Fans of biathlon will get to watch two disciplines at the 2020 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse: ski and snowshoe. Although two different styles of the sport, they will share coaches.

The ski trials were held Dec. 7-8, and snowshoe tryouts were held one week later. Each team has an eligible eight spots; ski biathlon is full while the snowshoers have seven athletes.

Coach Nick Marnik said most of the athletes come from the biathlon club so they've been hard at work before the trials even began.

"Most come right out of the club so the majority of them have been practising since September," said Marnik. "The older athletes have been going sinceMay."

Marnik said the two disciplines, ski and snowshoe, are similar when it comes to competing with only a few small differences.

"In a few ways, it changes," said Marnik. "Snowshoers aren't subject to the same wind chills as skiers because they aren't going as fast. Snowshoers compete at shorter distances but they work just as hard.

"It's just a few small differences, everything else is identical."

Marnik said the Arctic Winter Games are a great way to give some of the younger athletes experience racing at larger events.

"They are a good path," Marnik said about the Games. "About two-thirds of the athletes haven't gone Outside to compete so this is a great introduction because multi-sport games are awesome. Two athletes competed at Hay River."

Marnik was one of the Team Yukon biathlon coaches at the 2018 Games in Hay River/Fort Smith, N.W.T. Unfortunately, because of scheduling, he will have to miss the 2020 Arctic Winter Games because they overlap with nationals.

In his experience, Marnik said, team Yamal from Russia is the team to beat.

"The Yamal athletes all go to a sporting academy," said Marnik. "They do biathlon every day. It will definitely be Yamal and Alaska as the toughest competition.

"We had good success in Hay River but at the end of the Games, we all knew Yamal. We knew their anthem."

Marnik said the coaching staff is allowing the athletes to set their own goals and expectations for the 2020 Games.

"We want them to do their best," said Marnik. "Many have competition experience so they will set their expectations for what is reasonable to themselves and they will succeed where possible."

Marnik said the Games being in Whitehorse and on their training courses will give the athletes an advantage come competition time. However, he said, this may come with some added pressure.

"Nerves and excitement are a very fine line," said Marnik. "I think they will be excited people will be coming to watch them and have people cheering for them. It's going to be very different for the athletes.

"They won't have the nerves from a new venue so that should make them more relaxed."

For those wanting to go see the Yukon biathlon team in action, Marnik described what the fans can see from the team.

"Expect to see the kids trying their best and having excellent results," said Marnik. "You will see them having fun on their home range."

The ski biathlon competition consists of four events" interval start, mass or pursuit start, relay and a sprint.

Snowshoe biathlon, which was introduced to the Arctic Winter Games in 1978, will have the same four competitions, just with shorter distances and shorter penalty lap.

Outside of the competition, Marnik said he wants the biathletes to embrace the Games and everything surrounding them.

"I want them to enjoy the international aspect of it," said Marnik. "After the Hay River races were done, 90 per cent of the team had traded jackets with the Yamal team.

"These are connections not just for the Games but for life."

Marnik said the Team Yukon athletes began making new friends immediately in 2018 when they were on the bus heading home from their first practice day.

"The language barriers break down and they all started getting along," said Marnik.

When the athletes are done with their competitions, Marnik wants them to get engaged in the cultural events happening around town and to go watch their friends compete in their respective sports.

Ski biathlon has a long and storied past across the Circumpolar world with the first recorded biathlon races taking place in the 1700s in Scandinavia.

The Arctic Winter Games were founded in 1969, and the first Games were held a year later in Yellowknife. The 2020 Games in Whitehorse will mark the 50th anniversary of the AWG. It is the seventh time Whitehorse will play host.