Close your eyes and ignore the gunfire at the Belmont Shooting Complex and you might think you're on the set of a television game show.
There's an enthusiastic host with a microphone explaining the rules, talking through the implications of every round, introducing the contestants and sending them off as they're eliminated one by one
A captivated audience going nuts, riding waves of tension along with those sweating it out in the hot seat.
And a surprisingly impressive soundtrack - including hits from Drake, the Weeknd and Eminem - blaring in the background.
Shooting at the Commonwealth Games isn't what you might think it is.
The oft-maligned sport is trying its best to shake its reputation as a hobby for white, middle-aged men and 'gun nuts' to move into a new era.
Realising it faced a bleak future if it didn't adapt to modern times, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has progressively changed the laws of the sport over the last decade - and particularly since the London Olympics in 2012 - to better appeal to broadcasters and spectators.
That included encouraging crowds to make noise - instead of staying almost totally silent - as well as introducing music and announcers, and adjusting finals to a shorter elimination format that makes for genuinely gripping viewing.
From a boring, placid sport just a few years ago, the presentation of shooting is now reminiscent of professional darts.
Gold Coast 2018 is the first major championships to take place under the latest iteration of the rules - and with every final so far a lock-out, it seems to be working.
"I think the international federation realized that in order to remain relevant it had to make changes," Shooting Australia CEO Damien Marangon told AAP.
"People are extremely surprised when they come to watch the sport of shooting now.
"There's DJs, colour, tension people stamping their feet getting the grandstands rocking, and it's this beautiful mix that people actually want to come to see.
"I don't think perception and reality line up for people. It is definitely changing the way people see shooting."
The ISSF's efforts have seen the sport elevated to category C status by the IOC, which means shooting will receive a greater cut of Olympic revenue.
However, shooting faces an uncertain future at Commonwealth Games level and has been controversially dropped from the program for Birmingham 2022.
Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl.
Source: - https://au.sports.yahoo.com/commonwealth-games-2018
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