Time for the fast and accurate

Raubichi will soon welcome the best young amateur biathletes from all over the country

There is less than a month left to wait until the start of the final stage of the republican biathlon competition among children and teenagers Snow Sniper for the prizes of the Presidential Sports Club. The culmination of the largest amateur biathlon tournament will again be held in Raubichi and will gather hundreds of children from all regions of the country on the tracks from February 16th to February 18th. Right now, thousands of schoolchildren are fighting for the right to compete in the decisive stage of the competition.

At the competition in Gomel

On the way to the finals, the guys go through qualifying stages: first, these are mass competitions in the districts, then — regional ones. Based on their results, the teams of each region and Minsk will include 24 boys and girls of three age categories: this year, schoolchildren born in 2013-2014 will compete in the junior group, 2011-2012 in the middle group, and 2009-2010 in the senior group. In some regions, district qualifying competitions are still ongoing, in some, regional competitions are already taking place. For example, the day before at the Sozh biathlon complex in Gomel, about 300 guys competed for spots in the finals. Very soon the regional stage will start in Chausy, where the regional competitions ended the day before; the city competitions will take place in Minsk next week... It is planned that the selections will end in early February.
Head of the Information and Public Relations Sector — Assistant to the Chairman of the Presidential Sports Club for Sports Pavel Egorov says that the sports programme of the finals will not differ from what it was last year. The guys will determine the strongest in sprints, mass starts and mixed relay races, so all the guys, without exception, will be able to take part in the competition, “Before the start of the final stage, training camps will be held. Children visiting Raubichi will receive equipment from the Presidential Sports Club and other souvenirs. From the very first day, a comfortable shooting range will be opened for them, where the guys, under the guidance of professional instructors, will become familiar with shooting from a small-caliber rifle (in the first and second stages they mainly use air rifles). Also, of course, the guys will be able to train on the ski slope.”
While the sports programme has remained unchanged, the Presidential Sports Club is experimenting with the cultural programme this year. As Pavel Egorov said, children of all three age groups will take part in a sports and entertainment quest based on the famous TV show Fort Boyard. They promise a lot of interesting things to the audience.
“We, as always, are expecting a large number of fans in Raubichi. They will not only be able to support the competition participants, but also try themselves in various activities on sports grounds; a cultural programme has been prepared for them with the participation of Belarusian artists. Shuttles will be organised for spectators, so stay tuned, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Snow Sniper!” Pavel Egorov said.

By Tatiana Pastushenko