The World Championship in Biathlon '97 take place in Osrblie which is situated in central Slovakia, in a splended surround of mountains that offers exellent possibilities to winter sports. Osrblie is surrounded from the north by Low Tatras. From the wreath of mountains is possible to see Chopok - the winter skiing center and the highest peak of Low Tatras -Ďumbier. Osrblie is bordered from the south by the central slovakian mountains - Slovenské Rudohorie with a view of Poľana and Klenovský Vepor. In the end of the seventies enthusiasts of biathlon began to build a biathlon center in Osrblie. The area of biathlon center covers at the present more than 5 hectares. Osrblie is for several years the center of Slovak biathlon already but it is known to foreign biathlonists as well. Since the first biathlon competition in 1981 several significant international competitions took place in Osrblie. Slovakia which belongs to the youngest member of the International Biathlon Union welcomes top biathlonists - participants of the World Championship in Biathlon in Osrblie.