Some of you might have received this from Doug Hoover. Here is a copy
of what I sent him. First the promotional bit. If your in the New
England area for vacation and want to get in a race or two, please
consider the events at Pemi and HSC. These two clubs do a great job
promoting the sports and have introduced many people to biathlon. What
they need are more experienced competitors. Please spread the word to
help the clubs that put on events. Now the basic report:

Today the Pemigiwasette F&G Club held the first biathlon of the '08
season. Temps were mid 50 in the morning quickly rising to mid 90's
during the race. This was the hottest day in NH since August of last
summer and quite a shock to everyone involved. The Match race format
was a mass start with 5 laps of 800 meters each. The 10 point range
was fantastic. Last year the Pemi club received an NRA grant to buy 10
of the Devin BT-200 practice targets. The targets were set up on top
of purpose built stands and a Pemi designed back ground was placed
behind the targets to help the athletes see the hits. The BT-200 is a
over/under offhand/prone door target. A hit is signaled by the door
flapping open and automatically reset. Spotters help the athlete
record misses and spotting, while not expected of competitors, was a
job traded around.

There were 11 participants. 4 in Match class and 7 in the Novice
class. There were classes set-up for athletes 12 and under, 13-16,
17-21, 22-34, and 35+. In the novice class the participants were
expected to be safe and have a fun and enjoyable introduction to
biathlon. There is a walker class and lap lengths ranging from 300
meters to the full 800. Novice shoots prone at the offhand targets.
Pemi has loaner rifles available. Novices can also receive coaching
during the race and help on the range if they feel they need it. With
11 participants everyone pretty much won their class.

In the 12U class, two athletes (ages 4 and 7) shot off a rest with
adult coaching. This was modeled after the kid races run by the
Saratoga Biathlon Club. The 7 year old went clean twice and had three
misses total. The 4 year old was all donuts but had a great time
racing his sister around the P-loop they used for their lap. He wanted
to know when the next race is. Out of the 11 participants 8 were first
timers. Two of the athletes in Match class were experienced runners
and shooters and this was the first time they tried biathlon. The
winning time in Match class was 28:02 with 2, 4, 2, 2 shooting.

This club puts in a huge effort to support biathlon. They construct a
range, P-loop, find volunteers (more helpers than athletes so far),
supply water, rifles, ammo, coaching and a very safe and fun
environment. This race is part of an 8 race series hosted between 2
clubs; Pemi and Harvard Sportsman's Club near Boston. Its an interclub
league open to anyone. There are 9 races between the two clubs.
Harvard just purchased 4 regulation resettable targets to put up when
they host events. A big investment for organizations that promote
biathlon as part of a summer shooting experience. The races are well
run, safe and fun.

www.pemi.org and www.harvardsportsmansclub.com for more info or ask here.