Shooters of the Year 2010

Matsuda (JPN) and Klimova (RUS) elected "Shooters of the Year 2010"

Two pistol shooters won the the votes of the international shooting sport press, this year, securing the "Shooter of the Year" title thanks to their outstanding shooting performances.

Based on their outstanding performances during the 2010 shooting season, the pistol shooters Kira Klimova of Russia and Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan were elected as “Shooters of the Year 2010” by the International shooting sport journalists.

Matsuda Tomoyuki, 35-year old, form Yokohama (JPN) became the main protagonist of the 2010 Pistol Shooting season, by finishing in the spotlights at the 50th ISSF World Championship in all shooting events held in Munich, last August. There, Matsuda won both the 10m Air Pistol and the 50m Pistol men events, becoming the first Japanese athlete qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The expert sharpshooter, who started competing in the ISSF circuit in 2002, also finished on the podium at the ISSF World Cup Final in Munich and at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, this year, winning three Bronze medals back to back.

“Winning two medals at the World Championship? I was more surprised rather than happy. – The Japanese athlete said - I really wanted to make the final and get the quota place (for the Olympic Game), but I did not expect to finish in first.”

“I am less experienced than others. – Continued Matsuda “I have never won at the Olympic Games. Shooters such as Korea’s Jin and China’s Pang have won ISSF world cup medals several times, and showed their strength at the Olympic. Compared to them, I am still inexperienced shooter. But I am working on it!”

Kira Klimova of Moskov (RUS), 28, also left her sign on the 2010 season, thanks to her outstanding performances on the lines of the ISSF World Cup and World Championship circuits. The Russian athlete, who had never grabbed an international ISSF medal before, finished upon the highest podiums, this year. Boosted by two Silver medals won at the ISSF World Cup Stage in Fort Benning, USA, in May, she walked into the 50th ISSF World Championship highly motivated, eventually winning the world title in the 25m Pistol Women event. The young athlete, one of the first Russians to qualify for the 2012 Games, kept on winning also at the closing match of the year, the ISSF World Cup Final held in Munich last October. There, she ended up in first at the 10m Air Pistol Women event with ease, also winning the votes of the international sport journalists. Read More...

New Rifle Clothing Rule Enforcement

New Rifle Clothing Rule Enforcement for 2011 and 2012

The ISSF Special Commission on Rifle Shooter Clothing met in Munich, Germany on the 8-9 December 2010, where it developed a series of rule interpretations regarding rifle shooter clothing that will be enforced in 2011 and 2012. The Commission, which was established by the ISSF Administrative Council in 2004 to guide the development and interpretation of ISSF rules regarding rifle clothing issues, is a diverse 14-member body that includes athlete, coach and industry representatives as well as members of the ISSF Executive Committee, Administrative Council and Rifle Committee. ISSF Vice President Gary Anderson, who is a former Olympic and World rifle champion, chairs the Commission.

Anderson said, “our meetings in Munich were extraordinarily successful in developing a series of rule interpretations where athletes, coaches and ISSF officials were all in agreement. With these agreements, we now have a plan of action that will allow the ISSF to enforce existing rifle clothing rules more strictly and uniformly without having to press forward with rule changes that mandate increased clothing restrictions.”

The meeting concluded with all members of the Commission agreeing on a list of “Rule Interpretation and Enforcement Measures for 2011/2012.” This list subsequently received full approval from the ISSF Rifle Committee when it met in Munich on 12 December. With the established authority of the Rifle Clothing Commission and Rifle Committee to issue rule interpretations and enforcement procedures for existing rules, the ISSF announces that the following rule interpretations will be enforced in all 2011 competitions that are governed by ISSF Rules, including all 2011 ISSF World Cups and 2011 Continental Championships. During the IWK International Air Weapons Competition in Munich in January, testing will be done according to these standards and athletes whose jackets or trousers will not meet the new requirements will be informed.

1. During Equipment Control jacket and trouser stiffness testing, both before competitions and in post-competition checks, all clothing panels must measure 3.0mm or higher in flexibility within 60 seconds. No measurements below 3.0mm will be accepted.

2. During Equipment Control jacket and trouser thickness testing, both before competitions and in post-competition checks, all clothing panels must measure 2.5mm or less in thickness. No measurements above 2.5mm will be accepted.

3. It is the responsibility of the competitor to use clothing that has sufficient tolerance in its stiffness and thickness measurements so that it will not fail even if it changes slightly during the competition. Shooters who try to use jackets and trousers that measure at or near the maximum stiffness of 3.0mm need to make sure their clothing is somewhat more flexible since no stiffness measurement or tolerance below 3.0mm is acceptable.

4. In Equipment Control stiffness testing, every part (panel) of the jacket or trousers must be capable of being measured with the 60mm measuring cylinder. If a part of the jacket or trousers is too small for normal testing (if there is no flat area 60mm or larger), testing must be done over the seams.

5. The ISSF considers the placement of names, national flags or symbols and sponsor signs on shooting clothing as positive and desirable. However, these markings cannot be used to increase the clothing stiffness or to prevent the measurement of clothing panels. Stiffness and thickness tests will ordinarily not be done over these markings, but if the panel where the letters or markings are located does not provide a flat 60mm or larger area to measure, stiffness testing will be done over the letters or markings.

6. The top of trousers seat pads must be at least 150mm below the top of the trousers waistband. Stiffness may be measured over the seat pad if necessary. This requirement replaces the test that was used in 2010 where the height of the seat pad was measured while shooters were seated with their trousers closed.

7. All rifle shooters must walk normally while wearing their shooting shoes and trousers anywhere on the range. Normal walking means heel down first—then heel up (the heel lift off of the floor must be visible) before lifting the toe. Normal walking also means bending the legs at the knees while walking. ISSF Juries will enforce this test for the flexibility of the shooting shoes and trousers by giving a warning for the first offence, a 2-point penalty for the second offence and disqualification for the third offence on any competition day.

8. Shooting trousers may have a maximum of 7 belt loops, but there must be at least 80mm of space between all belt loops.

9. Kinesio and medical taping are contrary to ISSF rules (Rule 6.4.2.1.1) and are not permitted. Post competition testing will now require selected shooters to undress to confirm that they are not using banned taping.

10. Shooters’ underclothing will also be checked for compliance with the 2.5mm thickness restriction as part of the post-competition testing.

11. Post-competition testing will require escorts to ensure that selected shooters have no opportunity to change or remove clothing. Judges who are women will be available to do the post-competition checks on women athletes for taping and underclothing.

The ISSF urges all National Federations to study these rule interpretations carefully to ensure that their athletes and coaches who will compete in the 2011 World Cups are prepared for them. For rifle shooters whose shooting jackets, trousers and boots were in full compliance with ISSF Rules during 2010 competitions, these rule interpretations should not require them to make any significant changes.

For shooters who try to use jackets and trousers that measure at or near the maximum stiffness of 3.0mm, they will need to make sure their clothing is somewhat more flexible since stiffness measurements below 3.0mm and thickness measurements greater than 2.5mm are not acceptable. The tolerance must now be in the shooters’ clothing, not in the measurements. The small percentage of rifle shooters who have persisted in walking stiff legged and flatfooted must learn to walk normally when they wear their trousers and boots. Competitors with any clothing item that has small panels or large pads that make it impossible to find a 60mm area to measure stiffness must be aware that measurements of those panels will now be made over the pads, seams or letters if necessary. Any athletes who may have tried taping techniques need to know that this is illegal and will be checked.

The Commission is concerned that shooting boot soles and shooting gloves are becoming stiffer and less flexible and that some of these clothing items are not in compliance with ISSF Rules (7.4.6.2 and 7.4.6.3.2) that require them to be “flexible.” The walking test will be enforced in 2011 as one means of ensuring that boot soles are more flexible, but the Commission is also seeking new methods of measuring these items to more accurately check their flexibility.

Several other rule change proposals were discussed during the meeting and the Commission agreed on some rule change proposals that could go into effect starting in 2013. These were forwarded to the ISSF Rifle Committee for their consideration. The Commission emphasized that the major emphasis in 2011 and 2012 must be on stricter enforcement of existing rules. The ISSF will release additional information in a continuing effort to educate all athletes, trainers and judges regarding these stricter rule enforcement measures that will be applied starting with the first World Cups in 2011. Read More...

International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is an organization that governs international shooting sports.[citation needed] While far from the only such organization, it is the one that is a member of the International Olympic Committee and so it is in charge of the Olympic shooting events. Not all ISSF shooting events are Olympic, however. The organization, with 154 national member federations, has its headquarters in Munich, Germany.

International shooting competitions had begun already with Shooting at the 1896 Summer Olympics, and the first World Championships were held in 1897. However, there was no governing body until 1907, when eight national federations founded the union, soon to be called Union International de Tir (UIT) (French for the International Shooting Union and sometimes referred to in English as the ISU). This was the name until the current name was adapted in 1998.

Over the years, the ISSF has distanced itself from connotations of non-sportive uses of guns. This has included changing over from human-shaped targets to circular ones. The only official ISSF target still depicting a live creature is the wild boar image used in 50 metre running target. Following this path, in 2000 the ISSF issued a decree, prohibiting any ISSF members from "cooperating" with the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and from participating in any practical shooting activities. Regarding, contrary to the IPSC's own view, practical shooting as closer to combat training than actual shooting sports, the ISSF has also discouraged accepting the IPSC into the Olympic movement.

The ISSF recognizes the following competitions as ISSF Championships:

• The Olympic Games every four years (Olympic events only).
• The ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years, plus every other year for shotgun events.
• The ISSF World Cup four times a year plus a final (Olympic events only).
• Regional championships, such as the European Championships or the Pan-American Games, with regularity that is decided on the regional level.

These are the only competitions that have direct supervision from ISSF committees, and the only competitions where world records can be set. This leads to many national records in fact being higher than the world records.

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