New IBU Executive Board meets ahead of upcoming 2022/23 season

The new IBU Executive Board (EB), which now comprises 30% elected women, met in Salzburg on 8-9 November to review the sport’s long-term strategy, receive updates from each of the IBU departments and take important decisions related to the 2022/2023 season.

During the meeting, the EB was informed by the Norwegian Biathlon Federation that due to the lack of snow in Sjusjoen, Norway, it will not be possible to host IBU Cup 1 (24-27 Nov 2022) and officially handed back the event to IBU. With the currently challenging weather and snow situation, the EB decided to cancel IBU Cup 1 and at the same time amend the competition programme for the IBU Cup 2 in Idrefjäll, Sweden, by one competition (29 Nov – 4 Dec 2022). The new competition programme can be found here.

The EB further took important calendar decisions, which are based on recommendations by the IBU’s Technical Committee. The seventh stage of the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 2025/2026 was awarded to Kontiolahti, Finland. The slot was left open at the original World Cup event allocation in 2021.  

The IBU Youth and Junior World Championships 2025 were awarded to Östersund, Sweden and Arber, Germany for 2026. The EB further awarded the IBU Cup events and Open European Championships for the season 2024/2025 and 2025/2026.

The EB also touched on the energy crisis and the potential impact it could have on the upcoming season. The EB received a report from the Working Group which has been set up by the IBU along with the Organising Committees to review the challenges presented by the energy crisis. The Working Group is identifying the biggest drivers of energy consumption at IBU events and evaluating where energy-saving measures can be implemented this season without significantly impacting the quality of competitions.

Updates were given on the process for the implementation of Target 26 and IBU’s overall objectives, with a series of regional meetings with National Federations set to be held from this month onwards. The purpose of these meetings will be to refine IBU’s strategic plan with the input of their members and according to their needs.

During the meeting, there was tailored orientation for the new EB members as well as updates from each department head provided across media and marketing, finance and administration, sport and events, development and communication. The sports and event update included a special report on para-biathlon which will be governed by the IBU this season for the first time, following the transfer of authority by the IPC.