LAKE PLACID, N.Y.---- The U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) and Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) of New York State have released the official event program for the 2022 U.S. Biathlon National Championships, to be held in Lake Placid, NY from March 23-27. The 3-day competition will be held at the new biathlon range and stadium constructed as part of a multi-million dollar renovation made last year to upgrade the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic sports complex.

“We are excited to see Lake Placid welcome home nationals again and debut its new world-class facility to the biathlon community,” says Max Cobb, USBA President and CEO. “The competition program will also serve as a great preparation for Lake Placid’s first major international biathlon event in over 20 years when it hosts the FISU World University Winter Games next year.”

U.S. Biathlon National Championship will also feature several updates to its typical event program, including the introduction of a Regional Relay competition which organizers will use to prepare for World University Games next year, and consolidated masters racing categories to focus event racing.

New Regional Relay event

USBA is including a relay competition into the National Championship program for the first time. In the pilot Regional Relay competition, athletes will team up with others within three different age-based relay categories to compete against other clubs or biathlon regions.

“Relays are some of the most fun competition opportunities in biathlon. Domestically, it’s rare to get chances to really feel the pressure and rush of shooting with extra bullets for your teammates,” says Danika Frisbie, Sport Program Manager with U.S. Biathlon. “Adding a relay day to U.S. Nationals provides this competition opportunity and creates a special way to celebrate U.S. racing through competition against other biathlon clubs and regions.”

Teams will be made of up members representing one of the four biathlon development regions in the USA: Alaska (AK), West (CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO), Midwest (MN, WI, MI), and East (ME, NH, VT, NY, MA, CT, PA). Canada is also invited to form teams.

The relay categories, as detailed in the race invitation, will be as follows:

Devo Boys and Devo Girls - By gender - 2 person teams made up of U15 and U17 athletes
IBU Men and IBU Women - By gender - 3 person teams made up of 1 Youth, 1 Junior, and 1 Senior
Masters - Mixed gender - 3 person teams made up of any Masters Category athlete

More details can be found in the race invitation.

Master's Categories/Distances for US Nationals 2022 Sprint/Pursuit Races:

(NOTE: any competitor may elect to race in Senior category)

Master (30-39)

Senior Master (40-49)

Veteran (50-59)

Senior Veteran (60-69)

Senior Veteran II (70+)

All Master Women and Senior Veteran II Men will race Youth Women Distances.

All Master Men (up to age 69) will race Senior Women Distances.

Changes in place:

- Note that we will be awarding only the winner in each category with USBA National Champion medals.

- Masters can sign up on SkiReg under the "Masters" registration category. You will be assigned your category based on age.

- Please note also that we have decided to keep the final race a relay event - we have heard from clubs that they are excited about this event and we hope our Masters community will come together to race in this fun format. Know that we will do our best to put everyone on a team and give them a chance to race, regardless of whether you have a club or team of your own.

For Event Information and Registration

Go to the Mount VanHoevenberg website for the full event invitation and a link to online registration. Registration closes on Monday, March 21, 2022.

U.S. Biathlon National Championships 2022: A Homecoming to Lake Placid with New Changes

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