A new shooting range in Vuokatti helps top biathletes hone their shooting skills
The unique training and testing environment for biathletes was opened this autumn in Vuokatti. On this shooting range developed by the Sport Technology Unit of the Ģą˝Ö±˛Ą, the biathletes shoot at electronic targets and the hitting accuracy is instantly displayed to the shooter and the coach.
The range has altogether eight shooting areas, with six outdoors and two in an indoor laboratory. The lab now makes it possible to measure shooting technique with live ammunition. This was not possible before, as such measurements were conducted in indoor facilities inapplicable to any live round shooting.
The shooting range is located near the Vuokatti Sport Centre and is the first of its kind in Finland and unique in Europe as well.
“In Finland, there is no other training environment like this, and also internationally this is quite unique. Teams from abroad have been highly interested,” says Project Manager Antti Leppävuori from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Ģą˝Ö±˛Ą.
This autumn, the training range will be used by the Finnish national biathlon team as well as by the Italian female national team led by coach Jonne Kähkönen. The U.S. national team has also made a booking for the range.
Coaches can concentrate on observing the biathlete’s technique
One of the first users of the training range is Tuomas Harjula,a member of the privateElectrofit Team, who is preparing himself for next year’s World Championships in Lenzerheiden, Switzerland, and also aiming at a top ranking in the World Cup.
“The number one thing on this range is that the hits are shown on the electronic display, and the biathlete gets immediate feedback,” Harjula says. “The coach can concentrate on observing the shooting technique.”
The electronic system makes it possible for the coach to adopt a different role better use their coaching expertise. On this shooting range, the coach need not use a telescope to look at the hits. Instead, the coach concentrates on observing the biathlete and identifying possible flaws affecting the performance.
“Biathletes often have certain recurrent flaws in their technique,” Leppävuori says. “Such major flaws are fairly easy to recognise by observing their performance.”
Shooting practice while fatigued creates a competitive asset for the biathlete
One purpose of the new range is to enable shooting practice that simulates or even exceeds the exertion biathletes have to make in a competition. For this reason, the shooting range has been located on top of a hill. According to Leppävuori, this is important for their training and preparation.
“To approach the range, the biathletes have to first exert themselves, so then they have to practice shooting in a fatigued state,” Leppävuori says.
“This kind of training is not usually possible on a normal range, but in competitions, especially in relay events, it may happen that a biathlete has to shoot when tired. It is important to master such situations and learn to recognise what speed of approach best suits each competitor personally.”
Harjula sees that the climb to the shooting range makes the training more challenging.
“Even abroad, the shooting areas are rarely located after a climb,” Harjula says, “but it is a competitive asset if you have trained shooting under conditions of maximum exertion. It will then be easier in a competitive setting.”
Shooting with live ammunition measured for the first time
In the laboratory next to the shooting range, the techniques are measured in a real shooting situation, as they shoot with a real rifle and live ammunition. The research environment is unique. Earlier, no real shooting performances could be measured this way because live ammunition could not be used in indoor laboratory settings.
“In a shooting performance, we measure the biathlete’s balance and how it varies, barrel movements, and pressure on the trigger and the shoulder. In the future, we will also be able to assess strap pressure,” Leppävuori explains.
All these have an impact on shooting performance, and exact measurements in real shooting situations provide important data for optimising the performance.
“This is an optimal location for shooting practice, which we often do in spring and early summer along with physical training,” Harjula says. “And we can study trigger pressing, aiming, recoil, fundamental elements of shooting.”.
Special dividers ensure protection around each of the eight shooting places. The dividers are a new innovation, which makes it possible to build a shooting range close to a residential area.
The shooting range is also a good place to test products
The planning and designing of the range started in the JYU Sport Technology Unit in Vuokatti in 2016. The project has received EU funding through the Regional Council of Kainuu, and was built over the past two years. It is now ready for use.
In addition to training and research, the range is also used for product development and testing. At present, testing is underway for electronic targets developed by Suomen Biathlon Ltd., which the company aims to have in use in the next Winter Olympics.
The Sport Technology Unit will continue to develop the shooting range and testing environment. Leppävuori is planning, for instance, to integrate a biathlete’s shooting results into the Coach tech system developed in the Sport Technology Unit. The system collects data on biathletes’ performances, and it may be possible in the future to look at shooting performances afterwards from the system.
