INTRODUCTION: Shooting performance relies on hold stability, postural balance and triggering clearness in modern biathlon. World-class athletes perform around 22,000 shots/year, with dry shooting (i.e. without ammunition, typically used for training) taking more than 50% of total shots. Here, we aimed to evaluate postural sway and aiming parameters during dry and real shooting. METHODS: Six female biathletes, competing in IBU cup, were monitored while dry and real resting shooting (2*5 standing shots per condition, performed randomly). SCATT system was used to get standard aiming parameters, while a custom-built force platform was synchronized to shot release to measure body center of pressure (CoP) displacement along (Y) and across (X) shooting direction, during the last second before each shot. RESULTS: Starting from 0.3-s to shot, Y- and X-CoP displacement increased in real respect to dry condition (P < 0.05), while they were similar in the preceding aiming instants. Hold stability (1-s to shot aiming point speed), aiming accuracy (distance between average aiming point and target center) and triggering clearness (0.25-s to shot aim point speed) were all significantly lower in real than in dry shooting (P = .015, .050, .005 respectively). Overall shooting performance was similar (P = .208). Under both dry and real conditions, hold stability was negatively related to the 1-s and 0.6-s to shot X-CoP displacement (all P < 0.05). This was also true for 0.3-s to shot X-CoP displacement in real but not in dry condition. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: When shooting with regular ammunition, postural sway is significantly larger in the last part of the aiming phase: probably, postural adjustments are taken as feedforward movements to compensate for rifle rebound. Even though similar shooting performance, hold stability, aiming accuracy and triggering clearness were worse in real than in dry shooting and hold stability was influenced by antero-posterior postural sway immediately before the shot. These results underly the importance of real shooting trials to manage impaired postural and aiming control in the last part of the aiming phase. This may be particularly important under fatiguing conditions. REFERENCES: Köykkä, M. et al., 2020. Scand J Med Sci Sports Laaksonen, M. et al., 2018. J Sport Health Sci
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