Biathlon in Switzerland

If you see the level and success of the neighbour states, but most of all Germany and France, you may ask what happens to Biathlon in Switzerland. After all Switzerland is 60% alpine and so has enough snow. Didn't Swiss alpine skiers enter the podiums for a lot of years ? Didn't reach the female relay in Salt Lake City a goodly 3rd place ?

But those results don't show the reality. Because actually the base is very tight : ski alpine is taught in elementary school, but cross-country remains an unknown world for the majority. An important factor, which is named by Jean-Pierre Egger, coach of Werner Günthör, for athletics, is also valid for Biathlon: "In the school gymnastics and athletics has to move away due to activities that have a more playing worth. New sports like Unihockey supervened. For years athletics was the base for P.E. and most of the teachers were somehow related to athletics or gymnastics. If they found a young talent, they said : Go on ! Young people normally do something where they're already good in." You can imagine the position if the cross-country that never got this effect.

Another problem is the Swiss attitude for sport on a high level. J.-P. Egger : "The lack of a high-performance sports culture is obvious : nearly no structure, no course of education that could ease a career as high-performance sportsmen. So far no one would reward that sport isn't only a leisure activity, but also can be a profession which contributes to the cultural wealth if a country. Guys, who jut out, are not popular here."

That's why the rare high-performance sportsmen of Switzerland are alone in fact, as you can guess by the sums, the state gives them. Biathlon that became shortly a part of SwissSki gets 350 000 Franken (about 231 000€), after it had big financial problems, the winter before. That's why the German Manfred Geyer could be hired as coach. A compensation of the athletes isn't possible. They have to go on in a job, mostly with a workload of 30%, like i.e. Simon Hallenbarter, who'll compete in World Cup the coming winter and is sold as sanitary plumber. Due to regional sponsors from the Urserental the athletes can at least live in immediate proximity to the training centre in Realp, where by the way the next CISM-Championships are hold, in free apartments.
Peter Regli, chief of Biathlon at SwissSki, praises as director of the army base Andermatt his employer. The army was and is a loyal partner of Biathlon. It gives a important structure.

But the limited means doesn't hinder the Swiss to play "the big European game" : they (Matthias Simmen, Roland Zwahlen, Simon Hallenbarter, Mario Denoth) competed i.e. at German championships in Altenberg or in the well-known training camp in the height of Bulgaria in Belmeken.
Next to the national pool SwissSki concentrates on the development of the base which is required so necessarily. For the beginning they try hard to establish the Swiss Cup that is played in six places. This summer was for the first time a Bike-Biathlon or the Kidz Trophy : Only in Realp competed 90 kids in the age 10 till 16. "As you can see Biathlon seems to be cool for the kids. Clubs that doesn't only offer cross-country, but Biathlon have the biggest growth-rates.", knows Birrer, chief of the competitions. That's why he also started a project for the base : a trailer with all needed stuff for Biathlon, inclusive a "shooting range". Clubs and organisations can get the vehicle and so arrange Biathlon competitions - in combination with inline-skates or roller ski also possible in the summer.

But that's not all : with the construction of a polysportive useful place, with 20 electronic targets (enlargeable to 30) and an international Biathlon stadium one hopes for the

charge of the IBU to organise European Championships. Next to the Gurnigel area (Bern), where already European Cup races are hold, are the regions of Goms (Wallis) and Lenzerheide (Graubünden) interested : SwissSki will choose the candidate in the spring of 2006.

Conclusion : In spite of a difficult beginning, the Swiss are willing to establish Biathlon and they are working careful to reach this aim. Besides they know how to make it popular.

Samuel Dougoud; Photos : swissski.com, biathlon-gurnigel.com

2005/2006

2006/2007