In December 2023, three youth team members, Baxter Pollard, Lulu Pettit and Nico Pettit, travelled with coach Jason Sklenar to the IBU IOC Youth Camp in Pokljuka, Slovenia, and then on to the IBU cup races in Pokljuka and Ridnaun, Italy. An amazing experience for all and one that others can aspire to! Read about it from Lulu's perspective below:

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Attending our first biathlon camp proved to be an amazing experience that I am sure we will never forget. This camp allowed us to train and race alongside athletes from all around the world. We were provided with excellent tips by the coaches and simple changes to our positions and our tigger pressure helped improve our skiing and shooting immensely. Not only did we learn about skiing and shooting techniques, we also went to lectures on doping, safeguarding, mental preparation and also participated in team building exercises with the other biathletes. We made many new friends from different nations who we would cheer on and compete against in the races, creating a great vibe! We gained insights also from our fellow athletes as everyone has their own perspectives and ways of doing things. Watching and learning from others became important in helping us find what works best for us as individuals. 

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We learnt to take good care of our kit and we spent hours waxing our skis and cleaning our rifles. 

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A challenge for me was that I was sometimes disappointed in my shooting, staying focused and motivated after bad shooting in a race is often very hard, showing that biathlon is very much a mental game as well as being physically demanding. However, through mental training and positive visualisation I can now go into a race not worrying too much about how I shoot and instead I try to focus on doing my best and thinking about what I have done well.

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I am very thankful for having had this opportunity and it is an experience that I definitely would take part in again!

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-Lulu Pettit (17)

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