Media fact sheet, November 2019 goal is adding momentum to a (peripheral) sport

Biathlon is a fascinating sport. Biathlon touches people. And biathlon generates emotions like hardly any other sport. Athletes who want to win need to master cross-country skiing as well as shooting. In the end, it’s their shooting skills that decide between victory and defeat. The shooting results change round for round and provide a spectacle, create drama and give rise to dreams. This sport experience can hardly be any more gripping!

This live event can be seen in Lenzerheide from 23 January to 2 February 2020 as the current highlight in the pursuit of its goal to host the Biathlon World Cup. Three hundred talented young athletes from 35 countries will compete for the title of world champion in 16 different races.

A warm welcome...

...to the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships at the «home of the shooting stars»! Step by step towards the final goal

For the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide, the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships is an important milestone on the way to achieving its ultimate goal of bringing the World Cup to . The World Cup venues for the next cycle from 2022 to 2026 will be awarded by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) in 2020. As a success- ful Youth/Junior World Championships meeting with positive reaction will be important for winning this bid, we want to set a signal during this crucial phase and show the international biathlon world that Switzerland is ready to host the World Cup.

Beginning in 2006

The Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide was opened in December 2013 and is the first and only facility in Switzerland that meets international competition standards. The project started much earlier however, in 2006, under the name “Association Biathlon Centre Bual”. The initiators laid the cornerstone in Lantsch/Lenz by building the biathlon shooting range. This shooting range did not yet meet World Cup standards, as the IBU’s requirements include a competition building.

With the support of the private investors Carola and Michael Hartweg, progress was slowly made in the right direction from 2015. Together with other necessary additions, the facility’s centrepiece, the Nordic House, was built within seven months. The operating company “Nordic und Biathlon AG” was privatised at the same time and transferred to the present company “Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG”. The new management defined and has since consistently pursued a sustainable and long-term strategy for the development of biathlon sport in Switzerland.

Four-pillar strategy The Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide concept

Promotion of Infrastructure/ Biathlon Competitions/ athletes and young facilities experience planning talents

2 1. Infrastruktur/Ausstattung

During the past few years, the IBU’s requirements for a facility that meets World Cup standards could be implemented step by step. In summer 2017, the Arena received the important A licence from the IBU, the biathlon umbrella association. This licence authorises the Arena to host World Cup races and elite world championships.

The infrastructure required for the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide’s A licence mainly includes the following:

• 30 fully automated shooting stands • cross-country tracks of different lengths that have been approved for official competitions • offices and doping control rooms of the required size in Nordic House • media centre of at least 350 m2 • toilet facilities for athletes • different underpasses for media representatives, athletes and spectators

The infrastructure also includes:

• roller-ski track of 1.6 km for use during the summer, which will be lengthened to 5.2 km in the near future • snow factory for temperature-independent snowmaking and 32 machines for the manufacture of artificial snow to guarantee competition feasibility • illuminated 4-km night track

Other infrastructure components are listed under «Biathlon experience».

3 2. Promotion of athletes and young talents

To add further momentum to biathlon sport in Switzerland, invest- ments are not only made in the infrastructure, but also in talented young athletes. The Biathlon Training Centre Eastern Switzer- land was established in 2015 with the cooperation of all the Eastern Switzerland regional associations, i.e. Graubünden Ski Association, Eastern Switzerland Ski Association, Liechtenstein Ski Association, Ski Association Sarganserland/Walensee and Zurich Ski Association. The Training Centre in Lenzerheide has since been selectively promoting more than 20 talented young athletes between the ages of 14 and 21.

The first big successes were celebrated in February 2019: the Swiss Ski athletes Amy Baserga from Einsiedeln and Niklas Hartweg from Wollerau, both of whom trained at Amy Baserga, Niklas Hartweg the Training Centre in Lenzerheide, won the junior world championships and wrote Swiss sport history. Sebastian Stalder came second at the IBU Junior Cup, the world series for the best juniors, and won the small Crystal Globe for the individual event. The first of our talented young athletes have definitely joined the world’s elite and give us reason to hope for continued success in the future.

Biathlon athletes can also benefit from another milestone: two years ago, Carola and Michael Hartweg set up the Sebastian Stalder (links) Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide Foundation. This Foundation promotes and supports Swiss biathletes, in particular those who train at the Biathlon Training Centre Eastern Switzerland. The Foundation’s assets and earnings are also used to promote and support the infrastructure and operation of the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide in Lantsch/ Lenz, thus making a material contribution to the development of biathlon sport in Switzerland.

Cooperation with Swiss-Ski Cooperation with Swiss-Ski is of crucial importance to the future plans of the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide. The Arena received Swiss-Ski’s label as «national biathlon service centre» in November 2018. Together with the Sport School, the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide was thus recognised as one of the most important promoters of talented young biathletes in Switzerland.

Swiss-Ski recognises the Biathlon Arena as an official training station and uses its infrastructure for regular training courses. This helps at different levels to strengthen cooperation between the Biathlon Training Centre Eastern Switzerland and the management teams of Swiss ski associations. Many athletes have also relocated to Lenzerheide in order to benefit as much as possible from the training infrastructure. Hosting a Biathlon World Cup in Switzerland would be very important for Swiss-Ski, both in terms of strategy and sports policy.

4 3. Biathlon experience

The Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide offers a home not only to elite athletes, but also to the general population. The Arena’s diverse offer includes various introductory courses, company and team events and delicious food served at Bistro Bualino. The Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide offers the perfect infrastructure:

• Nordic House with… • … a hostel • … Bistro Bualino • … a roof terrace for exclusive events • … two seminar rooms • … an athletics room • … its own sport shop • … ski/waxing room and weapons room • … public dressing rooms, showers and toilets

• Hotel Garni Cualmet in the village of Lantsch/Lenz • company events with introductory biathlon courses • introductory airgun courses for children

4. Competitions/planning

Der Weg zum Weltcup

 Biathlon Alpencup  Leonteq Biathlon Cup Leonteq Biathlon Cup  FIS Tour de Ski  Alpencup FIS Tour de Ski Eröffnung Nordic House Jugend und Junioren WM  IBU Junior Cup Bau Erweiterung Rollskibahn IBU A-Lizenz

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22

Bau Sportanlage  FIS Tour de Ski  Leonteq Biathlon Cup Leonteq Biathlon Cup Eröffnung Stadion  Alpencup Label NLZ Biathlon IBU Junior Cup IBU B-Lizenz  IBU Junior Cup Lenzerheide/Davos IBU Cup  Biathlon  IBU Junior Cup FIS Tour de Ski Ländervergleich  IBU Cup  Zollmeisterschaften  IBU Cup Leonteq Biathlon Cup  FIS Tour de Ski IBU Junior Cup  EFNS (Europäische Forstliche  Schweizermeisterschaften IBU Cup Nordische Skiwettkämpfe) Gründung Stiftung Winteruniversiade Meilensteine  Ski-OL Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide Disziplin Biathlon  durchgeführte Wettkämpfe  Schweizermeisterschaften geplante Wettkämpfe Gründung Verein Biathlon Highlights Stützpunkt Ostschweiz (BSO)

The rapid evolution of biathlon into the winter sport that is most attractive to spectators has given birth to strong competition between venues that would like to host biathlon World Cup events. To have a chance to host a World Cup, a venue and organisation committee first have to gain many years of experience in the professional presentation of different international competitions.

5 This is why the Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide has developed a strategic World Cup plan and has applied via the national Swiss-Ski association to host various competitions of growing importance. The Biathlon Alpine Cup was the first international competition to be hosted during the 2013/14 season. This was followed by IBU Junior Cups and IBU Cups in the next years. The organisation of the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships 2020 is the interim highlight.

The regular hosting of the FIS Tour de Ski and competitions for talented young biathletes also serves as important cornerstones in the Arena’s competition strategy.

Facts and figures Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide

1 May 2018 to 30 April 2018

Winter-Saisonstart 1. November 2018

Produktionsstunden Verkauf Monatspässe Snowfactory Loipenpässe106 November 1600 169 1494Tagespässe gespurte Loipentage

Je 250 Helfer 250 am IBU Junior Cup und IBU Cup 425 5336 durchgeführte Kurs- Kurse teilnehmer Logiernächte 2690 Nordic Hostel 33% Zimmerauslastung 24 2448 Hotel Garni Cualmet Teil-/Vollzeitstellen

6 Kontakte

Media enquiries can be addressed to: Seraina Schöb Head of Marketing Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG Tel. +41 79 586 92 45 [email protected]

Michael Hartweg Chairman of the Board of Directors Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG

Hannes Managing Director OC Chairman IBU Youth/Junior World Championships Biathlon 2020 Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG

Silvio Baselgia Manager Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG

Carola Hartweg Chairperson Biathlon Training Centre Eastern Switzerland

Caroline Kalberer Manager Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide Foundation

Biathlon Arena Lenzerheide AG Voia da Bual 1 CH-7083 Lantsch/Lenz +41 81 659 11 00 [email protected] biathlonarena.ch

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