ANTERSELVA, ITALY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - With bulky equipment and clothing to carry, travelling is always tough for snow-sport competitors, but spare a thought for the biathletes, who have to transport their rifles across borders on an almost weekly basis on the World Cup circuit.
When not being used for training or competition at the Milano Cortina Olympics, Italy's gun laws mean that the .22-calibre rifles must be kept locked away at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena in the north of the country.
Swedish biathlon team shooting coach Johan Hagstroem saysthe rules are getting more and more strict.
"It's getting harder and harder to travel with weapons," he told Reuters on the shooting range at the Olympic venue as the men's team practised in the background.
The crack of the Swedish team's rifles was followed either by a ping from a target hit successfully 50 metres away, or the slightly duller thud of a shot landing wide of the mark.
"Every rifle has its own passport, just like you and I have a passport, and that passport must travel together with the owner and the rifle. It must be done that way, and within the EU it is quite easy to show only that passport," he said.
"Every athlete has their own rifle and they must travel with it, and if you have it packed in a case, it must be a hard one that should be locked."
Hagstroem and his athletes have to be very conscious of security and differing rules and laws in the different countries in which they train and compete.
MORE LIKE AIR RIFLES
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) issues regular guidance to the teams informing them of any changes in legislation in the different places they visit.
"It depends on the country you are in - in Italy, the rifles are locked in the stadium, so each rifle has its own weapon box and we can't take the rifle from the stadium. The ammunition is also locked in - we have to pick up the ammunition we need every day and leave what we don't use," he said.
"Within the EU, the rules are quite similar, but as soon as you travel outside the EU, it becomes much more difficult. It is necessary to keep up to date all the time. Is there something special about this country? If there is, then we know about it."
Hagstroem said that the small-bore weapons were more like air rifles than bigger hunting guns, but strict rules still apply, and athletes spend a lot of their time making sure their rifles are safe, secure and working properly.
"It's their most valuable thing, they have to take care of it. They have to make sure that it is in order, and if it breaks, then I or (fellow coach) Jean-Marc (Chablot) can fix it. Sometimes we go through the rifle and check so that everything is as it should be," Hagstroem said.
"We have a gunsmith who comes in a few times a year and cleans the rifle really, really thoroughly, but otherwise it's up to the athlete to take care of their rifle."
Though they may not be the most powerful rifles, Hagstroem says they are still very complex weapons, and things can very easily go wrong. They had to perform a quick fix on Sebastian Samuelsson's weapon ahead of Tuesday's men's individual race.
"These things happen, we just had to run and sort it out," he said.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Toby Davis)
