After the first round of NorAms being canceled in Canmore, Alberta, two weekends ago due to cold weather, the domestic biathlon season finally got off the ground on Thursday with the first race in a NorAm series which also served as Canada’s selection trials for its team to World Youth and Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus. The team has not yet been named.
On Sunday, a day of mass start competitions, Loppet Nordic Racing’s Jake Ellingson decided to take a day off in preparation for the next round of NorAms in Mount Itasca, Minnesota, and took the opportunity to shoot the day’s races with a camera instead of a rifle.
While the youth and junior categories remained as competitive as ever, with not only the best Canadians vying for a trip to Minsk but several provinces also using the races as trials for the Canada Games and few Americans scattered in as well, the senior category lost the entries of Canada’s IBU Cup team, which departed for Europe that day. A strong field of Americans and remaining Canadians nonetheless battled it out.
Léo Grandbois (Biathlon Estrie) racing at the Canmore NorAm mass start in December 2014. (Photo: Jake Ellingson)
Jarod Algra (West Coast Nordics) leads the youth men’s field into the range for prone.
Kesey Dickinson (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon Development Team).
Grant Novak (Rocky Mountain Racers).
Maddie Phaneuf (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon X Team) zeroing before competition.
Mike Gibson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project).
Sasha Eccleston (Camrose Vikings).
The men’s field leaves the start.
Jordan McElroy (National Guard Biathlon).
Sean Doherty (USBA “X” Team) smiling after winning a NorAm mass start in Canmore, Alberta, earlier this season. Photo: Jake Ellingson.
Former US Biathlon development skier Paul Everett (Methow Valley Biathlon) racing in December 2014.
Melanie Schultz (Canmore Nordic).
Jacob Dalberg (National Guard Biathlon).
Kelsey Dickinson (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon Development Team) heading for the finish.
Men’s podium: race winner Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team, center); 2nd place Casey Smith (Maine Winter Sports Center, left); Guillaume Bertrand (Rocky Mountain Racers).
Junior men’s field.
Arthur Roots (Biathlon Alberta Training Center).
Max Durtschi, who attended last year’s tryout camp, racing in his U.S. biathlon duds at a NorAm competition in Canmore, Alberta, this winter. (Photo: Jakob Ellingson)
Teo Sanchez (Chelsea Nordic) leads Jason Lawton (Biathlon Ontario) and others into the range in the youth men’s race.
Casey Smith (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon “B” Team) in the penalty loop.
The senior men’s field shooting prone for the first time.
Stuart Harden (Rocky Mountain Racers).
Maddie Phaneuf (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon X Team).
Paul Everett (Methow Valley Biathlon) and Jules Burnotte (Biathlon Estrie) in the penalty loop.
Maddie Phaneuf (Maine Winter Sports Center) and Leilani Tam Von Burg (Biathlon Alberta Training Center) off the line in the junior women’s race.
The youth men heading into the range.
Clare Egan (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/US Biathlon X Team).
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Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team) before the start.
Paul Everett (Methow Valley Biathlon, bib 3) and the rest of the youth men’s field about to start.
Tobias Quinn (Biathlon Ontario).
Katrina Howe (Maine Winter Sports Center).
The men’s field approaches the range for the first time.
Elise Putnam (National Guard Biathlon).
Stuart Harden (Rocky Mountain Racers) leads the junior men’s field.
Casey Smith (Maine Winter Sports Center) still on the shooting mat after most of the men’s field has left.
Vincent Blais (ACBQ) in the men’s race.
Junior women’s podium: winner Maddie Phaneuf (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon X Team, center); 2nd place Leilani Tam Von Burg (Biathlon Alberta Training Center, right); 3rd place Alexandria Hynds (Chelsea Nordiq, left).
Brian Halligan (Maine Winter Sports Center/US Biathlon Development Team).
Youth women’s podium: winner Bryn Robertson (Foothills Nordic, center); 2nd place Siena Ellingson (Loppet Nordic Racing, left); 3rd place Emily Dickson (Caledonia Nordic Ski Club).
Siena Ellingson (Loppet Nordic Racing).
Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team) bringing it home for the win in the men’s race.
Kristin Chicoine (Foothills Nordic) had the best race suit, by far.
Men’s field ready to start.
Youth men’s field on the range.
Emily Dickson (Caledonia Nordic Ski Club).
Clare Egan (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/US Biathlon X Team) takes a big lead to the finish line of the women’s race.
Matt Neumann (Caledonia Nordic Ski Club).
Youth men’s field.
Paul Everett (Methow Valley Biathlon) is the first to leave the range in the youth men’s race.
Ethan Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team).
Women’s podium: winner Clare Egan (Craftsbury Green Racing Project, center); 2nd place Katrina Howe (Maine Winter Sports Center, left); 3rd place Erin Yungblut (Biathlon Alberta Training Center).
Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team).
Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team) leads Casey Smith (US Biathlon “B” Team/Maine Winter Sports Center) and Vincent Blais (ACBQ) onto the course.
Kelsey Dickinson representing the Maine Winter Sports Center at NorAms in Canmore in December, 2014.
Mike Gibson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project).
The junior men’s field hits the range.
Heading down hill.
The junior men’s field before the start.
The youth men’s field ready to start.
Siena Ellingson (Loppet Nordic Racing) leaving the range.
Erin Yungblut (Biathlon Alberta Training Center).
Getting ready for customers.
Jacob Dalberg (National Guard Biathlon) and Mike Gibson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project).
Jules Burnotte (Biathlon Estrie) en route to winning the youth men’s race.
Leilani Tam Von Burg (Biathlon Alberta Training Center).
Sean Doherty (US Biathlon X Team), Mike Gibson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project), and Max Durtschi (US Biathlon X Team) racing
Junior men’s podium: winner Stuart Harden (Rocky Mountain Racers, center); 2nd place Matt Strum (Biathlon Alberta Training Center, right); and 3rd place Matt Hudec (Biathlon Alberta Training Center, left).
Katrina Howe (Maine Winter Sports Center) bringing it in for second place in the women’s race.
