  • Equipment Check
  • Penalty Loop
  • Range

Quick Facts about the Modules

  • Each module is a stand-alone qualification for work in a particular area.
  • The modules can be studied in any order.
  • You may take as much time as desired to complete each module, but it is expected the average time needed will be about 1 1/2 hours.

Competition Experience

After completing a module and test, you need to gain practical, competition experience in that particular area. You must serve as an official in each module study area for at least one full day of competition. For a weekend, two-day biathlon event, you may work each day in a different area to satisfy the requirements for competition experience in two modules. Your experience as an official in competition will be assessed by your Supervisor (Provincial Coach).

Getting Started

To access the Entry Level Officials Development Program, you require a username and password issued by Biathlon Canada. Please send the following information in an email titled “Officials Password” to aholmwood@biathloncanada.ca

  • Full Name
  • Address
  • City & Province
  • Postal Code
  • Email address
  • Club Name
  • Division Name

For More Information

http://biathloncanada.ca/sport-development/officials/entry-level-program/
 

Advanced Officials Development

To become an official that takes on one of the more important roles at a biathlon race such as Chief of Range, Chief of Course, Chief of Timing and Chief of Competition you must attend more in-depth training, which normally takes place over a weekend. 

To host a major race such as Nationals or Western Canadian Championships, these officials are required. Normally, a learning facilitator is brought in to give the weekend clinic with costs being covered by Biathlon Saskatchewan. To hold a clinic in your community, contact doug.sylvester@sasktel.net (Provincial Coach) for more information.

Read More