On Saturday 12 July, the first – and only – day of the 2014 Trans Tasman Biathlon Challenge was held at Wanaka, New Zealand, between Australian Biathlon (AB) and New Zealand Biathlon (NZB).
Up to the Thursday beforehand, snow conditions had been very good to excellent. This had allowed a week of on-snow training, and in particular, co-operation between AUS and NZ, in conjunction with an assessment by International Biathlon Union Expert, Ubaldo Prucker.
From Thursday 10 July, there was consistent rain, which did not stop until late Friday night. Unfortunately, this reduced the snow cover on all trails. In addition, the warm temperatures left the remaining snow soft and unable to be groomed or even walked on; Snow Farm closed the trail system for the day on the Friday.
AB and NZB decided that Plan B would be a shooting and running biathlon event as a farm at the base of Snow Farm Mountain.
“TTBT 2014 Plan B” went very well.
On Friday night, NZB coach Doug Wester worked with Australian Biathlon’s Vice-President John Mahon to work out suitable age groups and Webscorer timing system entry.
On Saturday, Coach Prucker and AB National Coaching Cooordinator Barry Field worked with Doug, Grant Cagney (Vice-President of Wanaka Biathlon Club) and others to establish a 50 metre range. The event was run with a modified run/shoot race format, in two groups. John Mahon managed Webscorer, in conjunction with several NZB folk. Fifteen excited kids took part, running along the gravel road, jumping over puddles and shooting at the improvised range. Great fun!
After the races, a competitors had hearty NZ morning tea, kindly supplied by Daphne Morshuis.
Perhaps the most fun part of the day was just after everyone had started the drive home, pushing a bogged New Zealand competitor, Tristan, out of the farm gravel on the way back to Snow Farm.
Final results:
AUS 3 Gold NZ 2 Gold
NZ 4 Silver AUS 0 Silver
AUS 2 Bronze NZ 1 Bronze
On Saturday 12 July, the first – and only – day of the 2014 Trans Tasman Biathlon Chllenge was held near Snow Farm, New Zealand.
Up to the Thursday beforehand, snow conditions had been very good to excellent. This had allowed a week of on-snow training, and in particular, co-operation between AUS and NZ, in conjunction with an assessment by IBU Expert Ubaldo Prucker.
From Thursday 10 July, there was consistent rain, which did not stop until late Friday night. Unfortunately, this reduced the snow cover on all trails. In addition, the warm temperatures left the remaining snow soft and unable to be groomed or even walked on; Snow Farm closed the trail system for the day on the Friday.
NZ Biathlon and AUS Biathlon decided that Plan B would be a shooting and running biathlon event as a farm at the base of Snow Farm Mountain.
TTT Plan B went very well.
On Friday night, NZB coach Doug Wester worked with AB’s J Mahon to work out suitable age groups and Webscorer entry. AB Race Secretary Phil Colebourn provided Skype assistance.
On Saturday, Coach Prucker and AB National Coaching Cooordinator Barry Field worked with D Wester, Grant Cagney (V-P of Wanaka Biathlon Club) and others to establish a 50 metre range. The event was run with a modified run/shoot race format, in two groups. J Mahon managed the Webscorer timing system, in conjunction with several NZB folk. Fifteen excited kids took part, running along the gravel road, jumping over puddles and shooting at the improvised range. Great fun! Perhaps the most fun part was pushing a bogged competitor, Tristan, out of the farm gravel on the way back to Snow Farm.
Final results:
AUS 3 Gold NZ 2 Gold
NZ 4 Silver AUS 0 Silver
AUS 2 Bronze NZ 1 Bronze
Tagged: Australia, Australian Biathlon, australian olympic committee, Australian Sports Foundation, cross country ski trails, Cross-country skiing, crosstraining, fun, inspire, New Zealand, New Zealand Biathlon, news, Olympic sports, Ski, Skiing, snow, Snow Farm, sport, Sports, Trans Tasman Biathlon Challenge, Trans-Tasman, Wanaka New Zealand, Webscorer, Winter Sports
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