One of the great things about moving to university is the opportunity to try sports that you might have never heard of, like Modern Biathlon and Pentathlon.
More so, BUCS offers a chance for you not only to try these sports, but to represent your university in national championships, with the opportunity to win medals for your efforts.
BUCS covers more than 50 sports, meaning it is guaranteed that there are some sports that need explaining ahead of their championships.
With the BUCS Modern Pentathlon and Modern Biathlon for 2021/22 just days away, Freshered has all you need to know to make sure you are all clued up ahead of the weekend of March 18 and 19.
The description in the event guide says that ‘this is for the students who want to mix things up a bit,’ highlighting the type of sport we are dealing with.
After reading this article, I hoped that Modern Pentathlon is not just a sport that you ‘recognise from the Olympics,’ or Modern Biathlon ‘the sport with two different elements.’
What is Modern Biathlon?
Modern Biathlon is described by BUCS as ‘a combined run and a swim,’ perfect for those who think the ‘modern penthalon is too many events.’
The Biathlon starts off with a 200 metre freestyle swim for both men and women, which requires eight lengths of the Olympic-length swimming pool to be completed. Following the completion of this, competitors will then have to complete the run.
The run is 1500 metres in length, just shy of a mile, to be done around the Iffley Road Sports Centre, in Oxford. Competitors are advised to warm up ahead of the event, and to avoid other competitors on track whilst completing the run.
What is Modern Pentathlon?
Modern Pentathlon is a sport that comprises of five separate events. These events are as follows:
Fencing
Completed using the épée sword. The competition is completed as a round robin, which ensures each competitor faces each other once. Each match can lasts up to one minute, and ends the moment one of the fencers scores a hit, at which point they are announced the winner. If neither fencer scores a hit, both lose the match.
Swimming
The swimming part of the competition is completed over 200 metres, with competitors placed into heats based on their fastest time over the distance.
Equestrian
This involves show jumping over a course that can vary in distance between 350 and 450 metres, with between 12 and 15 obstacles. Competitors are paired with their horse only 20 minutes ahead of the event, with all horses needing to have already successfully completed the course.
Shooting and Running
The last event has recently become known as the laser-run, and is mentioned as such on the BUCS website. This final event is completed over a distance of 3200 metres, with four legs of ‘laser pistol shooting’ breaking up four laps of 800 metres.