Shawn Robison Becomes Eighth U.S. Citizen to Earn IBU Technical Delegate License
by Sara Donatello
This past May, Shawn Robison became the eighth International Biathlon Union (IBU) technical delegate from the United States, joining U.S. Biathlon Director of Operations, Sara Studebaker-Hall, and Max Saenger as current active U.S. technical delegates in the IBU’s technical delegate group.
“I feel very humbled and honored to be a part of this distinguished group of officials, there is a long legacy of phenomenal people that have achieved this level before me and I feel very lucky to be a part of it,” said Robison.
Robison currently resides in Wales, Utah, where he recently retired from active duty with the Utah National Guard this spring. He began his biathlon journey back in the mid 1980’s at a pilot program sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. Following his graduation from high school, Robison took a hiatus from biathlon and enlisted in the military and eventually ended up in the Utah Army National Guard. He recalls avoiding biathlon with the Guard as he saw it as simply for the elite athletes, those able to race at the Olympic level. Though, after learning that all levels were invited to participate, Robison returned to biathlon in 2010 with the Utah National Guard Biathlon Team.
Robison raced biathlon domestically for a while, a frequent competitor at the National Guard Championships, as well as notably earning two bronze medals at U.S. National Championships. In November 2013, Robison traveled to Montana to attend an officials training course with Tracey Lamb, marking the beginning of his officiating journey.
Over the last decade, Robison has earned his Level 1 and Level 2 U.S. Biathlon officials licenses, beginning to take part in competitions from the officiating side, in addition to racing at the time. In 2019, Robison held the role of Assistant Chief of Range at the 2019 Soldier Hollow World Cup after earning his International Referee license with Studebaker-Hall, and others. He then went on to be Chief of Range at both the 2022 Youth and Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow and 2024 Soldier Hollow World Cup.
In January 2024, Robison submitted his technical delegate application to U.S. Biathlon, which was reviewed and approved before being passed on to the IBU. He was then vetted and approved by the IBU, having an initial oral interview, held virtually, in February 2024. Fast forward to May 2024, Robison was named one of ten selected to take the final technical delegate exam in Salzburg, Austria, which consisted of both a written and oral exam, and earned his license in late May 2024.
"A big congratulations to Shawn for earning his Technical Delegate license,” said U.S. Biathlon Director of Operations and IBU Technical Delegate Sara Studebaker-Hall. “I think this speaks to the increasing level of knowledge among our officials in the US. Between his achievement and mine two years ago, I think there's a whole new group of officials who see the path to IBU officiating and are now interested and working towards that. This only helps our events in the US get better, and I'm excited to continue growing and engaging this group."
Looking ahead, Robison is planning to be the Chief of Range for the U.S. Biathlon Fall Festival and International Team Trials in October, as well as Chief of Competition for the U.S. Biathlon Youth and Junior National Championships and Youth/Junior World Championships Trials in December, both events taking place at Soldier Hollow. Robison has submitted his availability to the IBU for international events and will likely take his knowledge and experience overseas in the near future.
