Shooting Para sport joins first-ever European Para Championships

Shooting Para sport will be one of the ten sports to be part of the first edition of the European Para Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from 8 to 20 August this year. 

Rotterdam 2023 will bring together European Championships in ten sports simultaneously in one host city, this includes the Shooting Para Sport European 10m Championships.  

The competition will be held from 17 to 20 August and will distribute six quota allocations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in five events (men’s R1, women’s R2 and mixed R4 rifle events; men’s P1 and women’s P2 pistol events).  

Eight shooting Para sport events will take place at Rotterdam 2023 featuring two men’s, two women's and 5 mixed gender rifle and pistol events. 

“We are delighted to see shooting Para sport as part of the first-ever European Para Championships this year in Rotterdam. We hope to build our participation in this event into a long-term partnership that will benefit our European athletes for many years to come. This first edition will be even more important as it is part of the qualification path to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games,” Tyler Anderson, World Shooting Para Sport Senior Manager. 

The other sports in the programme are boccia, goalball, judo, Para archery, Para badminton, Para cycling, Para taekwondo, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. 

Next edition 2027

What is extra innovative is that several finals will take place at ‘city centre courts’, in the heart of the Dutch city coming closer to people in the European summer. 

The ‘main hub’ for the European Para Championships will be Rotterdam Ahoy. The venue is very well known among the ‘biggest on earth’ since 1971. They offer a base for international artists, top sport athletes and celebrities. But several outdoor locations in Rotterdam will see Para athletes battling for medals.  

Jeroen Straathof is the European Para Championships Tournament Director. A former athlete who won a Paralympic gold medal at Sydney 2000 as a tandem pilot in the 4km pursuit in Para cycling, he also competed in summer and winter Olympic Games. First as a speed skater (at Lillehammer 1994) and later as a track cyclist (Athens 2004).  

“Bringing these beautiful Para sports together in one tournament will cause a flywheel effect. We will give Para sports the attention they deserve by making connections, dreaming big, and taking chances where others only see limitations,” Straathof said. 

“I was active at the Paralympics of Sydney in 2000, but this is the first time that this many Para sports will come to the people, instead of bringing the people to the Para sports. The European Para Championships is unique in this aspect. Also, Rotterdam is the perfect host city for this. This element is appealing to me, and one of the strengths of this sport event of the highest level,” added the EPC Tournament Director. 

Rotterdam will be the kick-off of a new legacy. The European Para Championships will be a recurring event. Aside from the event in 2023, the organisation is building towards a sustainable concept, which will serve as the foundation for 2027, 2031, and so on. The event will be returning to the European sports calendar in each year preceding the Paralympic Games. 

More information about Rotterdam 2023 can be found here.