At the finish of the IOC-IBU Development Camp, the Camp athletes and coach Lucy Glanville moved to Forni Avoltri for a week of training and the possibility of racing on the weekend.

Rhiannon Castle and Phoenix Sparke decided to race in what was their first biathlon race on snow for 2 years and for Rhiannon, her first biathlon race ever carrying a rifle on her back. The athletes took part in an ITA Cup event, which is a national level event for biathlon in Italy.. Age groups ranged from Open to Under 17yrs. Both Phoenix and Rhiannon competed in the U17yrs age group where over 40 athletes were entered. 

Both raced well, with the nerves of Saturday settling on Sunday, especially for Rhiannon who showed great improvement in her shooting and moved up 10 places in the rankings under the Pursuit format. 

Click here for the Sprint Results

Click here for the Pursuit Results

After racing, the Team moved to Obertilliach in Austria to meet up with their team-mates from the Australian Biathlon Development Team and Biathlon East Australia State Team, who are part of an overseas training Camp during December and January.