Biathlon brings out a flock of athletes

THUNDER BAY — Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting went hand in hand for the athletes participating in the 2025 Bruno’s Cup Invitational on Saturday.

At Kamview Nordic Centre, 46 athletes competed starting at age 7 all the way up to 50.

“The event is a mass start, on per category basis they're going to do a mass start, meaning they're all going to start together, and they're going to go do, depending on their age category, three to five loops, and they're going to do a shooting in between,” said Daniel Guay, head organizer of Bruno’s Cup.

Guay said biathlon combines marksmanship and the endurance of cross-country skiing.

There were five categories including open mix, which is men and women, under 17, U15, U13 and U11.

“The club has been existing for 17 years, but the Bruno's Cup has been on and off (due) to COVID and for about 10,” Guay said.

Guay, who is also the head coach, said they have seen more interest on the past few years.

“Last year we hosted the Ontario Winter Games event here and that really sparked interest and some actual membership numbers came up due to that,” he said.

Abigail Skomoroh, 14-year-old biathlete, was at Bruno’s cup helping and racing on Saturday.

“I've been skiing since I was two, and then I got competitive when I was eight. I joined biathlon about three or four years ago, and I've been doing it on the 22s, which is the real rifles, and then I've been doing air rifles for the Bruno’s Cup and Ontario Winter Games ever since,” she said.

Skomoroh was inspired by her siblings to try out biathlon.

“My brother and sister did it before me. I was too little when they were doing it, so then after a bit, I was like, ‘oh, can I try?’

“They didn't offer the Bears program, which is the air rifles. So, I went on to the 22s and I've been doing that,” Skomoro said.

It’s a good community, she said.

“There's a lot of fun races outside of Thunder Bay, too.”

Skomoroh’s goal for the day was hit all five targets.

The day would not be possible without financial contributions from Superior Shores Gaming Association, and the Bruno’s Cup is sponsored by Marostica Subaru, Guay said.