Native American biathlon: both to squander and shoot
Instead of skis – a boat, instead of a rifle – a bow. Exotic sport is gaining momentum again!
How to become an Indian in 2 weeks?
Who among us has not dreamed of playing Indians? Wear moccasins, leather pants with a fringe and a feather headdress, put a war paint on your face, hang a talisman around your neck, pick up a bow … Now the canoeists have a chance to fulfill this dream, and most importantly, to do it without leaving their main classes – rowing.
Meet the Indian Biathlon. This is an exotic sport, which is a biathlon, consisting of canoeing and archery. Any canoeist can become an Indian biathlete in 2 weeks, even if he had never held a bow in his hands before. And all because the biomechanics of professional movements of canoeists and shooters are identical.
And how nice that this sport was invented in Russia. The author of the idea is Valery Krylov, coach and masseur of the national teams in rowing and basketball, as well as masseur of the great chess players Karpov and Kramnik. He came up with an Indian biathlon back in 1991, did everything possible to promote this sport, and he still does not give up.
Moreover, right now the idea has received a new round of development. Valery Nikolaevich has ambitious plans, and it will be cool if everything works out. We contacted him and found out everything – read the article to the end!
Native American Biathlon Rules
There are 5-6 canoes at the start, each boat has a bow and arrows.
Participants make three laps of 500 meters on a buoy limited water route.
Shooting begins at the second circle: there are two “firing points” where you have to land at the raft and hit five targets without leaving the boat.
The distance to the target is 18 m, the diameter of the target is 18 cm.
For every mistake – a penalty: an additional 40 meters distance. Missed 5 times? Out of the race. Got at least one target? You continue the contest.
There is also a risk zone: a section of a 90 m long course where rowers are allowed to interfere with each other. If you do not want to conflict, bypass the risk zone in a long arc.
There are no calculations of time, points and other calculations. The winner is the one who comes to the finish line first. And he is helped by Bockacea, the talisman of Indian biathletes. This is an eagle shooting from a bow, and its name is made up of the first syllables of Spanish names: Bolivar, Castro, Che Guevara, Chavez.
Start: what happened and who prevented?
The first contest took place in 1991 in Krylatskoye. In 1995, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation registered the All-Russian Federation of Indian Biathlon, and a year later the International Federation appeared.
Valery Krylov seriously engaged in promoting a new sport. Eight Russian championships and a series of international competitions were organized. Specially developed sustainable model canoe, from which it is convenient to shoot. Planned to open a school on the Indian biathlon. They were even going to build a whole Indian village, where there would be the world’s largest rowing pool and a special archery hall.
Native American biathlon interested around the world: in Europe, North and, of course, Latin America. Sport shows appeared in Mexico, France, Canada, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. No wonder, because the spectacle is really spectacular!
However, later officials intervened in the development of the sport. The bureaucratic machine began to put sticks in the wheels, the paperwork dragged on … As a result, Valery Nikolayevich despaired and retired. But not forever!
New idea: shooting on “dragons”
Now in Russia there are no Indian biathlon competitions, but wait, everything will change soon. Such a smart idea can not just sink into oblivion. After a timeout, Valery Krylov again got down to business and told CanoeSport about his plans.
“In a week, I will fly to Vladivostok, take boats, bows, our unique clothes. There, on the island of Russian, we will hold in July the Governor’s Cup, the exact date will be known a little later.
A year ago, a new idea occurred to me: to make the same competitions in Chinese dragon boats. In early September, we plan to spend them, too, on the island of Russian.
I want to revive everything again, and I will begin in Vladivostok. The fact is that we have good connections with the Chinese, they adore their “dragons” and are crazy about my idea. This has never happened, the world has not seen anything like it. This year, I hope, we will hold the first ever competition on the Chinese “dragons” with bows and arrows. “
