“The result cannot be momentary”: Rostovtsev on the crisis in biathlon, criticism of Drachev and tasks for the new head of the RRF

- After Vladimir Drachev left the post of president of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), Viktor Maygurov remained the only candidate for this position. Are you not surprised that with so many dissatisfied, he had only one official opponent?

- It seems to me that this indicates a lack of strength in the so-called opposition. In any field of activity there are always those who wish to criticize, give interviews, assessments, express smart thoughts. However, very few are able to really make a difference. It is not so easy to gather and organize some part of the professional community, to gain the support of like-minded people. As a person who participated in the elections to the City Council, to the Legislative Assembly, I understand that one of the elements of any election campaign is consolidation. It is she who largely determines the victory or defeat. But it costs time, physical, financial resources, it needs to be seriously dealt with. This was just not enough for Maigurov in 2018, when he first put forward his candidacy for the post of president of the RRF.     

- Throughout the year, many of Drachev’s colleagues spoke out that he could not cope with the leadership and was constantly making the wrong decisions. Now, the head of the working group for checking documents of the SBR, Alexander Starovoitov, says that he has done more at his post than any of his predecessors. What is your point of view?

- I’m not ready to talk about what good or bad Drachev did in his position, I just don’t know this. Therefore, I will refrain from commenting. Although if we talk about the sports results of the last two years, by which the success of any federation is determined, and compared with what was before, then they can be called not the worst.

- Does it not matter to you that all the Russian medals at the 2020 World Cup were won by one person?

- I'm not talking about personalities, but about the fact that our biathletes had medals at the main start of the season. And now, and a year ago at the World Championships in Ostersund. Correctly or not, to evaluate the success of all work in one tournament is another question. When I worked in the women's team with Wolfgang Pichler and was preparing to speak at the coaching council, I suggested the then leadership of the SBR to try to switch to a different plane in assessing coaching. He said that a specially designed system should do this. It is clear that it will never be perfect, but nevertheless, one could try to form some basic criteria.

- And to determine the effectiveness of the work of this or that coach during the season already?

- Exactly. This would make it possible to track the dynamics not only in the results as a whole, but also in individual components: during, in shooting, while standing, in rate of fire, in the number of participants in relay races, in some other things. It is clear that the main characteristic would remain the performances at the main start, but this indicator could be 50% in this system. And the other 50% would consist of what I listed. Then, on the same coaching advice, it would be possible to specify other things: where we sank, where and why it did not work out. 

- Why such a system was not created?

- Nobody supported me then. But now it would be right in the same way to formulate the indicators that characterize the activities of the federation, and look at them. For example, for me it is obvious that in general our team does not look very good, if we take the whole season. Therefore, for a sporting result, I would probably put a minus. What is going on in Russian competitions is more difficult for me to evaluate, but this could also be assessed. For example, see if the number of participants has increased. I don’t know the exact numbers, but it seems to me that everything goes down there too. In the same Krasnoyarsk Territory, we have come to the point that we do not have a men's team that could be put up for the national championship.

- The strength of our country has always been considered junior sport.

- I agree, it used to be a serious trump card. But now he is not there. Maybe I am mistaken, because I do not follow very deeply what is happening at this level. The total dominance of young Russian athletes at international starts has long been no longer observed. And this just characterizes the work of the system of regional sports schools. And of course, the media space around the RBU is very depressing, let's call it that. The unimaginable chaos that is going on there. It seems to me that no one controls this process at all. 

- Do you mean the image of the organization or biathlon as a whole?

- My deputy experience says that the formation of the image can be managed and built, but that’s not even the point. Today, it’s very important for an athlete and coach to understand that when they achieve certain results in Russian competitions, they can get somewhere. People simply do not have a clear picture in this regard, and the information that gets into the press only confirms this. They constantly say that the selection system does not work, that the athlete fulfills some criteria that are not taken into account by anyone and mean nothing. Like some promises.

Another problem is the work of the office. From the same Maigurov, I know that in the SBR no one has answered any letters for a long time, therefore the International Biathlon Union (IBU) cannot get answers to any of its questions. I hear the same thing from our Krasnoyarsk biathletes: no matter how many requests to the SBR people make, there is no answer, no greetings. 

- What do you see as the biggest problem of the Russian biathlon?

- One of the key points that I have to constantly face is the adjustment of handling small-caliber or sports weapons. Changes in the legislative act are necessary. Today we have such a representation of biathletes in the State Duma that I do not understand how it is possible in two years not to advance a millimeter in this direction. And this is just one of the problems. What do we have with doctors, with masseurs, with cartridges, with rifles? Yes, I compare some things with the times of Mikhail Prokhorov, when in the Russian biathlon there were, in fact, unlimited financial opportunities. But then a very serious work was carried out, yielding results. And now in January, that is, in the middle of the season, cartridges are brought to the World Cup stage that no one has tested, and then the coaches say that the wind does not “hold” the new cartridges. It does not fit in the head.

- No less complaints were made regarding the preparation of skis.

“That should not be either.” Pikhler and I, nine years ago, drew Prokhorov’s attention to the fact that our service was configured a little differently than that of leading sports teams. Because of this, conflicts also happened.

- It seems that criticizing the work of service providers in the Russian ski disciplines is taboo?

- Nevertheless, I criticized. I always understood that today's world is a world of big and very fast changes. If you can’t change, you lose. And I don’t understand when people dismiss any suggestions: “Why study, go somewhere to the seminar?” One must constantly try something new. As the Swedes did, realizing that in extreme weather it is important to have ski-rockets. And Pichler always talked about this. Remember how they rolled their skis at the abnormally warm World Championships in Ruhpolding in 2012? But their specialists worked on this project for five or six years.  

- You have listed quite a few components of the result. Where should the new president of the RRF begin?

- Definitely, with the organizational structure and staffing. Any business can be done only when there is a team of like-minded people, sharpened to resolve issues. Yes, this will require a financial resource to attract economists, linguists, administrators for the workflow. When such a team is created, then you can try to change something in the outer perimeter of the RRF. Identify two or three main areas, focus on them in order to achieve some kind of quick result. He is very needed here.  

- That the leadership of the federation began to believe again? 

- Yes. Let it be some small questions, but you need to show that the new team is able to set goals and realize them. What exactly should these tasks be? This should be determined by managers. Perhaps we should take up the development of children's biathlon, resume the supply of equipment to sports schools, amend the law on weapons, so that our shooting ranges and weapons finally work more efficiently. Such things should become a kind of backstory in solving more serious problems. And you need to understand that sports results will always be at the forefront. This is what they will talk about when they rate the work of the federation.

- As experienced managers say, when there is a result, you can afford to open any doors with your foot.

- Here it is very important to be aware that the sporting result cannot be momentary. This is always the result of years of preparation. It doesn’t happen that a single coach comes to the team, and over the year everything has changed dramatically. Therefore, on the one hand, you need to be patient, but on the other hand, constantly show that there are intermediate goals and they are being achieved. In the main team, in the backup. If we already set ourselves the task of building a kind of pyramid, that is, preparing a reserve that will come to a junior age in two or three years, and then reach an adult level, we need to explain in detail, understandably, why these or those decisions are made, how it works selection system, for which purpose certain resources are allocated to the regions: cartridges, scooters, skis, rifles. 

- I immediately recall how Pichler was criticized, who in the first year of his work in Russia set the women's team the task of winning the Nations Cup.

- Pichler then tore to pieces, proving that no one needs the Nations Cup, in contrast to the World Cup medals. Although he said from the very beginning that this is very important, as it will mean that we have a good, even team, a kind of basis for further advancement. And then we won. Just now, for some reason, no one remembers it.

- That is, the goal must be real?

- Exactly. If we consider ourselves to be professionals, we must frankly admit: having the fourth result in the Nations Cup, most likely we will not be the first tomorrow. Especially in the current competition. But this does not at all prevent you from moving towards your goal. For example, to form a team that would not fall below the fourth or fifth place in relay races. Or set a goal so that at least seven people will run in the relay during the season. But all this is an exclusively managerial story, which is based on coaching thoughts and ideology. It’s just that you need to pack this story in such a way as to make it understandable and attractive to the consumer. And our consumers are, first of all, spectators, biathlon fans. And it seems to me that there is no need to be ashamed to talk about it, to form an information field. This is better than going with the flow, when you are being poured with mud from all sides, constantly forcing to make excuses.