The US Biathlon Association today announced that two Biathlon World Cup Competitions, scheduled for Fort Kent and Lake Placid, NY in February and March 2004 will both be presented live on the Outdoor Life Network.

This will mark the first time, other than during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, that any international biathlon competitions will be shown live on US television. During the Biathlon World Cup season, every competition is shown live in Europe. These programs have a huge following, regularly drawing up to 50% of the TV viewers in countries such as Germany and Norway. Biathlon is, according to the European Broadcast Union, the most watched sport on television during the winter months and individual programs usually dominate the top 10 rated programs.

The Biathlon World Cups in the US will be held on successive weekends, February 28 and 29, in Lake Placid and March 3-6, in Fort Kent. There will be two competitions in Lake Placid and three in Fort Kent. Lake Placid, site of the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games is well known for its many international sports competitions held there. Thus it is well known to sports audiences. 2004 will mark the third time the Verizon Sports Complex in Lake Placid has hosted a Biathlon World Cup since 1999.

Conversely, Fort Kent, Maine is new to the Biathlon World Cup circuit and sports audiences, in general. The facilities of the Maine Winter Sports Center have been built within the past 4 years under series of grants from the Libra Foundation. Bringing Maine’s winter sports heritage back is one of the reasons behind the Maine Winter Sports Center’s development. The world-class nature of these facilities is reflected in the awarding of the Biathlon World Cup to Fort Kent. Gunther Zwatz, International Biathlon Union vice-president for finance on a visit to Fort Kent, stated, ‘Things have been professionally done here and it shows. Biathlon sites are not usually so advanced so quickly.’ The television broadcasts from Fort Kent will give the US and European audiences a glimpse of what the area offers and should help advance the goals of the Maine Winter Sports Center.

Emmy Award winning Kent Gordis will produce the US broadcasts. Gordis in conjunction with the US Biathlon Association also produced the 2003 series of Biathlon World Cup competitions for OLN. This series will return next season in an expanded form with the live broadcasts as part of the series. Max Cobb, US Biathlon Marketing Director commented on the World Cup programs, ‘The live broadcast of these competitions in the US is huge for our sport. We know from our experience this season with the 10 1-hour programs, that there is an audience for biathlon in the US. Having live broadcasts will help drive our sport into the mainstream as it is in Europe. We know that once fans see the fast pace and drama of biathlon, they will be hooked on the sport. After our taped programs this season, this is just the next logical step and we are thrilled that OLN sees the potential of biathlon in the US.’

These competitions will also be broadcast live to 18 European Countries on Eurosport and national networks in Norway and Germany. There will be over 20 million viewers for each weekend long event. The time schedule for the competitions in Lake Placid and Fort Kent will be announced later in the year. At the same time, the full Biathlon World Cup TV schedule on OLN will also be announced.

For more information contact:
International Biathlon Union,
Tel: +43 662 85 50 50
http://www.ibu.at