For decades we have seen them. To accommodate growing numbers of golfers yet limited space, driving ranges have gone vertical. Adding one, or sometimes two, layers of hitting spots, the capacity doubles without increasing the footprint of the building.
So why do we still only have 30 racers in the Mass Starts, and 60 in the Pursuit? The Mass Start 60 is being “tested” on the IBU Cup, and it’s great that the IBU is looking into opening this race up for more competitors. But the one part that makes the Mass Start so much fun to watch, and easy to understand for new viewers, is that all athletes start at the same time, and the first to cross the finish line wins the race. The Mass Start 60 takes that away, as even the most experienced biathlon viewer has a hard time following the action without having a second screen with biathlon-result.com open.
Imagine being a new viewer and seeing the Mass Start 60 as your first race. I assume I would be mostly confused and overwhelmed, with no idea who may win the race until I see someone come across the line.
So, imagine we have a world class venue that is loved by pretty much everyone who cares about biathlon, and an upcoming event that often allows organizers to spend (all lot of!) money on facility upgrades. Wouldn’t it be great to see 60 men and women at the Mass Starts, and allow maybe 90 athletes to race in the Pursuits, even if it’s just to give more athletes the experience of racing those events? I can already see it front of me. And now you can too!
This initial design has some drawbacks, obviously. Going uphill as you enter a shooting range is not ideal. Coming down a hill and, in case you had one or more misses, having to cross with athletes from the lower level who shot clean, could get a little messy. But it’s definitely doable, and you would have a clear leader.
Cost would be the main factor to decide not to look into this further. Financial support through an Olympic Games could give a boost to Antholz, but other than a few stadiums, it would be a hard sell to make these significant additions, so if ever, it will be a long time before we would see something like this on the World Cup. We may be permanently on rollerskis by then. But as Canmore is currently working on a new tunnel, perhaps I can slip the idea into a meeting room at some point.