– I took the floor and said that I perhaps thought that the reason for the changes in the starting order did not quite measure up, says Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen. He is talking about a Teams meeting that recently took place between the Norwegian national biathlon team and two key figures in the International Biathlon Union (IBU): general secretary Max Cobb and sports director Daniel Böhm. The topic was the new start system that the IBU wants to introduce in races with individual starts (sprint and normal) this coming winter. In the proposal that was sent out in July, and to which news has gained access, it appears that the IBU wants to continue the practice with four starting groups. The big change is that the best no longer get to choose which starting group they will be in. CRITICAL: Sports manager Per Arne Botnan. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB The biggest stars have traditionally chosen to go in group one. – Mostly because conditions are often better earlier. But it is also about opportunities for warming up, explains sports manager Per Arne Botnan in the Norwegian Ski Association. In the new system, the first pool will be reserved for runners from 31st place onwards in the World Cup. – Bad argument The runners from 16th to 30th place in the cup will go in group two, while the very best will go in group three – before the weakest come to the very end, in group four. The main argument for the change is to preserve the tension for longer, so that the TV rights holders can keep the viewers longer. Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and other top runners are therefore very critical of that. – We were a little unsure whether a viewer who turned on biathlon and didn’t see any of the best from the start, would bother to sit and watch all the way to starting numbers 60-70-80 before the leader of the World Cup started. At least we hadn’t. Then we quickly switched to a new channel or something new. So we think that was a bit of a bad argument, he says to news. WANT TO PREVENT: During the World Cup sprint in Nove Mesto in 2023, Johannes Thingnes Bø won clearly with starting number two. Photo: AP IBU does not want to be interviewed by news because there is no final decision, see their written response at the bottom of the file. Christiansen says that the Norwegian athletes at the meeting with the IBU drew a parallel to the speed disciplines in alpine skiing, where the best start first. – The TV broadcast is cut after the first thirty. We know there are 30-40-50 good athletes at the start. Sometimes there are surprises. Then you might accept reading on the news afterwards that a surprise came in and beat Kilde and won, or got on the podium. – I assume that you got the answer that in slalom and giant slalom, the best after the first round starts as number 30 in run-up courses in the final round? – Yes, yes. We had it served straight to the plate when we mentioned alpine. But then the very best start, very first in the first half, so it is perhaps a compromise they make, says Christiansen. CLEAR SPEECH: Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen believes it should pay to be the best. Photo: Nordic Focus/Bildbyrån news’s expert, Ola Lunde, on the other hand, is positive about the proposed change. – Until now, the races have mostly been decided for start number 30-40 and this has meant that interest in the broadcasts has drastically decreased after the best have crossed the finish line. This will make biathlon even more viewer-friendly, Lunde points out. – What we fear When the athletes protest, however, it is about more than disagreement about what it takes to attract TV viewers. – It is primarily problematic because year after year there is less and less snow. It is becoming more and more difficult to create equal relationships, he says. And continues with a rhetorical question: – Should top sports be set up so that the best do not get the best conditions or the best conditions? After all, top sport and sport depends on everyone being able to utilize their maximum potential, and on the best showing their very best side in battle against each other. – Will it be more difficult to set up the top ten tip if a new starting system is introduced? – That is a good question. – Is that what you fear? – That is what we fear. But personally, I think it will be much the same. There will not be any particular changes. Lunde agrees with that. – The best will probably still be the best anyway, and we have seen winning races with start number 50 and later several times, although in some races it can be an advantage to go early, says news’s expert. POSITIVE: Ola Lunde believes the new starting system will make biathlon even more public-friendly. Photo: Anders Boine Verstad / news Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen says that one of the athletes’ counterarguments is also that they get less time to spend on interviews after the races if they finish later. They instead launched other proposals on how to capture the TV viewers. – It is to introduce a little more show-pregnant races, and a few more races where it might be decided on the shooting range, in any case if they are afraid of Norwegian dominance in the future. Because we are not terribly much better at shooting than the other nations, he says. Signature campaign According to Christiansen, Norwegian top runners are far from alone in this position. He claims they have support from France, Germany and Sweden. Christiansen also says that the athletes’ committee, which includes Swedish Sebastian Samuelsson, has started a signature campaign among the active players to stop the new starting system. TAUS: Sebastian Samuelsson does not want to be interviewed by news. Photo: Johan Axelsson / BILDBYRÅN – So it is not a survey that has been sent out about what people think, but a signature campaign to stop the proposal? – Yes, there was no alternative there. Then it was to sign or not, says Christiansen. news has been in contact with Samuelsson and asked for an interview about IBU’s proposal and the ongoing signature campaign. The Swedish athlete representative replies that he does not wish to be interviewed now, but gives the following written comment: “The athlete committee has a dialogue with the IBU and hopes that we can find a solution that both active members, the IBU and TV will be satisfied with. The most important thing for us is to represent the active.” Hoping for a “livable and fair” solution news has therefore also spoken to sports director Daniel Böhm in the IBU about the new proposal and the criticism. He also does not want to be interviewed, but the IBU has the following written statement on the matter: “The IBU is currently in discussions with the stakeholders, including the athletes’ committee, about the implementation of the new starting group system. Some details are still under consideration, so it would be premature to talk about the outcome of ongoing discussions.” “The IBU is confident of implementing a starting group system that guarantees even more exciting competitions in biathlon, and therefore an even better experience for TV viewers and arena audiences, which at the same time ensures fair conditions for the athletes.” – There will probably be a change. Then we can only hope that the change will be within such that it is livable and fair, says Per Arne Botnan. Published 29/08/2024, at 15.48
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The world’s best biathletes go hard against their own federation – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
