My Campaign

Hey Folks!

Thanks for clicking on my pledge, it means a great deal knowing there are people interesting in supporting my goal. For those of you who are unsure what biathlon is, it’s the combination of cross country skiing and precision rifle shooting. We carry a rifle on our backs and ski up and down steep hills until we reach the shooting range where we stop, compose our tired bodies, and try to hit golf-ball sized targets from fifty meters away. Miss a target, and we have to complete a penalty loop before getting back onto the race course. (Video at the bottom for more visual explanation)

My goal is to raise £4000. These funds will be used to make the coming race season possible by covering travel expenses so I can attend the Scheduled World Cup races prior to the Olympics, thereby directly increasing my chances of qualifying for the Games.

For the past six years I’ve been training toward the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. This summer’s training phase has gone extremely well. Things are looking very positive for me qualifying for the Games.

Biathlon has always been an ongoing battle with injuries, but like any high-level sport, and like anything in life, if it’s worth getting, it’s worth struggling for! Right? Despite the dodgy knee, and my darn bunions, I’m physically, and mentally in the best shape of my life.

However, last week I received some unfortunate news from my national governing body (NGB). This coming winter, my NGB no longer has the funds to cover travel expenses on the World Cup circuit.

It’s vital I attend all of the World Cup races prior to the Games so as to qualify for the Olympic Games where I’ll represent my country, all the hard work I’ve put into training and all the people who supported me along the way, whether that’s been financially, emotionally or both.

I am really excited about giving something back to those who help me. Along-side full time training, there is a fair bit of spare time, (in which I’m usually very tired) but rather than letting time get away from me, I’ve been working on a project that’s very close to heart and home.

 

The Children’s Book

When people think about athletes, it can be easy for them to imagine people who don’t have anything else going on in their lives besides training and competing. But to a certain extent, athletes are human too, and getting our minds away from the routine of full time training is important. In my spare time, I like to write, draw, create art, and do the odd card trick here and there.

My little brother and sister, one and three years old, live in Scotland and I don’t get to see them often. I decided to write them a fun children’s story. Something to remind them of me whilst I’m away, which is most of the time.

It took some time to design the setting, characters, pages and to write the poem. Once I was done My sister Marsha, kindly offered to paint the pictures. I was so pleased with it and hugely appreciative of Marsha’s graft. I thought there was potential to use my book to raise funds for my Olympic campaign. This meant, however, that we needed to start from scratch to create a more professional product. I re-drew all the pictures then Marsha and I got to work painting them.

I’ve been really excited to make this book available for purchase, and finally, it is!

There is a sneak peek inside the book at the end of my training video… Beware, there be dinosaurs.

 

How I Got Into Biathlon

Biathlon is a massive sport in central Europe, Russia and Scandinavia, and is growing quickly in America and Asia. Sadly, since there isn’t much snow in the UK, there isn’t a huge British fan base attending race events. However, there are usually 160,000 spectators within the UK watching from the comfort of their sofa.

My Father, Mike Dixon, was in the British team for over two decades! He competed in six Olympic Games, the first of which in cross country skiing. He was in the military, where winter sports are highly encouraged. When he retired he set up a club in my home town.

I joined the club when I was twelve years old. For several years I trained and attended school, but when I left school I concentrated all my efforts in biathlon. I knew I wanted to compete on the Olympic stage, and I didn’t care that there wasn’t likely to be to be much financial stability along the way.

 

The Home Run 

I’m on the home run to hopefully qualifying for the Olympic Games in what promises to be Britain’s strongest team in history.

Thank you for taking the time to read my pledge.

If you’re unable to contribute financially, that is completely understandable, but by sharing my campaign you will help enormously!