There are cool competitive shooting experiences and then there was the New England Disabled Sports Paralympic Biathlon Academy! About a month ago I received a call from NEDS Managing Director, Rob Mueller asking if I would come to NH to teach the shooting part of the clinic on October 4. Although I am not a biathlete, I am a competitive shooter and former NH resident so I jumped at the opportunity.
The event was hosted by the Pemigewasset Fish & Game Club in Holderness, NH. Despite the pouring rain and miserably chilly conditions we endured on Saturday, Sunday’s weather was as beautiful as New England gets in the fall. The air was clear and crisp as the morning fog burned off to reveal a cloudless, sun-filled sky.
I gave individual instruction on shooting offhand from a wheelchair to each participant once they arrived. At 10am we moved from the covered firing range practice area to the starting line. There, Club member and event organizer Fred Allen gave a briefing on the course.
While this was a Paralympic Biathlon Academy, the biathlon competition was open to both disabled and non. There were multiple divisions to accommodate everyone: mountain bike, running, walking and wheelchair. Since they asked and because I am a good sport, I agreed to compete in the wheelchair division. A decision my shoulders have not forgiven me for yet!
The mountain bikes started at 30-second intervals but the wheelchairs and the walkers started together. The wheelchair course consisted of 5 loops with four stages of shooting. 
We did a loop first and then shot. Shooting in the biathlon is very difficult because the athlete shoots with the same arms they use to propel their chair. Since wheelchair biathletes can’t get out of their chairs and onto the ground, all stages of fire were offhand … needless to say each stage was harder than the last.
Shooting from a seated position is hard enough but doing so with arms that were already stressed is more difficult than one can imagine. Fortunately, I have a great foundation in competitive shooting and understand the importance of building a good position. Otherwise I wouldn’t have hit the broad side of a barn never mind the biathlon target.
An offhand biathlon target is about the size of a tennis ball and is shot from a distance 50 meters. No easy task when tired, out of breath, and with a racing pulse. Although I am used to the “wobble” that occurs when aiming at a target, this was extreme and took some getting used to. Competitors fired five shots at each stage. If you missed, you were assessed a time penalty. I hit all five targets in only one of the four stages and hit as few as two.
The final loop was the hardest. My shooting was finished but I still had to get to the firing line. By then my arms were rubber and my shoulders cramped in 
ways I didn’t know possible. I pressed on to finish second.It was an incredible experience I won’t soon forget.
After the race we were treated to hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and sodas compliments of NEDS. From there we proceeded to the covered range for an afternoon shooting clinic for people with disabilities. After a quick photo session we got down to the business of sight alignment, trigger control and the all-important natural point of aim. After approximately an hour and a half we hung new targets and held a small competition. Jeff Krill was the champion with a 100-7X score.
I expect the pain between my shoulders will subside some day but I hope that the experience never will.