Bring on the Mammoth Winter Biathlon
The Mammoth Winter Biathlon – America’s largest biathlon – is near.
Registration is open until Tuesday, March 18 at 11:59 p.m., so there is still time to register for one of the five race categories. Athletes of all abilities, including juniors and beginners, are highly encouraged to sign up! If you don’t want to race, the sign up to be a volunteer.
The Mammoth Winter Biathlon takes place in partnership with the Eastern Sierra Nordic Ski Association, from Friday, March 22 to Sunday, March 24 and includes a day of shooting and instructional clinics at Snowcreek Athletic Club and Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center, and two days of racing on the exclusive back side of Mammoth Mountain.
Categories of the Mammoth Winter Biathlon include: Youth Race Groups; Disabled/Wounded Warrior Medal Categories; Beginner Adults; Master’s; and Elite Adults, which include guest racers from the U.S. National Biathlon Team. The courses range between 3 kilometers and 7.5 kilometers in length, with shooting distances ranging between 25 and 50 meters.
“We started the Mammoth Biathlon as a grassroots movement to generate excitement about Nordic sports. Biathlon is the most watched European winter sport, but North Americans are just beginning to catch on,” said Dr. Mike Karch, Race Director and Founder of the Mammoth Winter Biathlon. “ We also wanted to attract our youth to Biathlon and potentially build a pipeline for our National Cross Country and Biathlon teams.”
Partners of the event include Ford, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (who is also providing improved shuttle service for spectators by means of their snowcats), Tamarack Cross Country Ski Center, ACI Jet Solutions, Mammoth Radiology Associates, Eastern Sierra Armory, and Mammoth Times. The Mammoth Lakes Police Department, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, and the U.S. Forest Service also provide special assistance.
More information about the race, the clinics, registering, volunteering, or sponsorship can be found at www.mammothbiathlon.org. You can also join the Mammoth Biathlon community on its Facebook page.
Ski Fast, Shoot Straight!
(Submitted photos)
