Opening Ceremony to Kick Off Shooting World Championships

The Opening Ceremony for the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Shooting World Championships on Friday will officially open a competition of aim and precision in Zagreb, Croatia.

Taking place on 16 July, the hour-long event will begin with the National Anthem of Croatia performed by the Croatian Army Orchestra. The Prime Minister of Croatia, Ms. Jadranka Kosor, will be attending the event, giving a welcoming speech to all of the athletes. Other speakers at the Opening Ceremony will be IPC President Sir Philip Craven, the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandic, and the President of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Croatia, Ratko Kova?ic.

In her introductory address for the event, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that the city of Zagreb is delighted to be the site of the 2010 IPC Shooting World Championships.

“The choice of Croatia by the IPC is truly a huge honour and recognition of both NPC Croatia and all men and women with a disability in the country,” she said. “I am sure that the IPC Shooting World Championships will confirm the peak of readiness for many sportsmen and women, but also produce new hopes and future champions who will appear at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.”

After oaths are taken at the Opening Ceremony from both the referee and athlete representative, the vocal singing group Klapa will sing “Sveti Juraj” and “Dobro mi došel prijatelj”, followed by marching music from the Croatian Army Orchestra.

A reception will follow the ceremony, with guests celebrating the start of the World Championships.

From 16-24 July, the Paralympic Sport of Shooting will be the focus in Zagreb, Croatia, with a total of 247 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.

Shooting is governed by the IPC and co-ordinated by the IPC Shooting Technical Committee following the modified rules of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). These rules take into account the differences that exist between Shooting for the able-bodied and Shooting for persons with a disability.