Kings of the mountain
Air Force leaves Army and Navy in the cold at the inter-Service Nordic and biathlon championships

By Private John Wellfare

CPL Pete Brennan takes aim in the biathlon event.

The Air Force team members who participated in cross-country skiing and biathlon during the inter-Service competition at Mount Hotham.

SOUND advice from an international coach, steady hands and all-round strengths proved a winning combination for Air Force during the recent inter-Service Nordic and biathlon championships.

“The Air Force team was granted the coaching opportunity of a life time,” team manager Flight Lieutenant Satya Tanner, from RAAF Base Richmond, said.

“Austrian national biathlon coach Hannes Obererlacher was in Australia and he agreed to come aboard as our head coach.”

Air Force won the competition from Army by 22 points.

The event was held at Mount Hotham in Victoria from July 31 to August 12. It comprised the three single Service events, followed by the inter-Service championships.

The event comprised cross-country (Nordic) skiing and the biathlon, which is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting.

Very poor snow conditions plagued Air Force’s competition week, which resulted in shorter races than were intended and tighter competition.

The three Services then came together for the cross-country events. At the end, Army had a slender lead of 294 points to Air Force’s 291 as the teams readied for the biathlon.

“Hannes Obererlacher’s expert coaching proved to be of great value here,” Flight Lieutenant Tanner said. “During the biathlon events, we took the lead during the Patrol and Biathlon Sprint [events] to win by 22 points.”

During the competition, some team members gained further invaluable experience by competing in the Mount Hotham “King of the Mountain” summit run. They finished in the middle of the field.

The cross-country events are distance-only events of lengths from 5-15km while the biathlon events consist of short loops (1-5km) with bouts of shooting at falling plate targets (50m using .22 calibre specialist target rifles).

“Cross-country skiing and biathlon provide ideal off-season training for sports such as triathlon and are excellent for cardio and muscular fitness,” Flight Lieutenant Tanner said.

“The Air Force Nordic Skiing and Biathlon Team is open to members of all ability levels, including those who have never seen snow before. Team members are accelerated from complete novice to ADF standard in two weeks,” she said.

 

Team results
Defcredit Classic CPL Pete Brennan CPL Marion Woger Bob Schouten Novice Award FLTLT Chris Webb FLTLT Justin Leijon	Static Engineering Biathlon Sprint CPL Scott Malpass FLTLT Satya Tanner Barry Hopkins Coach’s Award FLTLT Ewan Stewart

For more information, contact Flight Lieutenant Satya Tanner on (02) 458 72031 or e-mail marie.tanner@defence.gov.au

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