International Biathlon Union
Encyclopedia
The International Biathlon Union, IBU, is the international governing body of biathlon
. Its headquarters are in Salzburg
, Austria
.
/Heathrow decided to exclude biathlon from the World federation UIPMB (Union de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon
), which it had been part of since 1953, forcing biathlon to form their own international federation. During the congress the new federation elected their executive committee and the 57 existing members of the UIPMB were automatically transferred to the IBU. However the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) did not recognise the IBU as an international Olympic winter sport federation until August 1998. In the same year the General Assembly International Sports Federations (GAISF) declared the IBU as a proper member.
The IBU settled in Salzburg, Austria in June 1999.
A congress is held every two years, and is considered the most important organ of the IBU accourding to its constitution
. The first congress was held in Salzburg, in 1994, then in Östersund
, Sweden
in 1996, Salzburg, Austria in 1998, Calgary
, Canada
in 2000, Nice
, France
in 2002, and the 2004 congress was held in Varna
, Bulgaria
. The first extensive board meeting took place in August 1993 in Darmstadt
, Germany
. Since then over 50 board meetings have been held.
Since the foundation of the IBU, seven World Championships for men and women have been held, and ten junior World Championships. There has also been two youth World Championships held, beginning in 2002. There has been 84 World Cups, and the European Championships have been conducted for both senior and junior athletes since the 1994/95 season.
The first summer biathlon World Championships took place in Hochfilzen
, Austria in 1996. During the 1999/2000 season the IBU assumed the management of archery biathlon from FITA
, and archery biathlon World Cups and World Championships have been held since 2002.
In the first Winter Olympics in which biathlon was included there were three events and up until the 2006 games, four, but in the 2006 games there were five.
, in the sense that the IBU's income would be spread among the athletes, and especially those who had fared worst with the end of the Soviet Union
. The IBU has contracts with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
and APF Marketing Services. There are sponsor advertisements along all the biathlon courses, the most notable ones being Viessmann
, Bauhaus
, Krombacher
, Toyota, Adidas
, and E.ON Ruhrgas/ Erdgas
, who is the main sponsor. Most of the sponsors are German
, Scandinavia
n, and Eastern Europe
an, where most of the interest in biathlon is. The IBU keep their administrative expenses at a minimum, and have created a financial reserve, so that if losses in income occur, such as a cancellation of an Olympic Games, the IBU would be able to draw on the reserve to ensure the survival of biathlon.
The biathlon events most people are familiar with are the World Cup
events, which is the season for the elite athletes; there is a second class season called the Europa Cup which has existed since the IBU's foundation. The men and women that finish in the top ten in the overall leader board have their travel and accommodation paid for the next season by the IBU.
During the 2002/03 season EUR 2.7 million (USD 3.4 million) was made available for bonuses and competition participation, development programmes, bonuses for events, free access of data and result services, and free execution of the accredition. In the 1994/95 season prize money awarded in World Cup events was 1500DM (2900EUR) for first place, 1000DM (2000EUR) for second place and 500DM (980EUR) for third place. However due to an increase in sponsorship money, increased attendance, and television audience, prize money for first place is now 9000EUR (7000USD), and over EUR 1.69 million (USD 1.3 million) was made available for prize money.
In 1996, as part of the IBU development project, partnership contracts were established with some companies, which supplied free materials and equipment, to the less fortunate member federations. The IBU now has partnership contracts with five companies, and equipment contracts with fifteen. These contracts insure the IBU can supply free, good quality clothing and equipment in large quantities to national federations. And during the 2002/03 season the IBU secured a contract with VW-Sponsoring, so that VW
-bus
ses are available to most of the teams taking part in IBU competitions.
Biathlon
Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...
. Its headquarters are in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
History
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) was founded on 2 July 1993. This occurred when the National Biathlon Union in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
/Heathrow decided to exclude biathlon from the World federation UIPMB (Union de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon
Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne
The International Modern Pentathlon Union , UIPM, is the international governing body of Modern pentathlon. Its headquarters are in Monte-Carlo, Monaco....
), which it had been part of since 1953, forcing biathlon to form their own international federation. During the congress the new federation elected their executive committee and the 57 existing members of the UIPMB were automatically transferred to the IBU. However the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) did not recognise the IBU as an international Olympic winter sport federation until August 1998. In the same year the General Assembly International Sports Federations (GAISF) declared the IBU as a proper member.
The IBU settled in Salzburg, Austria in June 1999.
A congress is held every two years, and is considered the most important organ of the IBU accourding to its constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
. The first congress was held in Salzburg, in 1994, then in Östersund
Östersund
Östersund is an urban area in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth largest lake, Storsjön, opposite the island Frösön, and is the only city in Jämtland. Östersund is the...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1996, Salzburg, Austria in 1998, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2000, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 2002, and the 2004 congress was held in Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The first extensive board meeting took place in August 1993 in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Since then over 50 board meetings have been held.
Since the foundation of the IBU, seven World Championships for men and women have been held, and ten junior World Championships. There has also been two youth World Championships held, beginning in 2002. There has been 84 World Cups, and the European Championships have been conducted for both senior and junior athletes since the 1994/95 season.
The first summer biathlon World Championships took place in Hochfilzen
Hochfilzen
Hochfilzen is a small village in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kitzbühel district. It is located at , in the Pillersee valley 5km west of Fieberbrunn. Population was 1,109 in 2001.It is a popular winter sports resort, especially for cross country skiing...
, Austria in 1996. During the 1999/2000 season the IBU assumed the management of archery biathlon from FITA
FITA
-Acronyms:* Friendly Islands Teachers' Association, a trade union in Tonga* Federación Argentina de Industrias Textiles* Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc, the World Archery Federation...
, and archery biathlon World Cups and World Championships have been held since 2002.
In the first Winter Olympics in which biathlon was included there were three events and up until the 2006 games, four, but in the 2006 games there were five.
Administration
In August 1993 a Secretary-General was appointed, and a secretary for the staff added in 1995. A World Cup coordinator was put in place in the 1997/98 season, in order to keep standards high. This coordinator was promoted to sports director before the start of the 2002/03 season. In April 2001 a communication director position was created to handle the part of communication and media, and for the partner and supplier area. In March 2001 the chairman of the IBU legal committee is responsible for all legal interests, as the legal advisor for the IBU.Budget
The IBU is a non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, in the sense that the IBU's income would be spread among the athletes, and especially those who had fared worst with the end of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The IBU has contracts with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
and APF Marketing Services. There are sponsor advertisements along all the biathlon courses, the most notable ones being Viessmann
Viessmann
The Viessmann Group is an international heating systems manufacturer headquartered in Allendorf , Germany. The group controlls 23 production and project management divisions in 11 countries, its products are available in 74 countries, owns 32 subsidiaries and 120 sales offices around the world...
, Bauhaus
Bauhaus (company)
Bauhaus is a German retail chain offering products for home improvement, gardening and workshop, using the name of the famous modernist Bauhaus school and style of the period between the First and Second World Wars. Its first store opened in Mannheim, Germany in 1960...
, Krombacher
Krombacher
Krombacher Brauerei is one of the largest privately owned breweries in Germany and ranks number 2 among Germany's best selling breweries.- History :...
, Toyota, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, and E.ON Ruhrgas/ Erdgas
E.ON
E.ON AG, marketed with an interpunct as E•ON, is the holding company of the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name comes from the Greek word aeon which means eternity....
, who is the main sponsor. Most of the sponsors are German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n, and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an, where most of the interest in biathlon is. The IBU keep their administrative expenses at a minimum, and have created a financial reserve, so that if losses in income occur, such as a cancellation of an Olympic Games, the IBU would be able to draw on the reserve to ensure the survival of biathlon.
The biathlon events most people are familiar with are the World Cup
Biathlon World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup has been held since the winter seasons of 1977/78 and 1982/83, for men and women, respectively ....
events, which is the season for the elite athletes; there is a second class season called the Europa Cup which has existed since the IBU's foundation. The men and women that finish in the top ten in the overall leader board have their travel and accommodation paid for the next season by the IBU.
During the 2002/03 season EUR 2.7 million (USD 3.4 million) was made available for bonuses and competition participation, development programmes, bonuses for events, free access of data and result services, and free execution of the accredition. In the 1994/95 season prize money awarded in World Cup events was 1500DM (2900EUR) for first place, 1000DM (2000EUR) for second place and 500DM (980EUR) for third place. However due to an increase in sponsorship money, increased attendance, and television audience, prize money for first place is now 9000EUR (7000USD), and over EUR 1.69 million (USD 1.3 million) was made available for prize money.
In 1996, as part of the IBU development project, partnership contracts were established with some companies, which supplied free materials and equipment, to the less fortunate member federations. The IBU now has partnership contracts with five companies, and equipment contracts with fifteen. These contracts insure the IBU can supply free, good quality clothing and equipment in large quantities to national federations. And during the 2002/03 season the IBU secured a contract with VW-Sponsoring, so that VW
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
-bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
ses are available to most of the teams taking part in IBU competitions.