According to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) wants to reform the starting system in order to make TV viewers stay with the broadcasts.
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) wants a new starting system to add excitement to biathlon, NRK tells. Athletes have started collecting signatures to block the plan.
The IBU would like to introduce the new starting system for sprint and normal trips already this coming winter.
The IBU wants to continue with four starting groups, but the biggest change is that the best would no longer be allowed to choose which starting group they enter.
In the past, the best have been able to start in the first group through their own selection.
In the new plan, biathletes outside the top 30 in the overall World Cup standings would be in the first starting group. Athletes from positions 16.–30. would be in the second starting group and the best in the third starting group. The weakest competitors would remain in the last starting group.
The purpose of the change in the starting system would be to make TV viewers stay longer with the broadcasts.
The plan has received criticism
Top biathlon skiers, such as Vetle Sjåstad Christiansenhave given criticism to the plan.
– We are unsure if the TV viewer will be able to follow the race all the way to starting numbers 60–70–80 before the World Series leader gets on the track. I think the proposal is not workable, the Beijing Olympic gold medalist wondered.
According to Christiansen, the signature campaign also includes athletes from Sweden, France and Germany.
Sports Manager of the Norwegian Ski Association Per Arne Botnan is also against change. He justified his opinion by the fact that the conditions of the race are better in the first starts, because the track has not yet collected mud.
Norwegian ski expert Ola Lunde however, welcomes the proposed change.
– Until now, the spectators have mostly stopped watching the race after starting numbers 30–40 have reached the finish line. This has meant that interest in the broadcast has dropped drastically after the best finishers have crossed the finish line. The new change would make biathlon even more spectator-friendly.
– The best are almost certainly the best anyway. We have seen races won at start number 50 and beyond before. In some races, of course, it can be an advantage to leave early, Lunde pointed out.
In a written statement from the IBU seen by Norwegian media, it is said that it is currently holding discussions with stakeholders about the introduction of a new starting group system.