Volunteer helps fix biathlete’s rifle Gun stock of Netherlands’ Sloof was half a centimeter too long

PRESQUE ISLE – When it comes to going the extra mile, Presque Isle volunteers for the Biathlon Junior World Championships like to think they have perfected the method.

Thanks to a saw, a wax technician and an event manager with a knack for precision cutting, a biathlete from the Netherlands was able to spend the two days before competitions training with his rifle on the Presque Isle race course.

Netherlands team coach Erik Van Leeuwen said Friday that one of his athletes, Joel Sloof, ran into a small problem on Thursday during an equipment control check. As part of the checks, officials were on site ensuring that skis, rifles and uniforms met regulation standards.

Sloof’s rifle did not.

Van Leeuwen said that Sloof had made an allowable adjustment to his wooden gun stock but that because of a quirk in how it originally was measured, it did not meet regulation standards: it was half a centimeter too long.

“He probably measured the stock itself instead of from the center of the barrel to the end of the stock,” Van Leeuwen said. “Officials said he had to fix it and come back for another check.”

The coach said he wanted to get the problem fixed – fast.

“These are young guys,” he said. “Something like this needs to be fixed right away” to ensure the athletes remain confident before the races, which begin Saturday at 10:15 a.m.

To complicate matters, the coach said he hadn’t brought his own tools from Europe because he had packed lightly for his trip to the U.S. He began looking for tools or craftsmen and found out it would be Friday before someone could fix the gun.

In the midst of this small crisis, one of the team’s wax technicians told Van Leeuwen that he had seen a saw near the beer garden that they might be able to use it to cut the stock.

“I went to find the saw and met a man – Tim Doak – and he took care of it personally,” the coach said. “Before training started, he was able to fix it.”

Tim Doak is the event director, or top official, of the organizing committee that is hosting the international event.

“I disassembled it, cut the stock down and put it back together so he could use it for the competition,” Doak said Friday. “Most venues are not necessarily that accommodating, but this is one of the many steps we take to make sure the athletes come first and are well hosted.”

Van Leeuwen pointed out that though this was a small matter in the grand scheme of the competitions, it happened when the championships were just two days away.

“A small change can cause big problems,” he said. “It’s good we were able to get this taken care of.”