The Rio 2016 Olympic medallists headline the ISSF World Cup Finals participants

02.09.2016

In October, two Italian cities, Bologna and Rome, will welcome the two ISSF World Cup Finals, with the first one set to host the Rifle/Pistol one from the 4th to the 10th of October, while the Shotgun one will take place in the Italian capital city from October 10th to October 16th.

Fourteen Olympic Champions, many ISSF World Cup medal winners and all the ISSF World Cup Final title defenders.

The participants of the two 2016 ISSF World Cup Finals have been officially decided, and as it always happens in the Olympic years, the medallists of the Games will be among the contenders for the seasonal titles.

The first competition will take place in Bologna (ITA), where the ISSF World Cup Final in Rifle/Pistol is scheduled from the 4th to the 10th of October. As the men’s Rapid Fire Pistol Silver medallist in Rio is France’s Jean Quiquampoix, also the World Cup Final title defender in the same event, the number of participant will be 119, representing 34 countries.

The participants of each of the 10 Rifle/Pistol events can be found here.

The schedule of the competition can be found here.

From the 10th to the 16th of October, then, the capital city of Italy, Rome, will welcome the participants of the ISSF World Cup Final in the 5 Shotgun events.

With Olympic medallists Gabriele Rossetti of Italy and Steven Scott of Great Britain also being the 2015 World Cup Final winners, the number of the shooters will stand at 58, representing 26 nations.

The participants of the 5 Shotgun events in Rome can be found here.

The schedule of the competition can be found here.

News and updates about the two ISSF World Cup Finals will be available on the ISSF Website and on the Federation’s social media profiles: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Weibo.

Marco Vettoretti

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - ISSF Website

What is Shooting Para Sport?

           

Shooting is the ultimate test of accuracy and control and inShooting Para Sport events, athletes with physical impairments compete in both rifle and pistol events.

In this precision sport, athletes use focus and controlled breathing to reduce their heart rates and improve stability and high performance.

This ability to steady hand and mind to deliver a sequence of shots requires well-developed powers of concentration and emotional control.

Athletes compete in events from distances of 10m, 25m and 50m inmen’s, women’s and mixed competition events.

Of the 12 Paralympic shooting events, six are open to both women and men, three are open to women only and three are open to men only.

The sport is governed by the IPC and coordinated by the IPC Shooting Sport Technical Committee and Management team.

The sport follows rules of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) in conjunction with its own IPC Shooting Technical Rules and Regulations, which take into account considerations for Para athletes in shooting sport.

Shooting has been on the Paralympic programme since the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games and today is practiced in more than 65 countries.

In 2010 the IPC and the ISSF signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate and work together in developing shooting sport; the agreement covers several areas including management, promotion of competitions and events, knowledge exchange, and education of technical officials.

IPC Shooting is also working to develop new discipline or events in the sport for inclusion in the sport programme, including: Para-Clay Target Shooting and Visually Impaired (VI) Shooting.

Classification

Classification provides a structure for competition. Athletes competing in Para sports have an impairment that leads to a competitive disadvantage. Consequently, a system has to be put in place to minimise the impact of impairments on sport performance and to ensure the success of an athlete is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus. This system is called ‘classification’.

To best ensure an environment of fair and equal competition, Para athletes are placed in categories for competition based on their impairment, these are called ‘sport classes’. Within sport classes, athletes are grouped by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment. As sports require different activities, the impact of the impairment on each sport also differs. Therefore, for classification to minimise the impact of impairment on sport performance, classification must be sport-specific.

In Shooting, athletes compete in 3 sport classes:

SH1 (Pistol): athletes in this sport class have an impairment in the lower limb(s) and/or in the upper limb in the non-shooting arm. SH1 Pistol athletes are able to support the full weight of the pistol, and compete either in a standing or sitting position (from a wheelchair or shooting chair).

SH1 (Rifle): athletes in this sport class have an impairment in the lower limb(s). SH1 Rifle athletes are able to support the full weight of the rifle, and compete either in a standing or sitting position (from a wheelchair or shooting chair).

SH2 (Rifle): athletes in this sport class have an impairment in the upper limb(s) which prevents them from supporting the full weight of the rifle. Athletes therefore use a spring-mounted stand which helps to support the weight of the rifle; however the athlete must fully stabilise, guide and control the rifle in the aiming process. Depending on their impairment, some athletes in this class may also require an assistant to load the rifle. Many SH2 athletes also have an impairment in the lower limb(s) and so compete in a sitting position either from a wheelchair or shooting chair.

Competition

The competition format is very similar to that of able-bodied shooting sport - the goal of shooting is to place a series of shots inside the centre ring (‘bullseye’) of the target. The target is comprised of 10 concentric scoring rings with a score grade of 1 to 10; the central ring giving 10 points. In many events - to showcase the athletes' skill and accuracy - the scoring rings are each further subdivided into a further 10 scoring zones to give decimal scoring system, with 10.9 being the very centre of the target and the highest possible score per shot. To give you an idea of the level of the accuracy required, in air rifle events athletes fire at a bulls-eye which is only 0.05cm wide - which is as big as a full-stop on a printed page!

Shooting competitions are divided into two disciplines: rifle and pistol, with competitions at three distances: 10m, 25m and 50m.

The rules (including the number of shots and the time limit) depend on the firearm (.177 air or .22 smallbore calibre), the distance, the target, or the shooting position.

Scores for each shot in the qualification round are accumulated to give the athlete a total score. The top eight athletes in the qualification round qualify for the final, however qualification scores are not carried over into the final, meaning each finalist starts from zero. In an exciting test of nerves, skill and focus, athletes with the lowest scores are eliminated over the course of a final, until a duel between the two remaining athletes for gold and silver medals ensues.

GROWTH OF SHOOTING AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES

YEAR	COUNTRIES	MEDAL EVENTS	MALE	FEMALE	TOTAL
1976	14	3	34	3	37
1980	15	11	44	4	48
1984	20	29	94	20	114
1988	23	23	111	28	139
1992	26	16	100	32	132
1996	32	15	103	32	135
2000	36	12	108	32	140
2004	35	12	101	41	142
2008	44	12	96	44	140
2012	44	12	99	41	140

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/shooting/about

Rio 2016 preview: P4 (mixed 50m pistol SH1)

Iran’s Sareh Javanmardidodmani looks to add the P4 Paralympic title to her resume

Iran’s Sareh Javanmardidodmani has emerged in the pistol events, and there is no doubt she is looking to add the P4 (mixed 50m pistol SH1) to her collection at Rio 2016.

She owns the P4 world record and took gold in the event at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea.

South Korea’s Chul Park has shown his strength in the P4 event, taking two World Cup golds in 2015. Turkey’s reigning world champion Cevat Karagol has been inconsistent in P4 but could put it all together come Rio.

You can catch the P4 event on 14 September at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. All shooting Para sport events will be contested at the Olympic Shooting Centre.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/news/rio-2016-preview-p4-mixed-50m-pistol-sh1

The IOC launched three new platforms dedicated to the athletes

The Olympic Athletes’ Hub, the Athlete Learning Gateway and the Athlete Career Programme are three different ways for the shooting sport athletes to connect with other sportsmen and sportswomen and empower their knowledge.

During the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, the many sport shooters and athletes who gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the Games had the chance to experience three new ways to connect with themselves, build a future after their sport career, or improve their personal skills.

In the weeks prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee launched three new or renewed platforms dedicated to the thousands of athletes in the world.

The renovated Olympic Athletes’ Hub is the online platform where socially-active athletes can connect with their fellow Olympians from any country in world. Moreover, the Hub allows sportsmen and sportswomen to share contents with the fans, such as health tips and training programs.

The Olympic Athletes’ Hub is an online must-visit and a priceless source of contents for all the sports fans in the world.

The Athlete Learning Gateway, instead, gives all the athletes the chance to take part in courses related to some key topics like nutrition, psychology and injury prevention. It’s completely free, available at any time, and it also offers insights from Olympic Champions and articles on a wide range of sport-related subjects.

The Athlete Learning Gateway is designed to inspire, motivate and educate the success of all the athletes.

Finally, the Athlete Career Programme, is an initiative delivered in cooperation with Adecco, the largest staffing firm in the world. The ACP supports the athletes while they prepare for and fo through their career transition, basing this process on three fundamental pillars: education, life skills and employment.

A quick link to these three platforms is available through the athletes menu on the ISSF website.

Marco Vettoretti

Source - ISSF Website

Local veteran represents United States at 2016 Paralympics Games

By Vincent T. Davis, Staff Writer

August 31, 2016 Updated: August 31, 2016 8:35pm





Marine veteran Marco de la Rosa won a silver medal at the IPC World Cup in Szczecin, Poland, in the spring and scored high enough to qualify for the Paralympic Games this month.

In the past few years, up-and-coming competitive shooter Marco de la Rosa has had great showings at air pistol tournaments for disabled athletes. The Marine veteran’s success led to thoughts of competing at the world level, marshaling his energy toward making the team for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Then came a phone call that fast-tracked his plans — national Paralympics coach Bob Foth asked if he’d like to go to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Paralympic Games this month.

“As a spectator?” de la Rosa asked.

“No,” Foth replied. “As a competitor.”

De la Rosa boarded a flight for Rio, to join the U.S. team in International Paralympic Committee shooting. His inclusion came when two slots opened on the team as a result of Russian competitors suspended from the games by the IPC reacting to evidence of their government’s complicity in skirting anti-doping codes.

“I’m still in shock,” said de la Rosa, 45. “The first person I called was my mother. Everybody is excited for me.”

His father, whom he had looked forward to sharing the news with, died in May.

The Chicago native’s road to the Paralympics came years after the incident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. On Nov. 15, 1993, de la Rosa, a Marine corporal, was shot while trying to stop a burglary outside Camp Pendleton in California. The bullet, lodged in his back, damaged his spinal cord.

He was medically retired. Through the years, he’s battled bouts of depression and drinking, but interacting with fellow veterans has always steadied him.

In an article for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, de la Rosa said it might seem unusual to people that he’s involved with a sport that bring back memories of his injury. To him, it’s a form of therapy.

In 1998, he moved to San Antonio, where he has worked with other disabled veterans. Since 2006, he’s helped motivate others with one of his biggest supporters, Mary Virginia Pittman-Waller, president of MVP’s Welcome Home Wounded Warrior Initiative.

“I am so thrilled,” Pittman-Waller said. “It is a remarkable thing, and I hope it will inspire others. He’s one of the finest human beings you can meet.”

When de la Rosa visited the local Veterans Administration center as an outpatient, he wanted to take part in adaptive sports — his choice was either the National Veteran Wheelchair Games or the Winter Sports Clinic for paraplegics.

Recreational therapist Jose Laguna said de la Rosa showed a natural prowess right off the bat for the air pistol. The one-handed grip wasn’t easy, but he learned to steady his aim and control his breathing before firing.

“We’re so proud, and we’re all cheering him on,” Laguna said. “I hope we follow Marco all the way to gold.”

Spectators at matches were also impressed with his skills, calling him a natural. In 2014, de la Rosa traveled to Dallas for his first event, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, sponsored by the Veterans Affairs Department and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. He outscored his opponents by 100 points.

De la Rosa advanced to California. Olympics coaches there saw his form and recommended him to Foth, who invited him to the World Cup in Fort Benning, Georgia. With Foth advising him, his shots improved.

In May, de la Rosa won a silver medal at the IPC World Cup in Szczecin, Poland, and scored high enough to qualify for the Paralympics. He plans to take in the beaches and visit the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain towering above the city. And he’ll be doing his best for his family, the Marine Corps and the United States.

“Semper Fi, that’s me right there,” he said.

vtdavis@express-news.net

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Local-veteran-represents-United-States-at-2016-9195103.php