IPC Shooting World Championships Officially Opened

16 Jul 2010

The 2010 IPC Shooting World Championships have officially been opened tonight at the Vrap?anski Potok Shooting Range in Zagreb, Croatia.

The Opening Ceremony began with the National Anthem of Croatia performed by the Croatian Army Orchestra. The Prime Minister of Croatia, Ms. Jadranka Kosor, gave a welcoming speech to all of the athletes. IPC President Sir Philip Craven also attended the event and was among the speakers, especially thanking the athletes for their commitment to Paralympic Sport. Other speakers at the Opening Ceremony were the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandic, and the President of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Croatia, Ratko Kova?ic.

After oaths were taken from both the referee and athlete representative, the vocal singing group Klapa sang “Sveti Juraj” and “Dobro mi došel prijatelj”, followed by marching music from the Croatian Army Orchestra.

From 16-24 July, the Paralympic Sport of Shooting will be the focus in Zagreb, Croatia, with a total of 246 athletes from 43 countries set to hit their mark at the World Championships. Korea leads with the biggest delegation of 15 athletes, followed by Great Britain with 14 athletes.

The venue Vrap?anski Potok Shooting Range will hold events in two classes (SH1 and SH2), totalling 31 medal events, including 17 individual and 14 team events. Top level athletes will be in Zagreb for the big event after having competed in several World Cups in 2009 and 2010, which took place in France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Turkey.