Antholz puts the cards on the table

By Luis Mahlknecht from Kranjska Gora

The most informative day at the conference in Slovenia was the one that dealt with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the biathlon organizers. Previously there had been the FIS day, where people were provided with a lot of information, but where there was also a lack of a clear strategy for the future. Be it cross-country skiing, Nordic combined or ski jumping, the motto seems to be to include as many competitions as possible in the program. This is evident in the jumpers, who are planning a World Cup from All Saints Day to mid-April, while the cross-country skiers seek salvation in planning the competitions for men and women according to identical kilometer numbers.

A special chapter here was the Nordic combined athletes, who were informed in the spring that women would not be admitted to the Olympics (despite all assurances about “gender equality”). Now they want to present the rapidly developing sport better, even if the (relevant) television times are quite poor, which also applies to women's ski jumping.

FIS Vice President Michel Vion offered a glimmer of hope for athletes from Russia and Belarus, who specifically said that athletes from these nations could be admitted again in the upcoming winter. Cross-country skiing in particular without Russians would otherwise be a model without value, in his opinion.

If the FIS day was sobering, the IBU was even more future-oriented the next day, where Christian Winkler, Daniel Böhm and Borut Nunar gave current information on developments in the biathlon sector. Here, too, there were new elections for the board, but in contrast to the FIS, everything took place without polemics and the board can now start its work without any worries. In addition to the personnel decisions (we will inform you about this at the appropriate time), there is also the new rule for 2022/23 that there will no longer be any discarded results in the World Cup and that the top 6 placements will be better rewarded. Antholz expects to spend 23 million euros In addition to the institutional information from the world association, Biathlon Day in Slovenia also featured the presentation of various organizers in the winter of 2022/22, including the World Championships in Oberhof (Germany) and the European Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). Here, representatives from Antholz also presented the work with a view to the 2026 Winter Olympics. The speakers placed the cards on the table very transparently. The new snowmaking system alone, including the water storage, costs 6,5 million euros (the water from Lake Antholz cannot be used), plus the renovations, which are largely necessary due to the requirements of the Olympic Committee (IOC), such as a weapons depot in the biathlon stadium. Everything would involve an expenditure of 23 million euros, almost 9% backed by public money. Erika Pallhuber also invited those interested to come to the “Open Day” in Antholz on October XNUMXth.

The Forum Nordicum 2022 was also dedicated to the preparations for the 2023 Nordic World Championships in Planica. In addition to the tour of the facilities in the Upper Carniola winter sports valley, the program also included plenty of information about the competitions in February 2023. The idea of starting the 50km cross-country skiing in Tarvisio (Italy) and crossing the border into Slovenia seems to have fallen through, but otherwise the anticipation in the north-western tip of the country is enormous.

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Antholz puts the cards on the table

Sports journalists from all over the world met for three days at the Forum Nordicum in Kranjska Gora (Slovenia). It was about developments in Nordic skiing in general - but also in detail about Antholz as an Olympic location and a major question of costs.

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