21 Apr 2023

Basic Course 2023 successfully finished

20 coaches from 20 National Federations participated in the second Coach Education Basic Course under the IBU Academy. The six-day course took place at the Sports Center Salzburg-Rif (AUT) and at the biathlon venue in Ruhpolding (GER) from 15th to 20th April 2023. It provided the participants with a comprehensive understanding of basic biathlon knowledge, with a mix of theoretical and practical lessons.

The IBU Academy's objective for coaching education is to develop educational programs that combine theory and practice, delivered by international experts, fostering creativity and scholarship, and encouraging a lifelong passion for learning and active contribution to the global biathlon family at various professional levels, from recreation to high performance. The Basic Biathlon Course marked the second year of the IBU Coach Education initiative.

Over the course of six days, the future coaches attended theoretical and practical sessions on skiing, shooting, applied training science, motor skills development, physiology, the coach's soft skills, equipment, and rules & organization. These sessions were led by renowned experts and coaches in winter sports and sports science.

The practical lessons were led by the IBU Educators Mathias Ahrens and Martina Seidl. The program included four days at the Sports Center Salzburg-Rif (AUT) and two days at the Biathlon Venue at Chiemgau Arena Ruhpolding (GER). In the upcoming weeks, the coaches will need to complete additional online learning classes on the newly developed E-Learning platform "LearningSuite" to successfully finish the Basic Course.

"It was nice to see how engaged all 20 participants were. These 6 days of comprehensive learning and all the tasks on our E-Learning platform are a solid base for these future biathlon coaches", said IBU Education Manager Gerold Sattlecker.