Sports Profile: Shooting

Walter Vlaminck

Walter Vlaminck is Chairperson of the IPC Shooting Committee. In his professional life he works as an architect. In the following interview he gives us an insight into the exciting sport of Shooting.

TP: When was Shooting on the Paralympic programme for the first time?

In an era where the Stoke Mandeville Games were the major competition of the year, the sport of Shooting was part of the program. Parallel with the development in the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF), both International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-IRSA) had Shooting on their respective programme.When the IPC was finally founded, the sport of Shooting began to move away from the focus on the disability and began to concentrate on a sport specific classification, reducing the number of classes in competitions.

TP: Which disability groups can compete in Shooting?

Shooting is open to all disability groups, as long as they meet the minimum criteria for the functional classification and the minimum scores to compete on an international level. However, the majority of our athletes are physically disabled. For many severely disabled athletes, Shooting is a perfect tool to manifest their abilities and experience the excitement and challenges of a competition. Because of the created possibilities, an important number of our athletes are severely disabled. What may be unexpected to outsiders, is the fact that also blind or visually impaired athletes compete in Shooting competitions in a separate class.

TP: Which kind of equipment and assistance does a visually impaired or blind athlete need to be able to participate in Shooting?

The sights on the rifle, used for aiming, are replaced by an electronic device that generates a sound. The blind shooter is pointed in the direction of the target by an assistant. Here he picks up the sound in his headphone. This sound increases in frequency when the shooter aims toward the centre of the target. When the highest sound is reached, he needs to shoot to get the perfect score. The same technique is also used in Biathlon.

TP: Which equipment and support measures exist for other disability groups?

It is our philosophy that we want to shoot as close as possible to the regulations of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), which is the able-bodied shooting federation. Of course, due to the different abilities, it is impossible to shoot certain positions for which we provide alternatives. For the prone position, the athletes have the choice to shoot lying on the floor if their disability allows them to do so, or to shoot with elbow support on a table. For the severely disabled shooters who are unable to lift, hold or aim the rifle without an aid, we use a support stand. The design of the support stand, a fork with a spring mounted underneath whit a certain flexibility, still creates a big challenge for the athletes but enables them to shoot with a normal rifle.

TP: Shooting uses a functional classification system that enables athletes from different disability groups with the same abilities to compete together. How does this work?

Shooting uses minimum disability criteria depending on the gun used. In Shooting we have three main classes: athletes who can handle the rifle without the use of a support (SH1), athletes who need a support (SH2) and blind and visually impaired athletes (SH3). Through the control of the shooting sports equipment used (ie, backrests and springs) athletes with different functional abilities can compete fairly in a combined event.

TP: Shooting is typically a sport dominated by men. How high is the participation of female athletes?

The reflection that Shooting is dominated by men is not completely correct. As in most sports, we have more male athletes, but certain events are combined for male and female and our women athletes take their share of the medals. In the past, we had a small number of female pistol shooters, but recently we have many young female shooters from Eastern Europe and Asia to level out the field of play.At the moment the ratio male – female is 3:1.

TP: Which are the leading nations in the sport? Are there a few excellent athletes who stand out in the competitions? In some countries, like Germany, Shooting is an integrated part of their cultural activities and because of the offered opportunities, it makes it much easier to recruit new athletes. Not every country has the facilities and this makes it more difficult to produce successful shooters. Looking at the results of national championships, Iran has many athletes who compete only on national level. Jonas Jacobsson from Sweden is an outstanding athlete. He is a medal winner for over two decades now and is still on the top. Another is Libby Kosmala from Australia who, on her 60th birthday, won the gold medal in Prone Air Rifle with a perfect score at the recent World Championships.

TP: The Shooting World Championships took place in July. Are you satisfied with the outcome?

The World Championships in Korea were important for many reasons. It was the first ever major competition in the East Asian region. By bringing this competition to the region we encouraged and supported the Asian nations to participate and practice the sport of Shooting. For Korea it was a very important event due to the extensive media-coverage in newspapers and on national TV. It also focused on the person with a disability and on his/her integration into Korean society life. The achievement of all these goals made the Championships a success and will make our sport more popular in the Far East.

TP: The Athens 2004 Paralympic Summer Games are coming up.What are your goals and how are you preparing to reach these goals?

For the Paralympic Games we have 140 slots. Due to the qualification system we use, we will not have major classifications before the competition. All our athletes are registered and ready to compete in the Paralympics. To create the best conditions for the athletes, the local officials will be instructed in the rules of Shooting for athletes with a disability. Our qualification system guarantees that the best athletes of every country compete in the Paralympic Games.The sport of Shooting is ready for the Paralympics and we hope Athens will be too.

TP: In which areas do you see a need for further development? Until the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, the sport has been growing but was not supported by a broad structure. To support and manage this expansion, a solid base is necessary.We organize workshops for classifiers and referees to instruct technical personal and this will, in the future,make it easier and affordable for nations to organise competitions and will create more opportunities for athletes to compete in the different regions.

Another area is the introduction of shotgun. This will attract other athletes and expand our programme. Other projects are the introduction of a world cup competition, the integration of other events that are not necessarily Paralympic events, but create more Shooting opportunities and establish a cooperation with ISSF by involving their technical personell and facilities and in the future, have our competitions at the same time and venue.

TP: How did you get involved in this sport? What are some challenges of the position as Sports Chairperson?

I have been involved in the sport of Shooting as an athlete since 1986 and participated in the Barcelona 1992 Paralympics. In Atlanta, I was elected a member of the IPC Athletes’ Committee. When my position as Chairperson does not interfere with the actual competition, I still compete in international competitions.

From 1992 to 2000, I was the Athletes Representative on the IPC Shooting Committee and in 2000 I was elected Chairperson. My many years on the Committee have allowed me to witness the expansion of the sport of Shooting. Until Sydney, the committee harmonised the rules of the different disability classes and joined them into combined events. The classification system was also refined during that time.

Now that we have a good set of rules, it is time to develop other aspects of the sport. The challenge is to set priorities and realise short-term goals that fit into a long-term strategy.The contact with coaches and athletes is very important to sense the vulnerabilities and desires that live in the sport. It is not always easy to satisfy these needs and combine them into the overall strategy but it is important that the progression does not come to a halt. Each small step forward is also a stimulus for everyone involved in the sport and keeps the motivation going. Luckily I can count on certain persons to give me reliable and objective comments and suggestions for the strategy.

Outstanding Media Coverage at World Championships

The Gyeonggi-do Shooting range in Hsawung was the scene of many exciting competitions during the Shooting World Championships held in Korea, from July 4 to 11 2002. The outcome: remarkable results and new world records.A total of 36 countries participated with 211 athletes. Two newcomers participated in the competitions: Malaysia and Turkey. The Gyeonggi-do Shooting range in Hsawung was the scene of many exciting competitions during the Shooting World Championships held in Korea, from July 4 to 11 2002. The outcome: remarkable results and new world records.A total of 36 countries participated with 211 athletes. Two newcomers participated in the competitions: Malaysia and Turkey.

The two main classes were SH1 for pistol and rifle competitors who do not require a shooting stand and SH2 for rifle competitors who have no ability to support the weight with their arms and therefore require a shooting stand. Im-Yoen Kim from Korea, shot a new world record in the Female Air Rifle Standing with a score of 399/400. This score comes very close to the able-bodied world record and proves the high standard of the competition. In the SH2 class, Christiane Latzke (Germany) once again proved her hegemony by winning both the Mixed Air Rifle Standing and the Mixed Air Rifle Prone as well as shooting a new world record with a perfect score in the Mixed Air Rifle Standing.

One of the big events, the SH1 Air Rifle Prone with 61 competitors, had a thrilling final. All finalists started with a qualification score of 599/600, which left the fight for second place wide open. First place went to the outstanding Libby Kosmala (Australia), who not only started the final with a perfect score (600/600), but also achieved the second best final. This resulted in her winning the gold medal on her 60th birthday.

For the first time in the history of shooting we received a good share of media coverage. Daily coverage of the competition on the sport pages of the national newspapers and also a lot of attention from the national TV channel made these championships a major event in Korea. Furthermore, the government supported the competitions with the presence of the Minister of Health and Welfare and the Governor of the Gyeonggi-do province at the Opening and Closing Ceremony.

To improve the communication, the Organising Committee had interpreters assigned to every nation, while a sufficient number of volunteers assisted the athletes and made life easier for wheelchair users on the hilly shooting range. Despite the long distance between hotel and shooting range, the Organising Committee should be congratulated for its hard work— because of their efforts, IPC Shooting has now found its place on the map of the Asian region.

Walter Vlaminck
IPC Chairperson Shooting