International Team Selection Criteria#

Women & Men

Team Size: 5 per gender

●      3 athletes with the highest overall WC ranking following WC 6 (Antholz) will be named. If fewer than three athletes have points, then all athletes with points will qualify, and the single best personal WC placing in the current season will be used until a team size of 3 athletes per gender is reached. Ties will be resolved by second best personal WC placing.

●      The fourth spot in each gender will be awarded to the athlete with the most IBU Cup points earned at the OECH.

●      be named by the ICC after the conclusion of OECH, in consultation with US Biathlon staff, in accordance with the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection.will1 additional athlete of each gender

●      NOTE: In the event that the team size exceeds the number of starts quotas, the head coaches will decide which athletes race by evaluating the performance capabilities of each athlete at that time.

World Cups 7 -8

               WC 7 in Nove Mesto, CZE: Feb. 27 – Mar. 5, 2023

            WC 8 in Oestersund, SWE: Mar. 6-12, 2023

Women & Men

Team Size: 4 per gender

●      All athletes who are ranked in the top-50 overall World Cup following WCH’s will be named in rank order until a maximum team size of 3 per gender is reached.

●      Remaining start spots will be named by the ICC in consultation with US Biathlon High Performance Staff, in accordance with the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection, until a team size of 4 per gender is reached.    

IBU Cups 7-8

IBU Cups 7, Canmore, CAN: Feb. 22-26, 2023

               IBU Cup 8, Canmore, CAN: Feb. 27 – Mar. 4, 2023

Women & Men

Team Size: 4 per gender

●      Any athletes that attended World Championships but are not qualified for World Cups 7-8.

●      If fewer than two athletes have qualified through the above criteria, the top athletes by IBU Cup Points at the conclusion of IBU Cup 6 will be named until a team size of 2 per gender is reached.

●      The top athletes by IBU Cup Points at the conclusion of IBU Cup 6 will qualify until a team size of 3 per gender is reached.

●      1 additional athlete per gender will be named by the ICC in consultation with US Biathlon High Performance Staff, in accordance with the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection.

World Cup 9

Held in Oslo, NOR: Mar. 13-19, 2023

Women & Men

Team Size: 4 per gender

●      All athletes who are ranked in the top-50 overall World Cup following WC 8 will be named in rank order until the maximum team size of 3 per gender is reached.

●      Remaining start spots will be named by the ICC in consultation with US Biathlon High Performance Staff, in accordance with the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection, until the maximum team size of 4 per gender is reached. 

Appendix A: Policies & Rules

1.  USBA Percent-Back System

An athlete’s percent-back in a race is calculated using the following formula:

Athlete’s Percent-Back = 2 – (Athlete’s time / Average time of the top three finishers scored)

If there are only two finishers that can be scored, the average of their times shall be used as the denominator in the formula above.  If only one finisher can be scored, that athletes shall receive a percent-back of 100%.

2.  Movement between World Cup & IBU Cup

use the following guidelines to recommend to the ICC that athletes from the IBU Cup move to the World Cup, and vice versa:mayThe National Team coaching staff

1.     Athletes achieving top results on the IBU Cup may be moved up to the World Cup provided there are open start positions.

2.     be brought down to the IBU Cup at any time or released from the World Cup Team.mayAthletes placing outside the top-40 in individual starts on the World Cup

3.     Athletes who have been injured or sick for lengthy periods of time may be released from the team or brought to a different competition level.

In addition, IBU Cup athletes will be considered to fill World Cup relay teams when: there are not enough World Cup athletes to fill the team, the logistics of getting an athlete to the event can be managed without excessive costs, and the coaching staff sees the need and/or benefit of having a relay team compete.

3.  USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection

The purpose of a discretionary choice is to ensure selection of the most competitive team.  Creating watertight, finite criteria for discretionary choices is impossible, since by their very nature they are meant to account for the unanticipated circumstances, which inevitably elude the principles of objective criteria. Based on the context of the situation, the ICC will select the athlete(s) that has the best chance of producing the best result based on the following factors. Note: This list is not in any order of priority:

o  
History of performance in a specific competition type (e.g., Relay or Individual) over the current and previous two competitive seasons

o   Recent improvements in results or performance parameters such as ski speed and shooting performance (both in training and competition)

o   Recent positive trend of competition results or performance parameters, such as ski speed and shooting, indicating a potential for Olympic success.  This includes indication of medal potential in future Olympic or World Championship competition that would be materially enhanced by selection to the Team.

o   Performance/participation in the qualification process effected by illness or injury as confirmed by USBA

o   Ability to effectively contribute to a relay 

If an athlete declines or is unable to attend the competition(s) for which (s)he has qualified, the ICC will rely upon the above Principles of Discretionary Selection to fill the spot. The ICC also reserves the right to not fill the vacated spot.

4.  Contingency Procedures for Trials Events

In the event that weather conditions or other issues prevent a trials series from being held at the planned time and place, the ICC reserves the right to change the location, date, and/or format of the trials series. In the event that one or more events are canceled, cannot be held, or are in the view of the ICC held under grossly unfair conditions and not rescheduled by the ICC, the following contingencies may be applied by the ICC:

1.     If more than three races are used in the selection process the following may be applied by the ICC:

a)     If four races are held the best three of four will be scored

b)     If three races are held the best two of three will be scored.

2.     If only two races of a three race series are held and at least two athletes are being selected the following may be used:

a)     If one race of a three race series is canceled or in the view of the ICC held under grossly unfair conditions and not rescheduled, the winners of each of the races held shall be named to the team and any additional athletes may be named discretionarily by the ICC using the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection.

b)     If one or no races are held the ICC reserves the right to name the team by discretion and/or to create a new trials process for team selection.

3.     If only one athlete is being selected from a three race series and one or more of the races are canceled or in the view of the ICC held under grossly unfair conditions and not rescheduled by the ICC, the ICC may name the athlete at its discretion using the USBA Principles of Discretionary Selection.

5.Non-Endorsed Participation in International Events

If any athlete desires to race at an International IBU event which has not been officially represented in the criteria, the athlete must petition the ICC and gain approval before allowed to compete there. 

6.  IBU Performance Standards for Starting at the World Championships and World Cup

Quoted from the current IBU Event & Competition Rules at time of approval:

1.5.3.2 World Championships (WCH)As the minimum qualification requirement to compete in WCH events a competitor must have 180 IBU qualifying points or less at the end of the last trimester before the WCH, or fulfill one of the following criteria during the current or previous season:

a. Compete in at least one competition earning 150 IBU qualifying points or less at an IBU Cup, OECH, WC or OWG in the Sprint or Individual, or

b. One finish in the top half at the JWCH (not Youth).

All members of Relay teams must also have met this individual qualification requirement.

1.5.3.3 World Cup (WC)The World Cup season consists of three trimesters generally made up of three WC events each, usually WC 1-3, WC 4-6 and WC 7-9. As the minimum qualification requirement to compete in WC events, a competitor must have 150 IBU qualifying points or less at the end of the last trimester, or fulfil one of the following criteria:

a. Compete in at least one competition earning 125 IBU qualifying points or less at an IBU Cup, OECH, WCH or OWG in the Sprint or Individual during the current or preceding trimester; or

b. One finish in the top half at the most recent JWCH (not Youth).

All members of Relay teams must also have met this individual qualification requirement.

7. Athlete Co-Pay Policy

US Biathlon will cover joint expenses of events as well as the individual travel expenses of athletes except as noted in the selection criteria above or stated in other documents provided to athlete contending for the team. For athletes who are selected to teams on a co-pay basis, US Biathlon has the following policies depending upon the nature of the event:

●      For athletes who are bearing their own individual travel expenses, athletes may be billed for their prorated share of lodging, food, and transportation. Where possible, athletes may pay their shares directly to the vendor, in which case athletes should keep copies of all receipts. In many cases, athletes may be expected to book and pay upfront for their own air transportation. Participation grant money from the IBU for competitions where athletes only bear their own expenses will be used by US Biathlon to pay for joint expenses and organizational overhead, and not paid or shared with athletes.

●      For athletes who are also required to share in the joint costs of staffing the event, the travel expenses, material costs, and any prorated contract labor payments of coaching and service support will be aggregated as the total joint cost, and then divided equally among athletes attending to pay. For such trips, participation grant money from the IBU will be split evenly among athletes to help them offset these joint costs.

●      A separate scholarship fund, the Need-Based Athlete Support Fund, will be available to athletes that incur co-pay expenses for USBA trips.  Scholarship funds will be disbursed to athletes to help defer some or all travel and co-pay costs.  ICC will review scholarship applications and funds will be dispersed according to the ICC’s recommendation.  In order to qualify, each athlete will be required to apply for specific funding periods and satisfy a set of specific criteria.

US Biathlon will provide estimates of co-pay expenses in advance for the events described in this document to help athletes budget accordingly.

8.  USBA International Competition Committee (ICC)

ICC Members are:

Chair: Jay T. Kearney

USOC Athletes’ Advisory Council Athlete Rep: Kelly Kjorlien

US Biathlon High Performance Director: Lowell Bailey

National Guard Biathlon Coach: Drew Gelinas

US Biathlon National Team Head Coach Women: Armin Auchentaller (for WC/IBU Cup and OWGs/WCHs/OECHs team naming)

US Biathlon Junior National Team Coach: Tim Burke (for Junior IBU Cup/YJWCHs team naming)