Despite Norway's loss - biathlon in Sweden continues to grow

Skiing giant Norway is losing young people in both cross-country skiing and biathlon.

According to statistics from the Norwegian Biathlon Association, the number of licensed children and young people between the ages of 13 and 19 has decreased from 1401 active in the 2014/2015 season to 958 active today.

- It is clear that it is worrying for them that it is happening.

After all, it is the national sport in Norway to go on narrow skis, and there are very many practitioners.

Therefore, both the pandemic and climate change have probably presented major challenges, says Rikard Grip.

In Sweden, there are no comparable statistics, but according to Grip, Swedish biathlon does not have the same loss as the neighboring country.

- If we take a youth SM for boys and girls 14-15 years old before the pandemic, in 2019, there were around 20 starters per class.

Last spring 2022, we had around 40 starters per class, says the biathlon association's general secretary Rikard Grip.

Interest in biathlon is great among young people, but it is a complicated sport to start with.

Both because of the dual nature of the sport, but above all the special facilities and safety issues that exist in the sport.

Therefore, the association has worked in several ways to simplify things for newcomers.

- As in many other sports, the facility issue is extremely important, just like the leadership issue.

Air rifles have made the threshold into the sport of biathlon much lower.

We are trying to use air rifles as an entry phase in the sport and that is a big reason for the growth we have now.

We have four consultants who work outside the country to reach young people and leaders, both with training but also with try-on activities in order to grow that way, says Grip.

The fact that Öbergs, Persson, Samuelsson and Ponsiluoma have become big stars affects the interest.

And the association sees a number of key locations to capture the young people who want to start.

- We have strategic locations where we work hard to get nice facilities, that will help a lot, says Grip.