Ever since Kati Wilhelm won double gold at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, biathlon has been one of the top sports in terms of TV viewing figures. No less exciting, but largely unknown, are the summer versions of this attractive sport. At SV 1874 Laubach e. V., around 40 athletes take part in the version that combines cross-country skiing and shooting. This also includes 30 junior biathletes aged between 5 and 18.
Sufficient training space is needed for these young athletes. Club members and parents therefore invested many hours in building a new air rifle shooting range to enable the children to train properly again. Only the mats for prone shooting were still missing. "Fortunately, we became aware of the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign organised by Stadtwerke Gießen," recalls Andreas Tempelfeld, summer biathlon instructor and youth coach at SV 1874 Laubach. Consequently, he applied with his unusual request on the website swg-spieldeinspiel.de, which was set up especially for the campaign.
Promoting fringe sports too
"SV 1874 Laubach has been known for its excellent youth work for years," says Stephanie Orlik, who is responsible for sponsorship at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). In fact, the traditional club can boast numerous successes - four German championship titles, two runner-up titles and a bronze medal made this year's German junior championships the most successful in the club's history. "Even in sports that are less in the limelight, coaches like those here in Laubach do a great job. And we are happy to support them," says Stephanie Orlik, explaining SWG's commitment and presenting eight mats for the new shooting range during the training session.
These will now not only benefit Andreas Tempelfeld's protégés. Equipped in this way, the facility also fulfils the requirements as a competition venue. "We would like to organise Hessen Cups, Hessen Championships and squad training sessions for Hessian summer biathletes here in the future. This is now possible thanks to the new mats," says the passionate marksman. There are plans to organise the Hessian Target Sprint Championships in Laubach in 2019.
Keyword shooter: The version of the summer biathlon consisting of cross-country skiing and shooting is organised under the umbrella of the German Shooting Association. The version with roller skis is organised by the German Ski Association. Two further differences: biathletes who are on roller skis carry their weapon on their back like their colleagues on the cross-country ski trail. In the cross-country version, the rifles remain in the shooting range. There are also two different types of weapon in the summer biathlon - air rifle and small-calibre rifle.