Young athlete training for biathlon at top tier
He’s become a familiar sight in Creemore: 13-year- old Nolan Martin-Mills whipping around town on his roller skis. Martin-Mills is training for the biathlon – an event which pairs cross country skiing and shooting. He is already competing at an advanced level, and his coach says an Olympic berth is a reasonable goal.
Martin-Mills advanced from Development 2 level to Development 3 in the past year.
“Now there are more races and I’m training about 350 hours over the course of the season.”
He trains along with five other Development 3 athletes at Highlands Nordic in Duntroon where he and two others moved up to the top tier this year. Three senior members of the team train more than 550 hours per season. Many athletes max out at Development Level 2 by the time they are 16-18 years of age. Only the most dedicated advance to Level 3.
Martin-Mills trains with his teammates at Highlands Nordic on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The rest of his training is self directed, based on a program set out by his coach.
“We can only get out on skis here once there is enough snow, probably in late December or early January. Until then, it’s all roller skiing. It’s harder to practice at speed because if you fall you’re not landing on snow. It’s concrete. There are no brakes on roller skis but it’s a great way to work on technique.”
Shooting practise also continues year-round. Martin-Mills says the focus shifts with the season. “In summer, we work on precision shooting, trying to put five bullets one right on top of the other. Once we get into biathlon season, we are trying to get all five bullets somewhere on the target.”
In addition to Nolan, mom Sarah Martin-Mills has two younger children in the program.
“We are a volunteer organization and every parent pitches in to keep it as affordable as possible. Even so, the cost of equipment and travel adds up.”
“If you want to be competitive, you need race skis plus rock skis, classic roller skis and skate roller skis, two pairs of boots and three sets of poles, “ according to Sarah. “Fortunately you can get some bargains at the ski swap at Highlands, and the club leases equipment.”
Each pair of skis can cost $500 plus, if purchased new and the rifles used for the shooting portion of the competition can be $4,000 used, or about $8,000 new.
Competitions last for a full weekend with sprint races on Day 1 to earn starting placements in the pursuit races on Day 2. A sprint race typically involves three bouts of shooting and four legs of skiing. The pursuit races involve shooting four times and skiing five legs.
Biathlon is a very popular winter sport in Europe. Within Canada, it’s most popular in Alberta and British Columbia and not so well known in Ontario. There are a limited number of races at the Development 3 level including a big annual competition in Van Cartier, Quebec. This year’s Nationals will be held in Canmore, Alberta. Nolan says in a typical season, the team might travel south of the border three or four times for races and training camps. This year, they will go to the U.S. only once.
