Ecoaims, one of the project equipment suppliers for IBU – Biathlon For All project
Biathlon for All is a project launched by the International Biathlon Union (IBU). As the Ecoaims team, we are thrilled to be one of the project equipment suppliers, providing our innovative optical biathlon rifle sets with targets to Biathlon For All project.
”This project aims to inspire and encourage kids and youths to practice biathlon by giving them sustainable, safe equipment and a socially positive activities toolkit that can be used across the world.” (1. IBU, 2024).
In this article we will take a moment to reflect on on this journey, and how this Biathlon for All project benefits newcomers to the sport, individual athletes, rising biathlon nations, national federations and sport clubs.
We reached out to Emőke Szőcs, Biathlon head coach at Hungarian Ski Association and asked her more about this project:
Emőke Szőcs
Biathlon head coach at the Hungarian Ski Association, representing one of the federations supported within the Biathlon for All project.
What does Biathlon for All project mean for the sport of biathlon?
”New opportunities to introduce biathlon to ordinary people what leads us to increase the number of the participants in biathlon in all segments.”
What benefits do you see and anticipate the project has for the future of biathlon?
”I would say that project gives opportunity to learn the basics of biathlon, to get to know biathlon in detail in a very easy and safety way. What I really like about it is that we are not limited to a specific shooting range and we do not need to obtain official permits from police if we want to organize a biathlon competition.
Thanks for that project we can recruit children, volunteers and new coaches as well. With this we can grow the biathlon family in our country.”
You meet lots of pro athletes and young folks who are just getting into the sport. How are Ecoaims camera based biathlon products received by the IBU and users?
”At the beginning I didn’t know what to expect, I hoped for the best. I was very surprised how much people are interested in it. Parents and kids as well, there is no age limit. Is very easy to learn how to handle the gun, very quickly they learn it, and very soon they feel the magic of biathlon.
They really like that they can see the results with the help of the display, this visual information is decisive as well. We had events on winter, summer and indoor conditions as well.”
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Petri Matikainen – CEO, Ecoaims Ltd.
We also got in touch with our CEO, Petri Matikainen, who extended his warm regards from the 2024 Para Biathlon World Championships in Prince George, Canada.
”It is great to see our electronic shooting systems used in promoting biathlon across the globe. We are very impressed how IBU is running Biathlon for All – project and are very happy to be part of it.
It has also been great to see the excitement and commitment from national federations towards the project and the positive feedback for our systems.”
Petri Matikainen – CEO, Ecoaims Ltd.
Ecoaims products are designed to be safe, easy to use, and environmentally friendly, making them ideal for introducing biathlon to new audiences and at the same time giving top-level athletes a smart way to train and succeed.
Get to know our precision biathlon rifle sets
Head to Biathlon category of Ecoaims.com:
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IBU lists project objectives in their website:
- ”Increase access to biathlon using laser rifles by providing education and co-funding equipment for all active National Federations.
- Creating a database about biathlon activities by collecting the numbers of kids participating in the program (+clubs/schools)
- Monitoring the kids and youths’ participation in the recruitment and training process
- Integrating NFs around joint projects makes biathlon popular worldwide, creating opportunities for good practices exchange.
- Increase National Federations’ domestic activities (annual number of starts, active clubs, held competitions, and provided education activities)
- Promoting Olympic values” (2. IBU, 2024).
We are already looking forward to the next Biathlon for All conference in May 2024. The future of this great sport is looking good, with even more young, upcoming, and top-level athletes can enter the training fields!