RobtheAggie

Not sure if this really answers your question. I think the IBU treats this as the IBU Cup World Champs. If you can qualify for an IBU Cup start, you can qualify for a OECH start.

Idre start list includes lots of Swedes plus the following nations: Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Belgium and France. startlista_kortdistans.pdf

Add Tandrevold to the list of top Norwegian women who will miss the race is Sjusjeon. She does plan on being in Finland.

Full weekend schedule: Idre Saturday 12 November 10h : 15km men 12h10 : 12.5km women Sunday 13 November 10h : Men's sprint 11h50 : Women's sprint ... Sjusjoen (Norvège) Saturday 12 November 11h40 : Women's sprint 13h55 : Men's Sprint Sunday 13 November 10h45 : Men's Mass start 12h30 : Women's Mass start

Yay!

So lots of Norwegians, a few Poles, Greenlanders, Danish youth who are with Norwegian clubs, one French, one Belgian, and more Norwegians. I am looking forward to it.

So Sjusjøen is back on the schedule. "In collaboration with the Norwegian Ski Association, the Olympic Park and Ringsaker Almenning, we have decided that the best thing is to organize the start of the season at Natrudstilen as originally planned. There will be short runs in both places, and equally tough conditions. This solution takes the total into account the most, says general secretary Morten Djupvik of the Norwegian Biathlon Union in a press release. Challenges with snow production led to the start of the season being moved to the Birkebeiner Ski Stadium in Lillehammer, but on Sunday the counter-notification came that it will still start at Sjusjøen as normal. https://www.nrk.no/sport/1.16167939" The French team has arrived in Sweden, the Czech team in Norway to participate.

You could kind of see this coming if you had paid attention to her social media platforms. She has not been near as active this year as in the past. I hope that whatever is the issue, she will be able to recover, and if she wishes, return to competition.

Both Kristina Reztsova and Uliana Nigmatullina will both miss this season of the Russian Cup as they are both expecting babies.

Races on snow this month! Canadian trials on snow today. Hello, from the new Lake Placid facility that will host the World University Games. The picture was from this weekend.

That is a big difference. Normally Sjusjeon has lots of snow. The races in Idre and Sjusjeon are always funs ones to watch to wet the appetite for the upcoming season.

Mari Eder will be back this season. Marte Olsbu Roeisland looks to miss the first stop in Finland and really seems to be struggling deciding to continue or not. Silvert Guttorm Bakken will miss the first three stops due to heart issues. Looks like Dale will get his spot.

For those who care, the Alpine Cup Schedule is out. 17-18 December - Ruhpolding - Sprint on both days 7-8 January - Lenzerheide - Sprint, Pursuit 11-12 February - Ridnaun-Val Ridanna - Sprint, Short Individual 17-19 March - Pokjuka - Sprint, Pursuit, Short Individual France has announced they will not be sending any biathletes to these events this year. I think they are looking to strengthen their domestic race series.

Swede National Champion -Cordelia Melen Olsson - who has not competed in an IBU event since 17/18, has been banned for two years.

US Rosters are out: Pre-World Cup Camp in Vuokatti, Finland: Men's Team Jake Brown (Saint Paul, Minn./Craftsbury Green Racing Project & USBA) Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) Paul Schommer (Appleton, Wis./Team Crosscut & USBA) Vaclav Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn./National Guard Biathlon & USBA) Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, Utah/Team Crosscut & USBA). Brown, Schommer and Doherty are in the World Cup roster. Last spot is up for grabs. Women's Team Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, Wis./National Guard Biathlon Team & USBA) Joanne Reid (Grand Junction, Colo.) Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt./USBA) Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash./Craftsbury Green Racing Project) Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, Vt./Craftsbury Green Racing Team), Irwin is pre-qualified for the World Cup Roster. IBU Cup Rosters Sjusjoen, Norway (Nov. 24-27) Amanda Kautzer (Plymouth, Minn./Team Crosscut) Mikayla Meier (Bozeman, Mont.) Jacqueline Garso (Lake Clear, N.Y.) Maxime Germain (Anchorage, Alaska/National Guard Biathlon) Eli Nielsen (Stehekin, Wash./Crosscut Biathlon) Nikolas Burkart (Olympic Valley, Calif./Team Crosscut) They will be joined by one man and one woman selected from the Pre-World Cup Camp in Vuokatti, essentially the one who is not chosen for the World Cup. Idre, Sweden (Nov. 30-Dec. 3) Only addition, Ariana Woods (Bozeman, Mont./Crosscut Mountain Sports Center) will join on the women's side.

Kazakhstan seems to be going all in on biathlon. They are hosting the World Youth/Juniors this season. They have also announced a new biathlon and nordic skiing training center at Zhetysu.

French Summer Biathlon Championships: Women's Sprint: Men's Sprint:

She started in ski jumping, hurt herself in her teens. Switched to biathlon and did quite well at the youth level. Switched back to jumping, joined nordic combined, did very well, and then switched back to biathlon last season. Lots of her frustration with Nordic Combined dealt with the way the IOC treaded the women in Nordic Combined. She should be on the IBU Cup this season for the US. US Schutzenski Mass Starts Full results here.

Full Sprint results here for the Schutzenski Festival at Soldier Hollow, UT. Looks like Campbell Wright of NZ enjoyed the Junior WC so much that he is back! Also good to see Geraghty-Moats shoot well.

More from Russia - The head of the Transbaikal Biathlon Federation will sue the regional sports minister for suspending the activities of the organization

US Schutzenski Festival starts today in Soldier Hollow. Sprint today, Mass-Start tomorrow.

Here is a little more info about the Polish situation. Also, there is some more info on the RBU election. Article 1 - "The head of the Biathlon Federation of Transbaikalia says that Tikhonov persuaded him to vote for Maigurov" Article 2 - "Transbaikalia sports minister denied accusations of pressure on local biathlon federation and orders to vote for Maigurov" Article 3 - "The accreditation of the regional biathlon federation was suspended in Transbaikalia"

Got it, thanks for the explanation. It sounds like a systemic issue, and those are really hard to change.