Wānaka Biathlon Club is prepared for a busy winter with an additional experienced coach on board, sophisticated new gear and fresh programmes on offer.

The club’s coach and secretary Tim David is a former British Marine who managed the British Biathlon Team and was a full time biathlete for six years. 

He managed the team at the Olympic Games and has “lots of world cups” under his belt. When he and his family moved to Wānaka in 2015 he was surprised to discover the Snow Farm and its biathlon range.

“We want to broaden the appeal to people outside of Snow Farm. We have people here who are accomplished alpine skiers but they haven’t tried cross country.

“Our programme can take you from never having skied to being sophisticated biathlon marksmen. The commitment is a season-long programme.”

The club is hoping to attract 10-12 students this winter. 

Tim, who is also chair of Biathlon NZ, said the club is “trying to recruit the next generation of kids” and is hoping to attract ten or 12 high school students to get involved in biathlon this winter. 

Hāwea Flat biathlete Campbell Wright’s success during the Northern Hemisphere winter has also increased interest in the sport, Tim said.

Read more: Wānaka has ‘special opportunity’ to succeed in biathlon, cross-country

The club has recruited an extra coach, Jason Sklenar, who is a fitness consultant and a former British Olympian who competed in three Olympic Games.

“He’s an accomplished senior skier. We’ve got quite a lot of expertise now,” Tim said.

The club is aimed at Year 7 to 13 students, and club members have been training during autumn, including by roller skiing and shooting, “to expose them to the sport and show them what it’s all about on dry land,” Tim said.

The club has also purchased six laser biathlon rifles, which Tim described as “extremely sophisticated pieces of kit”.

The club has purchased sophisticated new laser biathlon rifles.

“They don’t fire bullets, essentially they have a computerised laser system - completely safe - and matching targets. We’re using them to train the kids off the range down here.

“We can now build a biathlon range anywhere we have 10 metres space.”

The guns were purchased with money from the International Biathlon Union.

“The sport is so successfully televised in Europe that they make a lot of money and return it back to the nations that participate. I think most sports would be jealous,” Tim said.

Tim said the club is anticipating a busy season and it will help club members reach the next stage.

“We’ve got a lot of things we want to get going, and we can deal with quite a large bunch of people.”

Find out more information on the Wānaka Biathlon Club website and Facebook page.

PHOTOS: Wānaka Biathlon Club