Definitions and Abreviations of terms used in the ISSF Rules

RULE NUMBERING

All ISSF Rules are numbered according to a rule numbering protocol that limits rule numbers to four (4) levels (i.e. 6.10.3.5).  Bulleted rules are also used to facilitate   additional rule sub-levels.  If reference is made to a bulleted rule, a letter designating the place of the bulleted rule in the bulleted list should be used (i.e. use 6.10.3.5 d to designate the fourth bulleted rule in a list)

Definitions and Abbreviations

The following are definitions of special terms and abbreviations that are used in the ISSF General Technical Rules and the ISSF Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun and Running Target Rules.

Term	Definition
Athetes	Competitors or participants in a sports competition. Athletes in the sport of Shooting are sometimes called shooters
Championship	A single organized shooting competition with a program of events. A Championship (capital C) is a competition that is authorized and supervised by ISSF rules,Technical Delegates, Juries and anti-doping controls
Competition	A general reference to a sports contest that may include a series of events (Championship) or may be a contest within a single event.
Course of Fire	A description of the stages of competition within an event that specifies the number of shots in each series and stage, the type of firing and the time limits.
CRO	Chief Range Officer
Discipline	A sub-group of events within a sport that have common characteristics. Shooting has four (4) disciplines: 1) Rifle, 2) Pistol, 3) Shotgun and 4) Running Target.
EST	Electronic scoring targets
Event	A unique Shooting contest with a specific course of fire and rules of conduct. Shooting has 15 Olympic events. The ISSF also recognizes many additional events for individual and team competitions for open and junior age groups.
FOP	Field of Play. In Shooting, the FOP includes the area behind the firing line where access is restricted to competing athletes and on duty officials, the firing line or shooting stations and the downrange area that includes the targets and backstops or safety zone.
MARCH Shots	Scoring or record shots. Shots that count in an athlete’s score.
Min	Minute, minutes
Round	A phase of competition for a Shooting event. Shooting events may have Elimination Rounds, Qualification Rounds and Finals
Sec.	Second, seconds
Series	A sequence of shots fired within a stage or course of fire. Most Shooting events have 10-shot series; 25m Pistol events have 5-shot series; Shotgun events have 25 or 30 target series. Series in Shotgun events are often called rounds.
Sighting Shots	Practice or warm-up shots that are fired in a Shooting event  prior to MATCH shots.
Sport	A distinct grouping of competitive events with common elements and a single governing body. Shooting (capital S) is a “sport” where athletes in different events fire guns at targets that rank competing athletes according to their scores. The IOC recognizes Shooting as one of 28 Summer Olympic sports.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Sources, ISSF Official Rules and Regulations EDITION 2013 (First Print, 11/2012)

Effective 1st JANUARY 2013