President of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), Viktor Maigurov, talked about the election of the head of the organization, the work to restore the admission of Russian athletes to international competitions, the nuances of the budget and the possible organization of biathlon races in Moscow. St. Petersburg.

– Viktor Viktorovich, can you tell us what was discussed at the first meeting of the newly elected Executive Committee of the RBU, besides setting the date for the election of the head of the organization?

– First, we elected the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the head of the Moscow Biathlon Federation, Ivan Melikhov. Given that he has been a member of the RBU Executive Board for several years, a member of the organizing Council, he is probably the person most immersed in the activities of the RBU in this composition of the Executive Committee. without me. The decision was taken unanimously. According to the charter, the term of office of the president is at least one year, after which this mandate can be extended.

The next issue was the date and venue of the RBU’s extraordinary reporting and election conference. We made an agreement with Alexei Nuzhdov in the evening on this date. The conference, like the previous one, will be held at the Russian Olympic Committee. The Executive Board has approved all the documents required for the conference and an official notification will be given to the members of our regional federations tomorrow.

Another main topic on the agenda was the discussion and approval of the RRF budget. Accepted with minor changes. In a few days it will be possible to talk about this in more detail – during the discussion of the draft budget, the overall order of numbers did not change, but according to the decision of the Executive Committee, the distribution of funds within the budget will undergo minor changes. In the near future, the budget will be published on the SBR website.

– That is, will the budget be detailed?

– Of course, it will not be painted line by line, but the main points will definitely be there.

– Aleksey Nuzhdov suggested that the RBU elections be made public. How are you looking?

– This decision is made by the conference. If someone comes up with this idea, it will be taken into account. But I don’t think this is an important issue. We’re going to have a minimum of questions on the conference agenda, literally three or four points.

– By the way, fans are interested in the legitimacy of the RBU Executive Committee. It now consists of the president plus four people. And the statute says about 11 people.

– The statute says that the number of members of the RBU Executive Committee is determined by the decision of the RBU conference, but it cannot be more than 11 people, including the chairman. “No more”, in other words, we do not have a mandatory minimum, but only the maximum composition is limited. Let us remind you that in order to be elected as a member of the Executive Board, it is necessary to get 50 percent plus two votes. These four received the required number of votes from the conference delegates. There were many more who were advancing.

Concerning the quorum, there is a separate article in the charter where the Executive Committee meeting is deemed authorized if more than half of the Executive Committee members are present. All four members of the Executive Committee elected by the conference met today in Moscow, so their decisions are 100% legitimate. In turn, all the decisions of the summer conference, along with the new statute, were sent to the Ministry of Justice and passed legal review there.

– Was the charter registered on the first try?

– We made the first call after the May conference. Then the statute came back to us for revision, there were critical clarifications. For example, we assumed that each member of the organization must have one vote and only accredited members can vote. We have made the necessary changes and this charter has already been registered.

– In your opinion, is it correct to give the same voting rights to the regional federations on which Russian biathlon is based, and to regional federations in which biathlon is purely nominal?

– You are right, there are different federations among RRF members. Some are more active, some are less active, and some are not active at all. Someone gives tens of millions for the development of biathlon, and someone does not find a hundred thousand rubles. In a way, it’s not entirely correct to equate them. However, such an approach is foreseen in the current legislation regarding any sports federation and we cannot adhere to it.

– Before September 8, there was information that the RBU had to send a letter to the IBU on the eve of the Congress of the International Biathlon Union to express its position on the removal of the organization and our biathletes. What accents will be placed there?

– On the one hand, we object to the legal status of the decisions taken against us. On the other hand, we would like to say that the leaders of the IBU should first consider the athletes whose fate they are preparing to decide. It is the athletes who suffer, although they are in no way connected with what is going on in the world. We would also like to draw the attention of IBU Congressmen to other sports – for example, two Russians are currently playing in the quarterfinals of the US Open in New York. How has this affected world tennis? Why is biathlon worse?

Our main initiative is the review of the IBU spring resolutions, the possibility of Russian biathletes to participate in international competitions. Otherwise, it violates the Olympic Charter, in which sport is expressly excluded from politics. In addition to this letter, I plan to speak remotely via video link at the IBU convention in mid-September. We were presented with this option, we weighed everything and decided that it was worth using.

– What are your general expectations from the IBU Congress?

– We are not creating any illusions, but in any case, we must convey the RRF’s position to the international community. Information provision varies from country to country. We haven’t reminded ourselves for a long time, now it’s time. Even if it’s via video conferencing. I will speak, questions and discussions are not expected in this format.

– Do you plan to focus on the same tennis, where the Russians calmly perform at international tournaments? There are similar examples in cycling, auto racing, judo.

– Of course, we’ll talk about that. These are situations that you should pay attention to and pay attention to, as there are individual sports such as biathlon.

– What is the status of the appeal to CAS?

– The appeal is pending in court, so far I can’t say any time frame. He lives according to the CAS program. The lawyers of the Russian Olympic Committee provide us with full support in terms of communication so that we can get information as soon as there is any development.

– What do you expect from the upcoming stage of the Commonwealth Cup in Belarus?

– We work closely with our Belarusian colleagues. They came to Sochi and appreciated the organization of the competition. I have no doubt that everything will be at the highest level in Raubichi. Belarusians have an excellent sports facility for both training and competitions, everything should be at the highest level in terms of traceability. Today, the RRF, represented by Alexander Pak and Vadim Melikhov, has a working group.

To some extent, the Commonwealth Cup will replace the international calendar for us. If we take into account the Cup and the Russian Championship, our leaders’ schedule will probably be more hectic than the World Cup. We have high expectations for the stage in Ryazan, which will take place before the New Year. We assume that a large number of fans will visit it, because the city is not far from Moscow, it is convenient to get there.

– In Ryazan, there seems to be a small capacity of stands for competitions of this level …

– Therefore, there are no permanent stands, we are planning to make temporary audience seats for about 5,000 people. Most of the places are on the shooting range, a small part on the track, as in Europe, with video screens so you can follow the shots. There will be food stations, good sound – everything you need for a great sports festival.

– For example, in the center of Moscow or St. Did they have plans to hold a Christmas race in St. Petersburg?

– No specific plans, but we have experience in organizing city races. I can’t say we will do it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The format is certainly interesting. We also need to think about the athletes so that they feel comfortable both in terms of logistics and the number of competitions. And of course, the interests and talents of our telepartners cannot be ignored. But in general, anything is possible.