The opening of the BMW IBU World Championships Biathlon in Lenzerheide will mark another milestone in a campaign to recruit more women into coaching and officiating. U.S. Biathlon’s Sara Studebaker-Hall, an Olympic veteran, will serve at technical delegate for the prestigious event. Heartbeat spoke to Studebaker-Hall as she prepared for the Championships, which begin Feb. 12.

An impactful advocate for women in officiating, Studebaker-Hall has spent the last few years working her way up the officiating ladder, eventually becoming an IBU referee and passing her technical delegate exam. She made a big step a year ago by serving as a referee at the Hochfilzen IBU World Cup. This past December, she had her first TD assignment at the Junior Cup in Ridnau, Italy.

Serving as technical delegate at the World Championships is clearly a major assignment. Studebaker-Hall had been in Lenzerheide last summer for a workshop, and received the news of her prestigious assignment on her way back to the USA.

She was humbled by the role. “The IBU has a lot of female technical delegates at this point, and many who are more experienced than myself,” she said. “I'm very honored to fill this role.”

Thanks in part to Studebaker-Hall’s advocacy the past few years, there is a growing number of women in officiating in America. But her passion still runs deep. “Without the officials, without the volunteers, you can't do the sport,” she said. “It doesn't work. And so being part of that and making sure that the races go off according to the rules and according to what the athletes are expecting is is really gratifying.”

Studebaker-Hall goes into detail on her role at Lenzerheide, and the steps other can take to follow in her footsteps as a biathlon official. She also dives into the qualifying criteria for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.

PAST EPISODES WITH SARA STUDEBAKER HALL
Achieving IBU TD Certification - S3 Ep1 - Sept. 2022
Bringing Life Experience to Biathlon - S1 Ep - S1 Ep2 - June 2020

[00:00:00] Tom Kelly: Welcome to Heartbeat, everyone. Today we have someone who actually, I think, is the most frequent guest on Heartbeat, Sara Studebaker-Hall. Sara, thank you for joining us once again.

[00:00:13] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, Tom, it's always a pleasure to be here. I love talking with you.

[00:00:15] Tom Kelly: And we're going to talk about a couple of different things today. We're going to talk about the World Championships. Sara will actually be serving as the technical delegate at the World Championships. World championships in Lenzerheide that start on February 12th. And we're going to also take a few minutes at the end to talk about the Olympic selection criteria. Qualifying criteria, as we are now literally just one year out. Actually just under one year out when this podcast comes out to the start of the games in Milan-Cortina. So, Sara, when are you heading over to Switzerland?

[00:00:51] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. So I head over on Friday, so the seventh of, of February. So, um, just a few days before the event starts, but trying to be there enough ahead of time to kind of check things out before everybody gets on the ground.

[00:01:05] Tom Kelly: Well, the last time we had you on, actually, no, I have to go back two times. Last time we had you on, it was a preview of the World Cup. And then two years ago, we had you on to talk about, uh, how you have been climbing up through the ranks of biathlon officials worldwide. But you will be the first female in IBU history to be the technical delegate at the World Championships. Congratulations.

[00:01:27] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Thank you. Yeah, it's kind of a funny thing. I didn't quite believe it when. When someone told me that that was the case.You know, I know IBU is they've got a lot of female technical delegates at this point, and many who are more experienced than myself. But, of course, I'm very honored to fill this role and be that person.

[00:01:48] Tom Kelly: If you look back, though, over the last few years, I know that you have been very active in this area, encouraging other women to get into coaching, to get into officiating. So, do you find that there is now a fraternity of sorts of women officials growing up within the international biathlon community.

[00:02:09] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. For sure. You know, there's the group that I took my technical delegate test with included several women, and we've remained pretty close, and I've been lucky enough to serve with several of them and several of the other women who have more experience, as well as some women who are more new to the technical delegate pool. And in the other events that I've I've been an official for with IBU and it's it's really fun to see and I think it helps a lot. It helps the athletes to see more diverse faces out there officiating. And I think it helps, you know, within our community in the US, women who are wanting to become officials, to see that there are other female officials out there in other countries that are serving as technical delegates and serving as referees all around at different levels at the different venues.

[00:03:00] Tom Kelly: You are qualified as a referee in your sport, and I'm going to turn it over to you to explain that you will be working with other referees over in Lenzerheide, but you will be the technical delegate. So give our listeners a sense of how that process works. What does it mean to be a referee and then what does it mean to be the technical delegate?

[00:03:21] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah for sure. So I think, you know, we gave a general overview of the process and one of the previous podcasts I've been on. But you know, generally you're coming up educated as a basic official within your governing body. So we have a level one and two officials status in the US. And after you've served in, you know, volunteered in as an official domestically for 3 or 4 years, then you can be eligible to take the international referee exam. And that's an exam that's run through the EBU. You have to be nominated by your federation. So by the US Biathlon Association in order to take that. So we have several referees in the United States who have that international referee distinction. And then once you've been in that position for a couple of years, you can be eligible to take the technical delegate test with EBU. And then once you pass that, you can be assigned as a referee. So even though you're a technical delegate, you're assigned as a referee to all the different levels of EBU events. So EBU World Championships, World Cup, IBU Cup, Junior Cup, junior Youth and Youth and Junior World Championships. Um, you know, even the Olympics. So those people are all technical delegates, even though they might be assigned as the referee for the start finish, for example. And all of those people are serving together with and underneath a technical delegate who has the same level of education as as they do, but is serving as the technical delegate for the event. So is technically in charge of those referees.

[00:04:52] Tom Kelly: When you're in Lenzerheide at the World Championships, you will be working with a number of other referees, what will some of their specific roles be underneath your leadership?

[00:05:03] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, so we have referees in all the different most important areas. So a referee on the shooting range obviously that's a really important area. The referee for the start finish kind of stadium area, we call that in the US. Um there's a referee for the material control. So advertising rules safety that sort of thing is really important in biathlon, especially at the World Cup World Championships level and then a referee for the course. So that person is making sure that the course is groomed properly, working really closely with the chief, of course, and making sure that there's not any safety issues. And if it's getting warm that we're making decisions about salting and that sort of, uh, those sorts of things.

[00:05:44] Tom Kelly: What's a typical day? And I know there's no such thing as a typical day, but but run us through what a day might be like at the World Championships.

[00:05:52] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. So, you know, our role as the TD and as all the referees that are there with IBU. Our role is really to support the organising committee. So, you know, it's really the organising committee that's putting in the long hours and the really hard work and making sure the venue is ready and making sure the volunteers are there and doing their job. And as the TD and the referees, it's our job to just double check and help out if we need to help out. Obviously, you know, we're extra pairs of hands. We have, you know, sometimes a little bit more experience than some of the Chiefs. You know, a lot of times some of the Chiefs are also TDs that are part of our TD group. So we might know them. Um, but you know, we're we're really there in the end to make sure that the event runs safely and smoothly. And, you know, per the rules. So it's, you know, simple. But as you said, there's no typical day. I think you never know what you're going to really encounter. Those early days are really making sure that things are set up. You know, you might be moving a start line four inches, six inches, you know, to make sure that it's in the right spot for the TV cameras, or making sure that the penalty loop is exactly the right distance. You know, those sorts of things looking at access for the athletes, making sure that they're not having to cross over a bunch of fans and have impeded access to the start or finish or something like that. So trying to think through all the different layers and essentially an extra set of hands and extra brain that's there, thinking about what could go wrong and what needs to be done.

[00:07:22] Tom Kelly: You had your first assignment, I believe, as a technical delegate a season ago at the World Cup in Hochfilzen. How did that go? What was your experience like there? And is this kind of thing that. Are you nervous going into it?

[00:07:35] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. So in Hochfilzen I actually served as a referee for the start finish, but it was my first time at the World Cup, which that highest level. And you know the difference I think for between the World Cup and the other IBU levels like the Junior Cup or the IBU Cup, is, is really the eyes that are on the event. You know, there's all the television cameras, there's a lot of media, so there's a lot more things to think about and a lot of a lot more people that are involved in making sure that the race happens and have a stake in how it looks and what's happening. So that can can be extra complicating, because you're not just thinking about the rules and how to lay something out according to the rules, but also how something is going to look on TV or how something's going to be presented for the fans that are in attendance. So that was really interesting. And then, um, my first time as a technical delegate was actually in December at the Junior Cup in Ridnaun, Italy. And that was a great place for me to learn because there's not not any TV cameras a little bit less, uh, you know, not quite as high stakes as a World Cup event. Um, and I worked with a really great team of people who had a lot of experience and were really helpful to me and, and made sure I got where I needed to be when I needed to be there. You work really closely with the timers, so Kiwi data is the timing company for all IBU events and they were super helpful. There's lots of papers that the PTD has to sign in a timely manner, and making sure that I was staying on top of all of those things, so I felt like I got a really good crash course in what a PTD does and the role. That's how that's a little bit different from the other referee roles.

[00:09:15] Tom Kelly: Great. I want to talk more about women in officiating, particularly here in the US. But first, for those who might not be familiar with you, can you give us a little background on your career as an athlete and how you eventually moved into working for U.S. biathlon?

[00:09:30] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, definitely. So I got into biathlon when I was in high school. I grew up in Boise, Idaho, and there wasn't any biathlon going on there, but I had a coach who had done some biathlon, who had coached some biathlon, and he got myself and a friend into it and we, I kind of fell in love and did some biathlon through high school. I had more opportunity actually to do some summer biathlon and ended up going on my first international trip to Russia in summer biathlon, which at that time was running and shooting. And then I went to college. I went to Dartmouth College. I didn't do biathlon really for four years, skied on the Dartmouth ski team, and then when I was graduating, had the opportunity to come back and join us. Biathlon development team, uh, did that uh, June 2007 and ended up spending seven years as part of the national team, um, I think three world championship teams and two Olympic teams in that time period. And, uh, retired in 2014 after the Sochi Games. And, um, I went into coaching at that point. I started coaching in Alaska at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and shortly after was elected as the athlete representative for US biathlon on our board of directors and to the US Olympic Committee's uh Athlete Advisory Council. And uh, through that kind of heard that there was going to be an admin role that we were us biathlon was going to start to look to hire for. And I thought that would be a pretty great thing for me to do. At that point, I'd moved to Utah with my husband Zach, and we were coaching the programs there, and I decided I was ready for a different kind of challenge. And so in I think it was about March of 2020. So timing was a little interesting. Um, but started working for US biathlon as our director of operations.

[00:11:20] Tom Kelly: And do you still have that same role now?

[00:11:23] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yes I do. So yeah, I'm our director of operations with the US biathlon. In addition to my roles, I still work a little bit with Soldier Hollow as the chief of competition for some of the big IBU events that come through there. And then, um, also serve on the technical committee of IBU.

[00:11:39] Tom Kelly: You have been a big advocate over the last few years for women in coaching, women in officiating. Give us your pitch on why more women should women should get involved with biathlon.

[00:11:52] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. You know, I am always I think the thing I always say is that biathlon is kind of this lifetime, uh, thing to get involved in a lifetime sport. Right? And it's not something that you're going to necessarily want to compete in forever. I know there's a lot of people out there who do. You know, we have this Masters nationals that's happening this, this winter in a couple of weeks here that, um, we've got a lot of people coming to and and that's great. That's not me. I'm not excited about competing anymore. But I really wanted to stay involved. And there's so many other ways to do that, you know, whether it's coaching or officiating and, you know, just feeling like you're close to the sport. And I really enjoy officiating because you are helping kids and helping people who are really excited about competing to do the sport that they love. Without the officials, without the volunteers, you can't do the sport. It doesn't work. And so being part of that and making sure that the races go off according to the rules and according to what the athletes are expecting is is really gratifying. And I think as with anything, the more different people you can have involved, the better it's going to be, because you're all going to bring your own experiences to, uh, to the situation.

[00:13:07] Sara Studebaker-Hall: And, you know, women have really different experiences in, in their lives. And I think they're a really important voice to have within the coaching community and also within the officiating community. And I think it's it's really fun. The best groups that I've had to work with as a chief of competition or as a referee or TD have been groups where it's a really good mix of women and men. And I think, you know, we're at this place within us, biathlon and also within the IBU, where people really recognize that though there's a lot of women who have a lot of good experience and a lot of ideas to to bring to the table. So it's it's fun to be part of that group and to feel like, you know, our voices are being heard and, you know, we have things to learn as well, but we're part of that group. You know, we're not just bonus, you know, die people to to be added to a group. We're definitely there because we deserve to be.

[00:14:02] Tom Kelly: How can women get started in the process? What's what's step one?

[00:14:06] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. So I mean, volunteering I think is the is the first thing. You know, go and volunteer at a local event and see if you like it. Because as a volunteer you don't need to have any training. You don't even need to have ever seen a biathlon race. You can just show up and and help out. We always need bodies and you know, people are always willing to teach how to do a job. And so from there you can then, you know, if you're interested, take it to the next level, which would be taking our US biathlon officials training. And we're working on and kind of halfway through the process at this point, I guess, of getting that level one training online so we can have that access. More people used to be that the officials level one and two through US biathlon was an in-person training that people had to go to, you know, potentially travel to stay overnight, be at, to get that training. But by moving it online, we hope that we'll be able to access more people and get more people trained so that we have better volunteers throughout the US and different locations and be able to really increase that pool.

[00:15:10] Tom Kelly: You have been advocating for this since. I think we had you on the podcast the first time, probably 4 or 5 years ago. What have you seen Sara, over the last few years? Are you starting to see more women get into coaching, get into officiating?

[00:15:25] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I have I think, you know, of the of the IBU events that I've been assigned to, I think 4 or 5 at this point, there's only been one where I've been the only woman on the, on the group. Um, you know, we also saw at Soldier Hollow within our group there, our organizing committee, a huge increase in the number of women that were on our chief or assistant chief rosters, as well as volunteers. So it's definitely increasing. And as far as coaching, we US biathlon has been working really hard to increase the number of female coaches that we have and putting out our women's coaching initiative, trying to bring in women from the cross-country world to coaching on biathlon trips and camps. And I think that's been really positive. I know that the athletes have seen that increase, and I think, you know, we're we're showing that there there are pathways to high level coaching for women. And that's that's really important.

[00:16:24] Tom Kelly: We're with Sara Studebaker-Hall. She is the technical delegate for the World Championships coming up in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. We'll be right back on heartbeat after this short break. And we're going to talk more about the World Championships and also dive into the qualification criteria for the Olympics. We'll be right back. We're back on heartbeat. My guest today is Sara Studebaker, Hall technical delegate for the upcoming IBU World Biathlon Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. And Sara, let's talk about the World Championships. You did a site visit there last summer. This is arguably one of the most gorgeous parts of the world. And Switzerland doesn't have a really big background in this. So first of all, what were your impressions when you went to Lenzerheide for the first time last summer?

[00:17:18] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, so I went to Lenzerheide, they hosted the organizing committee meeting, so I went with the US Biathlon and Soldier Hollow to be there to share ideas with other organizing committees. And it was so neat to be at a venue like Lenzerheide, because they're pretty new, as you said. You know, they've hosted some IBU events. They hosted a World Cup last year, but they, you know, this World Championships is going to be the biggest thing that this valley has seen in a while. And that's that's really cool. They're very excited. Um, you know, they put a lot of money into into building this venue and, and creating this, um, place where the Swiss team can train and where they can have these big events. And it's not easy for them, for sure, but it's a really beautiful area. And I think that, um, people who go there, both athletes and spectators, are going to be pleasantly surprised.

[00:18:10] Tom Kelly: When you were there last summer, did you know at that point that you were assigned to the World Championships?

[00:18:18] Sara Studebaker-Hall: No, I did not. Um, I was actually asked. I was on the plane on the way home when when I was asked if I could serve in this role. And, um, I was a little bit nervous. I was actually on the plane with Max Cobb, and I was like, oh, they asked me to be the TD for World Championships. And he said, oh, that's so great. You'll do awesome. And, you know, with, uh, Max's vote of confidence, I said, yes, I would do it. So here we are.

[00:18:43] Tom Kelly: And do do you? So so did you start thinking back maybe a little bit more on the, the technical elements of the courses and the things that you might have seen when you were there.

[00:18:54] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. For sure. Um, you know, I wish I had taken a little bit more of a walk around their courses, and once I once I knew I was going to have a little bit more intimate relationship with the venue, but, um, you know, it was it I felt like I got a good tour of the venue when we were there. They did a really good job of showing us what they had done and what they were planning. And, you know, I think I got a good vision for what it should look like when I show up this winter. But, um, yeah, you know, it's it's always a little bit different in the summer at a venue than it is in the winter.

[00:19:27] Tom Kelly: I hope that many of our listeners had an opportunity to listen to the episode that dropped just a few days ago, with the CEO of the organizing committee, your couple, Joerg, is a legend in winter sport. Uh, prior to coming to run the World Championships, he had been for almost a decade the cross-country director for the International Ski Federation. He was one of the visionaries who put together the concept for the tour de ski and other projects. But Sara, in that podcast, he talked a lot about how important this event is for the nation of Switzerland. Switzerland really wants to elevate its footprint in biathlon, and how can an event like this really help to do that? In in what's a pretty small country but a country that's really obsessed with winter sport?

[00:20:17] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. I mean, you know, the World Championships is obviously the main event for biathlon and in, in the winter. And um, having so many eyes on Switzerland for this event for nearly two weeks of competition is going to be great for their venue. You know, they're going to get some really good TV ratings. They're going to get a lot of people who are going to think, oh, like, this is a beautiful place. Maybe I want to visit there and and also start to associate biathlon and Switzerland, you know, they have several athletes who athletes who are really strong and competing well. I think they've got some good medal contenders. They have, you know, Amy, I think had some really good results here in the second trimester leading up to world championships. So, uh, should be exciting to to see them. And, you know, hopefully they can perform in front of the home crowd. But, um, you know, aside from that, just seeing a place that, like you said, Switzerland's not a huge country. I'm sure that there's a huge population of of Swiss who can just drive over to Lenzerheide and see this event. They've done a good job of promoting it. Um, from my understanding, they have a real parking issue at the venue, so they've done a good job of promoting or connecting tickets to public transportation. Um, and it's absolutely beautiful. I mean, I don't know how the Swiss feel maybe are a little bit jaded because their country is just beautiful. But, you know, the train ride from Zurich to Kerr, which is, you know, just a few kilometers from Lenzerheide, is just absolutely stunning. And, um, you know, so you could really make a beautiful excursion of it to get over there.

[00:21:49] Tom Kelly: Yeah, it really is going to be remarkable if you're if you're not going to get over there yourself, folks, make sure that you watch the, uh, the live stream. Sara, let's take a little bit of a look to Milan-cortina. The test event for the 2026 games in Biathlon in Antholz was just held in January, a venue that the sport's very, very familiar with. But you're in the midst right now of the qualifying process for athletes who will ultimately be named to team USA. Can you give us a little bit of a snapshot on how that qualification and selection process works for U.S. athletes?

[00:22:27] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, definitely. So, um, the qualification process for the Olympics is done well out ahead of time. So we have our kind of pre-nomination process already approved by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. And that is, uh, allows us to pre-qualify or nominate up to half of our team. So up to two men and two women could qualify through this year's, um, events. So, you know, one of those ways is a top six at world championships. So obviously a top six at World championships is going to be really exciting for any of us. Um, you know, especially the athlete who would achieve that for a number of reasons, but one of which would be that they would be nominated to the Olympic team. So, um, that, you know, coming right up, keep your eyes on keep your eyes on those results for sure. And then the other way would be to have two top tens throughout this season at other World Cup events. So, um, you know, we do have an athlete who has met that criteria, but it's not going to be final until the end of the season because as I said, you can only have two, you know, up to two people that can, uh, can be pre-qualified. So it kind of depends on how other people do and what happens at world championships. Um, so, you know, we'll see. It's really exciting. And. Yeah. I mean, it's it's kind of funny because you as an athlete, you know, you look at a world championships within a season as, as the culminating experience for that season, you train towards doing really well at those championships. And obviously you want to have a good season otherwise, you know, at other World Cup events. But this season has kind of that added significance of being a chance to pre-qualify. And, you know, if you can get yourself nominated to that team a year in advance, that's that's a great stress relief off of your plate. And, you know, just being able to go into an Olympic season knowing, hey, I'm just now I'm just training for the games. I'm I'm on the team.

[00:24:26] Tom Kelly: So and then as we get into next season, the 2526 season, you will fill the rest of the team out. What's the process there?

[00:24:36] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah. So you know, it's it's very similar to our World Cup qualification process of other years. You know we'll use our fall festival event in Utah to qualify people to the international teams. Select that World Cup team and then it'll be, um, you know, certain World Cup, uh, placing, uh, thresholds that will name people to teams and then final qualification of those last 1 or 2 spots through January events like early January events. So, you know, the very last people will be nominated to that team. Middle of January, early January. So only about a month out. So it's we'll go right down to the wire for it.

[00:25:21] Tom Kelly: Is there a lot of excitement and enthusiasm within the team? I know they're all looking at the World Championships right now, but is that Milan-cortina team? Is that pretty much on everybody's mind right now?

[00:25:34] Sara Studebaker-Hall: I would imagine it is. You know, I mean, I think that, uh, it's been very interesting. There's been a couple of high profile retirements announced, uh, in biathlon, the bow brothers. One of the Gasparin's, uh, you know, to retire at the end of this season, which I think is always very interesting to me. And, you know, obviously they all have really good reasons their, you know, personal, um, but, uh, to me, you know, retiring one year out from the games is, is an interesting decision. I always feel like if you've gone for three years, you might as well go one more and try to make that Olympic team. Um, and certainly it's what people are thinking about, you know, and I'm sure that there's athletes who maybe have missed this world championship team who are thinking, okay, I know what I need to do for next season to try to make that Olympic team. Um, there's probably people who are, you know, on this world championship team who feel like they're in a good spot to try to snag one of those spots next year. But yeah, I mean, Olympic seasons, they always bring a little bit of chaos, which I think is it's challenging as an athlete, but it's also good.

[00:26:37] Sara Studebaker-Hall: You know, there's a lot of competition, friendly competition within the team. And and you know I have faith in our system that we'll be able to nominate the the best team for Milan-cortina. And you know, of course, for us, I think the really nice thing is that this venue is really well known to us adults. You know, they host a World Cup every year. It's a beautiful venue. It's great. They there's hardly ever any issues there. They have great snow. Um, you know I think everyone feels very comfortable about that. And that's, you know, not been the case in the last few years. We've been over the last few Olympic cycles. We've been over in Asia and at venues that sometimes we haven't even seen before. So being able to be in a place where the athletes, at least they know where they're going to go and they've skied there, they've raced there. That's one less stressor for sure.

[00:27:23] Tom Kelly: Yeah, just one last observation, kind of on that point before we wrap things up. But I was trying to think back, and I cannot think of another time in recent history where biathlon has gone to a venue that it goes to on such a regular basis, and then to just kind of extend that a little bit. I know people are hearing a lot about how spread out the venues are in Milan Cortina, which is absolutely the case. But within that layout, there are some truly remarkable legacy venues that have been in use in sport. And Antholz is certainly one of the the classics there that you've been going there for many, many years.

[00:28:02] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, for sure. And you know, I think that in modern games, we're always trying to balance this idea of making sure that there's a games feel to an Olympics or a Paralympics, and also making sure that we're not producing a lot of waste. So, you know, I really applaud Milan-cortina for using the venue. There's been some major, major money put into that venue to update it and to get it ready for the games, which will only help it in the future. They're going to continue to host World Cups. I imagine they'll continue to host world championships in the future and other events, and so this venue will keep on living and keep on giving back to the biathlon community, which is which is Which is great. You know what's not created out of thin air and it won't, you know, go back and die afterwards. So it's a really good use of their of their funds for sure.

[00:28:51] Tom Kelly: Well, Sara, we appreciate the conversation. We're going to wrap it up, as we always do with our on target section. And just a few final questions for you. But as you've been an official and a referee for a few years now, is there an unusual situation that you've faced? I know that every day you probably get out there and say, oh, it's going to go like clockwork, but it doesn't, does it?

[00:29:11] Sara Studebaker-Hall: No. Yeah. I think that as an official, you always have to expect that it's not going to go how you expect. So, um, that's that's definitely been my experience. Um, I will say one situation that arose for us this December when I was a TD at the Junior Cup was a crossfire situation where an athlete cross fired. Luckily there wasn't anyone else in the range. They didn't affect anyone else. You know, they they got the crossfire penalty. They did do the right. The correct number of penalty loops for their crossfire went up back out onto the course, came in and I heard shortly, uh, a short time later on the radio that another athlete had crossed, fired, and we got the bib information so that we could make sure we checked their penalty loops and gave them that cross fire penalty. And I looked at my sheet, and it was the same athlete who had cross fired and prone had now crossed, fired and standing. This poor kid got two cross fire penalties in the same race, so that I would never expect that to happen. It was, you know, I had to make sure go check with our, uh, chief of range, with our referee for the range to make sure that, yes, indeed, it was this athlete that cross fired twice and they did. It was very strange.

[00:30:17] Tom Kelly: For our listeners who might not be familiar. Tell us about Cross Fire. And I'm just trying to think to myself, how does it happen?

[00:30:24] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, yeah. Um, I would say that as an if you are a biathlete, you have probably at least almost cross fired once, if not done it. Um, or had it maybe had it happen to you. Uh, but it's so it's a little bit more common than you would think. But what it is, and for people who don't know, is that you set up on a on a point, maybe say point 20, and instead of shooting on the targets for point 20, you might shoot on the targets for point 19. And there are lane dividers. There's a numbers right on top of the target. So it would seem like it's impossible, but it happens. The best case scenario is, you know, like in this situation where there weren't any other athletes around. Um, so it didn't impact any other athletes when this person crossed, fired and shot on a different target. But it can happen where there are other athletes and then it's it's just a mess. It's kind of the official's worst nightmare as crossfire situations. So, um, it's always a situation you have to untangle. So.

[00:31:23] Tom Kelly: Sara, you were in Lenzerheide, not in the winter time, but in the summer time. And sometimes things are a lot different in the summer than they are in the winter. Anything unusual that you saw when you were there, looking at the beautiful biathlon stadium and arena that they've built there?

[00:31:39] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Yeah, For sure. I mean, you know, first of all, obviously it was beautiful and warm and sunny, but it's also a cow pasture in the summer, which is very interesting. They had cleared the cows out of the middle of the range for us, so that we could walk around and look and see the venue, but they were all off to the side and, and over on some of the courses, and it was very quintessentially Swiss. Everyone was taking pictures with these cows, with their beautiful huge cowbells and lots of really wonderful cow bell sounds. I'm sure we'll hear some different cow bell sounds this winter, but it was very. It was very cute.

[00:32:16] Tom Kelly: Sara, do you eat cheese?

[00:32:18] Sara Studebaker-Hall: I do, I do. I'm very excited about the cheese.

[00:32:21] Tom Kelly: In the right place. Sara Studebaker-Hall, thanks for all you do for us. Biathlon and and also for being such an amazing advocate for women and coaching women in officiating. Good luck to you in Lenzerheide as the technical delegate for the World Championships.

[00:32:36] Sara Studebaker-Hall: Thanks, Tom. We'll see you soon.