Biathlon 2018 - 2019 Discussion Thread

[heywoodu 16,142]

Netherlands is alive and at the IBU Junior Cup with two guys 

 

[Werloc 3,191]

2 hours ago, heywoodu said:

Netherlands is alive and at the IBU Junior Cup with two guys 

 

Honestly, I can't express how happy I am. I have this looming feeling that biathlon is dying a bit, so any new nation to join in on the game makes me extremely excited.

[Werloc 3,191]

Interesting how Norway and Sweden are not in this one... United States, Bulgaria missing out too.

 

On the other side, it's nice to see Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia trying to improve themselves. There's a lot of space to follow the example of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia.

 

As for the disappointment section, Denmark and Iceland would come to mind, you'd think they would like to get involved in a sport like this. Would be interesting to see some new Asian representation and South America, but that's a tough ask.

[heywoodu 16,142]

1 hour ago, Werloc said:

Honestly, I can't express how happy I am. I have this looming feeling that biathlon is dying a bit, so any new nation to join in on the game makes me extremely excited.

They are 15 and 16 years old, so that's good. Also, they are living (and I think raised in) Norway and Austria respectively, which means they can train with a lot stronger people than they otherwise could  

[heywoodu 16,142]

51 minutes ago, Werloc said:

Would be interesting to see some new Asian representation and South America, but that's a tough ask.

You haven't noticed that IBU Cups in the past 2 years are filled with Brazilians? Three women and two or three men competing in them, with a couple of guys in the Junior Cup as well (and there's a bunch of teenage guys and girls starting to get more and more active on the snow - XC skiing - who might very well be given a chance in IBU competition in the next few years). 

 

There's a few young Argentinian girls too and behind Claudia Salcedo and Juan Agurto I believe even Chile has some young athletes (who are still rather far away from Brazil's level, but alright).

[Werloc 3,191]

7 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

You haven't noticed that IBU Cups in the past 2 years are filled with Brazilians? Three women and two or three men competing in them, with a couple of guys in the Junior Cup as well (and there's a bunch of teenage guys and girls starting to get more and more active on the snow - XC skiing - who might very well be given a chance in IBU competition in the next few years). 

 

There's a few young Argentinian girls too and behind Claudia Salcedo and Juan Agurto I believe even Chile has some young athletes (who are still rather far away from Brazil's level, but alright).

I was talking about new representation. I know Brazil is in it and there's Chile + Argentina from time to time, but I'd like them getting a bit more invested.

[heywoodu 16,142]

1 minute ago, Werloc said:

I was talking about new representation. I know Brazil is in it and there's Chile + Argentina from time to time, but I'd like them getting a bit more invested.

New representation in terms of athletes has been happening for a few years and continues to happen, new representation in terms of even more countries is harder. I can't really remember hearing about other nations than BRA, ARG and CHI in the IBU Development camps in places like Termas de Chillan and Bariloche, maybe one Ecuadorian but I'm not sure.

[Werloc 3,191]

1 minute ago, heywoodu said:

New representation in terms of athletes has been happening for a few years and continues to happen, new representation in terms of even more countries is harder. I can't really remember hearing about other nations than BRA, ARG and CHI in the IBU Development camps in places like Termas de Chillan and Bariloche, maybe one Ecuadorian but I'm not sure.

Yeah, it's a bit disappointing, because it's unlikely to change since Europe is the centre for all of this, so the new representation from other continents can come only from those that can economically handle it.

 

A good example is Asia with South Korea, China, Japan and Kazakhstan. It is hard to imagine another country that could join in on the winter sport action. Philippines? Thailand? India? Well, India tried a few times, would be nice if they continued trying, but I guess it's not easy to motivate yourself losing 10 minutes on the snow

[heywoodu 16,142]

1 minute ago, Werloc said:

Yeah, it's a bit disappointing, because it's unlikely to change since Europe is the centre for all of this, so the new representation from other continents can come only from those that can economically handle it.

 

A good example is Asia with South Korea, China, Japan and Kazakhstan. It is hard to imagine another country that could join in on the winter sport action. Philippines? Thailand? India? Well, India tried a few times, would be nice if they continued trying, but I guess it's not easy to motivate yourself losing 10 minutes on the snow

Kyrgyzstan is in  

 

And as for South America: it's mostly also a matter of snow (and venues) being available, which is the case for Chile and Argentina. Brazil has a few oldies (far in their 30's or older) and almost every single young athlete is thanks to Leandro Ribela's 'Ski na Rua' project, which has grown from a handful of kids from São Paulo's favelas to a huge project. Anyway, for a continent like South America I honestly think having three nations represented is really not bad or disappointing.

[Werloc 3,191]

10 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Kyrgyzstan is in  

 

And as for South America: it's mostly also a matter of snow (and venues) being available, which is the case for Chile and Argentina. Brazil has a few oldies (far in their 30's or older) and almost every single young athlete is thanks to Leandro Ribela's 'Ski na Rua' project, which has grown from a handful of kids from São Paulo's favelas to a huge project. Anyway, for a continent like South America I honestly think having three nations represented is really not bad or disappointing.

This whole Biathlon thing is starting to feel like TISC when we scramble to find new representation