International Biathlon Union

Last updated

International Biathlon Union
IBU official logo.svg
Sport Biathlon
Jurisdiction Emblem-earth.svg International
Founded2 July 1993
Headquarters Anif b. Salzburg, Austria
PresidentOlle Dahlin
Official website
www.biathlonworld.com

The International Biathlon Union (IBU; German : Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. [1] It was rocked by a corruption scandal that broke in 2018, concerning the Russians bribing its top two officials. In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as invading nations, were suspended from all international biathlon competitions until further notice.

Contents

Members

61 nations (March 2023): [2]

  1. Asia (11):Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan,Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China,Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei,Flag of India.svg  India,Flag of Japan.svg  Japan,Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan,Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea,Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon,Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia,Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan,Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
  2. Oceania (2):Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia,Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
  3. Americas (7):Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada,Flag of Chile.svg  Chile,Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil,Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic,Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina,Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico,Flag of the United States.svg  United States
  4. Europe (41):Flag of Andorra.svg  Andorra,Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia,Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium,Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus,Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia,Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova,Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia,Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom,Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria,Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia,Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus,Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic,Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark,Flag of Germany.svg  Germany,Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia,Flag of Italy.svg  Italy,Flag of France.svg  France,Flag of Finland.svg  Finland,Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland,Flag of Greece.svg  Greece,Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary,Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia,Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein,Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania,Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia,Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands,Flag of Norway.svg  Norway,Flag of Austria.svg  Austria,Flag of Poland.svg  Poland,Flag of Spain.svg  Spain,Flag of Romania.svg  Romania,Flag of Russia.svg  Russia,Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia,Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina,Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia,Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland,Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden,Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland,Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine,Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland,Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey

History

1993–2009

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) was founded in London on 2 July 1993. This occurred when the National Biathlon Union in London/Heathrow decided to exclude biathlon from the World federation UIPMB (Union de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon), which it had been part of since 1953, [3] 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 Global Association of 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 according to its constitution. The first congress was held in Salzburg in 1994.

Since the foundation of the IBU, yearly World Championships for men and women have been held, as well as junior World Championships and youth World Championships (the first being held in 2002). 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. From 2006 onward there have been five biathlon events (Relay, Individual, Mass Start, Sprint, and Pursuit), and from 2014, six with the inclusion of the Mixed Relay.

2010–2019: Russian corruption scandal

In 2018 the IBU underwent a corruption scandal with its President Anders Besseberg and his deputy, General Secretary Nicole Resch, accused of accepting bribes from Russia. [4] The two left their positions that year after Austrian and Norwegian authorities announced criminal investigations into their conduct. [5] Besseberg had led biathlon’s governing body for 25 years. [5] During that time, according to a January 2021 report commissioned by biathlon’s new leadership and resulting from a two-year investigation, he accepted gifts from the Russians consisting of cash-filled briefcases totalling at least - but perhaps much more than - $200,000 in bribes, luxury vacations and hunting trips, and young women "aides" during trips to World Cup biathlon events. [5] [6] In return Besseberg defended Russia's athletes, assailed its critics, and blocked efforts to root out doping by Russia's teams. [5] The report also detailed Resch's similar actions. [5]

2020–present: suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as invading nations, were suspended from all international biathlon competitions until further notice. [7] The International Biathlon Union banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials at its international events, and began procedures to suspend the Russian and Belarusian Biathlon Federations. [8] [9]

Administration and sponsorship

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. The coordinator was promoted to sports director before the start of the 2002/03 season. In April 2001 a communication director position was created. In March 2001 the chairman of the IBU legal committee was the legal advisor for the IBU. In May 2020, the IBU moved to a new headquarters in the municipality of Anif, Austria.

The IBU is a non-profit organization, having contacts 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 Hörmann, Bauhaus, Viessmann, LaVita, DKB, and BMW, who is the main sponsor. IFS (software solutions) acts as Official Data Partner and Polar (heart rate monitors) as Timing Partner benefitting from visibility in all TV graphics relating to time measurement. Most of the sponsors are German, Scandinavian, and Eastern European, where most of the interest in biathlon is. 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 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 IBU 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.

Events

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "International Biathlon Union relocates to new headquarters". 4 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "International Biathlon Union - IBU".
  3. ↑ "The 11th Annual IBU Congress Opens". Biathlonworld. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "How Russia bought the International Biathlon Union". Le Monde. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Panja, Tariq (28 January 2021). "Hunting Trips, Sex and Cash: How Russia Influenced Biathlon's Leader". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
  6. ↑ "IBU External Review Commission Final Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Russian and Belarussian biathletes to compete as neutral athletes in IBU events". 26 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Russian and Belarussian biathletes banned from IBU events". International Biathlon Union - IBU. 2 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "IBU initiates suspension of National Federations of Russia and Belarus and launches solidarity programme for Ukrainian biathlon". International Biathlon Union - IBU. 17 March 2022.

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