Fede Fontana: Farewell to Fluorocarbons

11/06/23 • 24 min

After several years of preparation, the IBU 2023-24 season will begin with a full ban on fluorocarbons, which have been used for decades. What will change for teams? How will IBU manage testing? U.S. Biathlon Team Manager Federico ‘Fede’ Fontana, one of the sport’s most renowned experts on ski preparation, talked to Heartbeat about the impacts and how U.S. Biathlon has been preparing.

Fontana grew up in Frassinoro, Italy, a legendary hotbed of modern ski preparation. In the interview he speaks to the history of fluorocarbons in ski wax, dating back to the 1980s, and the dangers they ultimately presented to both the environment and to technicians working in wax cabins.

Over the past years leading up to the ban, IBU has also worked in concert with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS), which is implementing its ban this season, as well, across all of its sports. At the first FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in October, the sport also had its first disqualification due to elevated levels of fluorocarbons in a ski.

A popular coach, manager and ski technician, Fontana has a great sense of history and perspective on the future that he shares on Heartbeat. He will also regale listeners with a rather incredible personal goal he achieved this summer.

Listen in to this important episode of Heartbeat, with one of the sport’s legendary figures.

What are fluorocarbons? Why are they bad?

Fluorinated waxes contain chemicals that are part of a group called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), among them are perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate – more commonly referred to as PFOA and PFOS. These man made water repellent compounds were introduced in the 1950s and found their way into household products (think nonstick cookware). The chemicals found their way into ski wax in the 1980s with their water repellent properties equating to increased speed of skis.

Why are they harmful? Most notably, they simply do not break down in the environment ... ever. Studies have shown that they impact the ozone layer. In humans, research has linked them to respiratory ailments, cancer and other illnesses. In typical fine powder applications on skis, they are easily inhaled.

IBU Implements Full Fluoro Ban

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced that it will implement a full ban of ski preparation products containing fluoro at all its event series from the 2023/2024 season onwards. The IBU committed to banning fluoro products used in ski preparation in 2020 based on the apparent health risks and environmental concerns connected to fluorine waxes. Working with Bruker, a leading manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments, while maintaining a close collaboration with the International Ski Federation (FIS) through a joint working group, the IBU has developed an effective testing method using the Alpha II device. The device provides reliable testing to ensure fluor-free biathlon competitions. IBU will test to ensure that skis are fluor-free at each IBU event, guaranteeing the integrity of competitions and a level playing field. More ...

FIS to fully implement fluor wax ban at start of 2023-24 season

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced that the fluoro wax ban will be fully implemented at the start of the upcoming 2023/2024 winter season. FIS has remained committed to banning fluor products used in ski preparation given the health risks and environmental concerns connected to fluorine waxes. Working with Bruker, a leading manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments, while maintaining a close collaboration with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) through a joint working group, an effective and accurate testing method was developed. More ...

Listen in to this important episode of Heartbeat, with one of the sport’s legendary figures.

What are fluorocarbons? Why are they bad?

IBU Implements Full Fluoro Ban

FIS to fully implement fluor wax ban at start of 2023-24 season

Previous Episode

Lowell Bailey: Sustained Competitive Excellence

In 2017, Lowell Bailey’s World Championships gold helped ignite the sport across America. Today, as high performance director for U.S. Biathlon, Bailey remains at the forefront guiding the upstart organization in its march to sustained competitive excellence. Bailey talked to Heartbeat during the team’s vital pre-season camp at Soldier Hollow in October.

U.S. Biathlon is now well into execution on its strategic plan, which is taking the long view out to 2030 as to how it can develop sustained competitive excellence. While much of that plan focuses on high performance, other elements look at growing the sport through more biathlon club programs across the country, or talent transfer – helping cross country skiers discover biathlon.

On the talent transfer, think about how many cross country skiers across America were motivated to see Jessie Diggins try biathlon at the Soldier Hollow camp?

In this episode of Heartbeat, Bailey recaps last season – which had some impactful high points – and looks to the season ahead, which starts in late November. But he also dives deep into the strategic plan and how U.S. Biathlon is moving down the pathway to sustained competitive excellence.

To start, Lowell, how important is this Soldier Hollow camp?

We've been doing this camp for decades now. It's such a great time of year to be in Utah for our last dryland training camp. The importance of it is that it’s the final training block before we get into the fine tuning section of the season, which leads up to the on snow camp in Scandinavia. It's the culmination of a ton of hard work by the athletes starting in May and also mixed in as some team qualifications.

And this year you’re also celebrating Utah as the new headquarters of U.S. Biathlon?

It's hugely important for the organization. We're expanding at a pretty rapid pace these days. There are a lot of new clubs coming online. Our organizational priorities or objectives, are really about building our clubs and building our outreach. We've really had a pretty good presence in the northeast for, for a long time, some good venues there. In the West, there are also great venues, great clubs. And so this just adds to all the groundwork that they've laid over the years and puts, you know, USBA puts its presence out here on the West Coast.

That club growth is a key part of your plan. What are you seeing?

Lowell Bailey: [00:02:52] Yeah, I mean, that is our hope that the club participation is increasing. We're seeing that now. We're seeing new clubs [00:03:00] come online. We're seeing growth in participation at existing clubs. And you know, I think a lot of that credit goes to the, you know, the club organizers, volunteers and also with U.S. Biathlon. You know we've put resources and personnel dedicated to that purpose of helping clubs as they continue to grow.

In our last episode ofHeartbeat , we talked to Campbell Wright. What impact can he have on the team as a whole?

Campbell trained with the national team throughout last year and was, by all intents and purposes, a national team member throughout last season and now IS a national team member. We have some young athletes who continue to post some impressive results and they did last season. But what's really exciting is there's a whole group of that generation of athletes that's training together daily, pushing each other daily, and that type of sort of critical mass is so important in raising the bar of the whole team.

Talent transfer is also a key part of your strategic plan. Can you share an example?

In biathlon, since it's a sport that involves cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship, what you see across really the whole international scene is cross country – skiers at an elite level will make that jump. What we saw last year was Margie Freed from the Craftsbury Green Racing project. She chose to kind of stick her neck out and try biathlon. She didn't have a whole lot of experience up to that point, really jumping in with both feet. And she jumped into our trials in December and qualified for our IBU Cup team and then went on to post a 19th place, which was our American top finish on the IBU Cup last year. More importantly, she posted a second fastest course time and did that several times where she had top five course times. And in biathlon, you know right now the international field is really, really competitive. Races are won by half a second and ski speed is just so important. It's my opinion that that shooting can be taken up in a much shorter time than it is to learn how to cross country ski at an elite level. So the ski speed aspect of the sport is just so important.

Tom Kelly: [00:24:29] When y...

Next Episode

Maddie Phaneuf: The Joy of Coaching

Longtime U.S. Biathlon Team athlete Maddie Phaneuf grappled with her life’s direction after retiring. A full time move into coaching wasn’t really in her plan. But, today, she enters her third season as a coach – leading one of America’s most noted biathlon programs, studying with coaches from nearly 20 nations at International Biathlon Union workshops and serving as a role model for women in coaching. Most of all, she’s feeling gratified by the experience and having fun giving back to the next generation of biathletes.

Phaneuf, who was featured in season one of Heartbeat with an episode entitled Finding Her Way Back, has truly found her way back. From introducing the sport to Alaskan children north of the Arctic Circle to teaching kids in Lake Placid how to gently squeeze the trigger, she is finding a meaningful pathway in the sport as a coach.

After losing her Olympic opportunity in PyeongChang due to race-morning strep throat, she battled with depression, stepping away from racing. During her sabbatical she volunteered on a NANANordic/Skiku trip to Noorvik, Alaska – which opened her eyes on what she had to offer as a coach. She came back in 2020-21 for one of her best seasons ever! After that season, she decided to move on. And when a coaching opportunity came her way with New York Ski Education Foundation, she jumped at the opportunity – rising up after a season to become NYSEF’s first head biathlon coach.

In this episode of Heartbeat, Phaneuf covers it all – from the success she enjoyed as an athlete to her mental health challenges after PyeongChang to her experiences working side-by-side with other coaches from around the world.

Going back in time, how did you get into biathlon?

I moved to the Adirondacks when I was eight. My family spent the first chunk of my life down in South Carolina – so the complete opposite of the northeast. I began cross country skiing at a young age and got into biathlon with the Polar Bear Biathlon Club when I was 15. That was my first introduction and I quickly fell in love with the sport and kept getting after it and trying to make Junior Worlds.

Had you considered coaching after your athletic career?

When I would think about my career as an athlete and what I wanted to do with my life – my first thought wasn't coaching. I was ‘oh, I think that's something that I don't want to do’ actually. But my first taste of coaching a little bit was when I would help the Polar Bear Ski Club. And when I was an athlete, I would go down and help with some sessions now and then during the holidays. And then my first real taste of coaching was ... I did a NANANordic program. It's basically a volunteer-based program to go up to rural communities in Alaska and bring a skiing program to them for a week or so. So that was my first real taste, and I loved it. I loved working with those kids. It was so fun and different. And so when I was retiring, or kind of in that in-between limbo of not quite sure what I wanted to do with racing or moving on stage, I was still here in Lake Placid. The former head coach, Shane McDowell, was looking for some extra support with the biathlon program. I wasn't fully training, but I also wasn't working, so I figured I would just help and kind of see if I liked it. Then that just turned into me staying with the club and being their first true head biathlon coach, and I've been loving it ever since.

Mental health is very important to you. What counsel would you give young athletes and their parents?

That's a hard question, because I just remember when I was in high school and maybe it's different now. I feel like when I was in high school the last thing I wanted to do was tell my parents anything about what I was going through. Maybe that was just my own personal relationship, because I have a much better relationship with them now and tell them everything. But I think as a parent, it's mostly important just to keep like an extra eye in a sense of like, you don't need to constantly always ask your child, like, ‘how are you doing?’ But it's important just to notice their patterns. And if something seems a little off, like notice it at first and maybe ask them or at least give them the opportunity to be like, ‘hey, you do know that my door is always open. I'm happy to talk to you about anything. And if I'm not the person you want to talk to, I'm totally happy to help you find someone else that you want to talk to.’ That's the main thing – just not expecting your child to want to necessarily open up to you because they might not feel totally comfortable. But if you notice something, at least give them the resources to know that it's okay to talk to somebo...