АНГЛИЙСКИЙ. Учебнометодическое пособие для студентов, обучающихся на индивидуальном графике по направлению подготовки 49. 03. 01 Физическая культура
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Biathlon BasicsBiathlon is a Winter Olympic Sport which combines cross country skiing with precision target shooting. There is also a warm weather variant called Summer Biathlon which replaces skiing with running. In a typical Winter race, a Biathlete is required to ski with his or her rifle over a set distance to a shooting range, where five shots at five knockdown targets 50 m down range are taken from prone position. Depending on the format, either a time penalty or penalty laps are assessed for missed shots. The racer then skies another loop, and comes back to the shooting range for another set of shots - this time from a standing stance. Again penalties are assessed for missed shots. The biathlete then skies a final loop to complete the race. A more complete description of the various race formats may be found here.Though a seemingly unlikely combination of events - one is an aerobic activity which requires strength, speed, and endurance; the other is a passive activity which requires concentration and a steady hand (difficult after you've been skiing all out!), the biathlon concept evolved from two activities which have a long history - hunting and winter warfare. Hunting OriginsRock paintings depicting hunters with bow and arrow moving on sliding timber have been found near Roedoey, Norway which date back to the Neolithic age (about 3000 BC). However, the first written descriptions of hunting on skies come from Roman, Greek, and Chinese historical writings. These include such well known authors as the Roman poet Virgil, who described hunting on skies in 400 BC. Winter WarfareHistorical descriptions of warriors on skies also date back to before Christ, and include writings from Xenophon, Strabol, Arrian, Teophanes, Prokopius, and Acruni. Traditional military patrol races came into being in the Middle Ages. Skiing regiments were active in Scandinavia and Russia in the 1500's, and by the end of the 19th century, Germany, Austria and Switzerland also had soldiers on skiis. Evolution of Modern CompetitionThe first organized competitions that would be recognizable as Biathlon took place in Norway in 1776. These were team events that combined shooting skill with skiing. Competitions were held at regular intervals between 1792 and 1818. Around 1912, again in Norway, the team competition was joined by an individual format race during which ten rounds were fired in two shooting bouts. In the rest of Europe, Germany's first military patrol races were held in 1902. The first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France included a military ski patrol race as a demonstration sport, and it was included as a demonstration sport again in 1928, 1936 and 1948. Kinds of races Biathlon includes five main event types: individual,sprint,pursuit and relay, with mass start making its debut. These events are divided into different distances and split between men's and women's competitions for a total of 10 different events: Men's 20 km Individual Women's 15 kmIndividual Men's 10 kmSprint Women's 7.5 kmSprint Women's 10 kmPursuit Men's 12.5 kmPursuit Men's 4 x 7.5 kmRelay Women's 4 x 6 kmRelay Men's 15 kmMassStart Women's 12.5 kmMassStart Let's look at each type of event in more detail. IndividualThis is the original biathlon event. Competitors each start 30 seconds apart, skiing five laps around a 3 or 4 km loop. At the end of each lap (except the final lap), competitors shoot. The four shooting portions in order are prone, standing, prone, standing. Each missed shot adds a one-minute penalty. Standings are determined by overall time, which runs continuously from the moment a competitor leaves the starting line to when he or she crosses the finish line. The winners of this event will finish in under an hour. SprintSprint is similar to the individual, but the distance is shorter (about 10 km total), and there are only two shooting portions: prone, then standing. Each missed target results in one lap around the 150 m penalty loop. RelayEach relay team has four members. All the first-leg skiers line up at the starting line and begin at the same time. They tend to arrive at the first firing range in the same manner. Each team member skis about 3 or 4 km, shoots prone, then skis the rest of his or her 7.5 km leg and shoots standing. Competitors must tag the next team member to start the next leg of the relay. This event is head-to-head. The athletes are not racing against the clock, but directly against each other. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins. PursuitThe Pursuit is unusual among Olympic events in that a previous event's results determine its competitors. The top 60 competitors from the Sprint qualify for the Pursuit. They start the 12.5 km (10 km for women) event at intervals based on their Sprint finishing times, but the race is actually head-to-head. This means that whoever does well in the Sprint and starts the Pursuit first has an actual head start over the rest of the field, who are constantly in "pursuit." The Pursuit has four shooting portions: prone, prone, standing, standing. Mass StartThis newest biathlon event is meant to appeal to spectators. Like Pursuit, entry is determined by prior events. Medal winners in the individual events qualify for Mass Start, with world IBU rankings determining the remaining field of 30. The men ski for 15 m and the women ski for a total of 12.5 km. The four shooting portions are prone, prone, standing, standing. This is a head-to-head competition, with all the competitors leaving the starting line at the same time. Next, we'll check out the equipment that biathletes use for both skiing and shooting. |