Midway, UT – This summer, U.S. Biathlon introduced its Regional Summer Championship Series, consisting of three race weekends spread across the contiguous United States in the west, midwest and eastern regions, providing athletes with additional domestic race opportunities at some of the top venues in the country.
“This pilot initiative was focused on increasing the number of biathlon racing opportunities for our membership and our developing athletes,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of Sport Development John Farra. “While winter is filled with biathlon and Nordic racing opportunities, especially for our youth, junior, and collegiate athletes, the summer provides a great opportunity to practice the sport we all love at some of our incredible venues. I am so pleased that so many of our U.S. Biathlon community came out to participate, coach, and volunteer to put these three awesome weekends on!”
Series racing kicked off in the west in Midway, UT at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center June 22-23. Consisting of a sprint and pursuit for six race categories, the weekend was highlighted by Tristan Thrasher of Team Altius grabbing the top spot in both elite men’s races, with National Guard Biathlon athlete Tara Geraghty-Moats bouncing back from her second place sprint finish to take the win in the elite women’s pursuit.
Ariens Nordic Center, an official U.S. Biathlon National Training Center, hosted the second race weekend of the series in Brillion, WI July 20-21, directly following their first ever biathlon high performance camp. Athletes had the opportunity to train with Olympian Paul Schommer during the camp, then got to compete against him during the individual and mass start races!
The series wrapped up in the east at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, VT August 2-4. In conjunction with both the U.S. Biathlon Summer National Championships and North American Championships. A highlight of the summer racing season, youth, junior, masters and young athletes had the opportunity to race the same course as some of the best senior athletes in the country, making for a fun, yet intense weekend of sprint, pursuit and mass starts.
Over the course of the three race weekends, the series saw a total of 400 starts between the six races, with athletes traveling from as far as Alaska to participate at these elite venues. Tara Geraghty-Moats, Vladislav Kaputsin and Eli Nielsen of the National Guard Biathlon team and Eric Anderson of Bluff Country Biathlon traveled to Midway, Brillion and Jericho this summer to race the full series.
“It was great to get to a bunch of different venues and meet a bunch of different people,” said Anderson. “I made connections at the different races and was really happy to get some more race experience throughout the summer. It definitely added value to the summer.”
Coming up, the U.S. Biathlon community heads back to Midway, UT and Soldier Hollow Nordic Center for its annual Fall Festival and International Team Trials October 3-5. Additionally, beginning this winter, youth and junior athletes will race their National Championships in conjunction with Youth & Junior Trials at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, Ariens Nordic Center will host masters athletes for the U.S. Biathlon Masters National Championships and NorAm Masters Championships and Crosscut Mountain Sports Center will host the entire U.S. Biathlon community in Bozeman, MT March 26-30 for the U.S. Biathlon Senior National Championship, Collegiate National Championship and Spring Festival. Click HERE for more information and the full domestic race schedule.