Athletes Webinar 2022

On the 6th of July, the IBU held the first Athletes Webinar. The topic of this afternoon was the dual career and options for athletes for their life after biathlon. As panelists, Anna Juppe, Rosanna Crawford, and Simon Schempp discussed the combination of professional sport and education.

At the beginning of the webinar, Clare Egan highlighted the need for athletes concerning dual career options and that she will support this project in her role as chair of the IBU Athletes' Committee.

IBU Development Director Dagmara Gerasimuk introduced in her presentation the key points of the IBU Dual Career Policy which the Executive Board approved in June 2022. "The next steps are to develop the dual-career strategy and action plan. Anna Kitzbichler, a former biathlete from Austria, wrote her master thesis on the dual-career options in the IBU and will support us with implementing the strategy and the action plan", said Gerasimuk.

IBU Education Manager Gerold Sattlecker highlighted in his talk the option for athletes to be integrated into the IBU Coach Education Program. "We have developed a coach education system with four levels. The goal is to provide spots for current or former athletes to enable their first steps in a future coach career", reported Sattlecker.

In the final panel discussion, Anna Juppe (AUT), who is competing at the World Cup at the moment, and the former biathletes Rosanna Crawford (CAN) and Simon Schempp (GER) discussed options and problems concerning the combination of high-level sport and education. The panelists agreed that the needs of the athletes are quite individual, but the need for educational opportunities during and right after the career is obvious.

• Please find the videos of the Athletes Webinar on the IBU Youtube Channel: IBU Athletes Webinar - Dual Career 2022 - YouTube

• Please find additional information on the IBU Dual Career Program here: Biathlonworld.com - IBU Dual Career

• Details on the IBU Coach Education can be found here: Biathlonworld.com - IBU Coach Education

• Please find information on the IOC Program "Athlete 365" here: Biathlonworld.com - Athlete 365

During the Webinar, several polls were accomplished among the participants: