About me
Cycling
Originally, I am a “born cyclist” and have been active in competitions on the road bike or mountain bike since childhood. Although this has become less frequent over time due to scheduling constraints, I still greatly enjoy cycling tours with friends — and I am always happy to include a coffee break along the way.
Cross-Country Skiing
In winter, cross-country skiing was always a welcome alternative sport, which I still pursue with great passion. By now, I even have the privilege of passing it on to others as a member of the ski instructor team of Peter Scherrer (www.skatingschule.de). For me, Peter is THE expert in skating technique and the benchmark as an instructor throughout the entire German-speaking region. Thank you, Peter, for allowing me to fulfill this dream of becoming a ski instructor with you!
Biathlon
As a youth, I would have loved to become a biathlete myself. Unfortunately, in the northern Upper Palatinate, this would only have been possible with enormous financial and time commitments. My first encounter with the laser rifle therefore took place at a race very close to me — in Miesbrunn, organized by Dieter Dressel.
The main organizer of the then “Germany Tour Modern Biathlon” was Cornelius Jorg from Dortmund, to whom I remain deeply grateful for his pioneering work. He was the inventor of grassroots-level biathlon and gave me the chance to fulfill my childhood dream.
He developed the standards still in effect today, which have been passionately carried forward by Jörg Affeld and RollDichFit e.V. (www.rolldichfit.de). With this, the dedicated club continues Conni’s tradition of a nationwide race series, which for me remains the benchmark in terms of organizational quality.
Equipment
Over the past few years, the equipment has also become increasingly professional and more and more similar to that used in “real” biathlon. Since commercially available laser rifles are unfortunately far too light, and the established manufacturers do not see it as necessary to offer a minimum weight of 3.5 kg, I found in Markus Müsse a brilliant stock maker. He custom-built a stock for me and, with the appropriate additional weights, created a laser unit that in terms of handling is no different from a small-caliber biathlon rifle. Further information about him and his work can be found here.
My Conviction
During our biathlon weekend, I may deviate in one or another aspect of the competition format from other organizers. However, this should in no way be understood as competition or criticism — quite the opposite! What matters most to me is that we have as many races as possible in Germany, and that within this small but excellent community we stand together and work together in order to inspire as many people as possible with our passion.
I want to help establish biathlon as a popular grassroots sport!
My motivation, both as an athlete and as an organizer, is to be as close to the original as possible. That is why at the HOHPE Cups, everyone may use their own laser equipment and run with the rifle on their back.
At the same time, it is also rewarding to attend different events and to “experience” the differences quite literally. In this way, we as organizers can continue to grow and take inspiration from one another’s ideas.
My Favorite Biathlons
In this context, I would like to give special mention to Oliver Heiden, whose HOHPE Cup in Musdorf must by now be regarded as a traditional event. In 2022, he celebrated its 10th anniversary and even brought former World Cup biathlete and Olympic relay champion Michael Rösch to the starting line.
Together with his team, Oli succeeds every season in creating excellent competitions through attractive courses and first-class organization. An absolute highlight is his BDS Team Sprint in the center of Rot am See, which unfortunately only takes place every two years. With this event, Oli manages to bring laser biathlon directly to the spectators — if the spectators cannot come to our races themselves. The atmosphere there is truly fantastic, and it shows how great the public’s interest in our races can actually be.
The fact that Oli also organizes two additional team sprints each year in Wallhausen and Blaufelden demonstrates his passion for this sport — both as one of the best athletes in Germany and as an organizer.
What I also really appreciate…
All athletes and organizers in the community stand together and respect one another’s sporting and organizational successes. Everyone helps each other in order to further develop this fantastic sport within the recreational scene. Let us continue to stand united and allow it to grow. That is my greatest wish. If we succeed, we will all benefit.
In this context, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks in particular to Jörg Affeld from rolldichfit. He helped us completely selflessly by providing his event equipment when the weather forecast for the HOHPE Cup 2022 looked dismal.