John Farra: Growing the Sport

From a nationwide laser rifle program to club development tools and a new online-based education center, U.S. Biathlon sport development efforts are resulting in strong growth in the popular, fast-rising sport. To learn more, Heartbeat caught up with U.S. Biathlon’s Director of Sport Development John Farra. His enthusiasm is contagious!

A longtime Olympic athlete, coach, program leader, and high-performance director, in 2022 Farra embraced an opportunity to join the team at U.S. Biathlon as director of sport development. Two years later, aspiring biathletes and local club programs have a wealth of new tools to both help them with an introduction to sport and to perfect their craft.

Farra grew up in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where his family owned a cross country ski center. He competed in the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, became an NCAA All American at Utah then embarked on a career in sport leadership. His career took him to Lake Placid’s National Sports Academy and the Maine Winter Sports Center, a stint as nordic director for the U.S. Ski Association, as well as high-performance roles with U.S. Paralympics and USA Triathlon. Today, Farra has found excitement and satisfaction in a role from his home base near Soldier Hollow, impacting the sport nationwide.

“The common thread for me has always been the athletes,” said Farra. “It really is a fantastic experience for me to find ways to add value, to allow athletes to create the best performance they can create and to be the team behind the team.

After more than a decade working in high performance, Farra has a different role now, which he embraces wholeheartedly – building the sport from the grassroots to ensure participants have a fun and positive experience.

“When you know that you're adding value, you're doing the little things – I think of this job as pieces to the puzzle. I know that the pieces that I'm working with and the pieces that I'm putting into the puzzle are important to the overall foundation for the sport, and that gives me great pleasure.”

One of Farra’s first initiatives two years ago was to learn from clubs and build the base. He logged many miles visiting biathlon programs in every corner of America. Today, U.S. Biathlon has grown to encompass 44 clubs nationwide. Glancing at his yellow legal pad, he counted 14 more communities where he has active conversations.

What was the catalyst? Farra quickly points to U.S. Biathlon’s laser rifle program. One of the biggest supporters has been the International Biathlon Union, which provided 10 laser rifles last year with more anticipated for the future. Farra has set up an easy-to-use program for local clubs and communities to reserve laser rifles and have them shipped from U.S. Biathlon’s Utah headquarters.

The result? Last season, over 2,400 athletes tried biathlon – a jump from 800 the year before!

In addition to local try-it programs, U.S. Biathlon has also coordinated with existing major cross country youth festivals around the country – going to events that already attract skiers and offering them a fun add-on. Youth have responded!

U.S. Biathlon has also focused on growth of its annual coaches conference. This past season, the event was held at U.S. Biathlon’s National Training Center, the Ariens Nordic Center in Wisconsin, attracting the largest number of coaches ever.

Events are where the skis meet the snow. And while winter events are continuing to grow, Farra cites a focus on summer as really starting to make a difference. With plenty of events occupying winter weekend, U.S. Biathlon has started to look more to summer, creating the Summer Biathlon Championship series. This past summer, the new series tallied around 400 starts with more than 200 participating athletes from around the country.

This episode of Heartbeat is full of fascinating discussions on sport development programs that are really starting to make a difference for U.S. Biathlon. Listen in with U.S. Biathlon Director of Sport Development John Farra.

U.S. BIATHLON LAUNCHES ONLINE CENTER

With dozens of clubs and thousands of members scattered across America, the new digital U.S. Biathlon Center is providing a centralized source of valuable sport education information. Launched in 2023, The Center is available online and through a unique mobile application. It offers education content geared towards athletes, coaches, officials, clubs and volunteers. As an example, The Foundations of Biathlon Coaching is an excellent starting point for prospective coaches. The Center also provides easy access to information on upcoming events. It even includes a section for the burgeoning masters biathlon population. Registration is free. Check it out and register at: usbiathlon.org/the-center.