The ISSF Executive Committee and Administrative Council approved rule changes which will be valid starting from the 1st of January 2011, and which will govern the conduct of the 2011 and 2012 ISSF Championships and of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Dear Friends,
We are sending this special communication to inform you of some important ISSF rule changes that will be implemented on 1st January 2011. These changes concern the presentation of finalists before Finals begin and the Rapid-Fire Pistol Men event. Most of you may already have seen our ISSF Newsletter announcement of these changes (27.10.10). You may also have had an opportunity to look at the ISSF-TV final round videos from the 2010 World Cup Final in Munich in October 2010 (http://www.issf-sports.org/tvplayer.aspx) where these changes were tested. These changes were developed in cooperation with the IOC Olympic Broadcast System (OBS) staff that cooperated with the ISSF to evaluate OBS television productions during the 2008 Olympic Games. The OBS Director, Mr. Manolo Romero, invited ISSF Officials to participate in a special workshop with his staff in Madrid in November 2009. During this meeting the ISSF identified several changes that the shooting sport needs to make in order to address challenges in the conduct of our Finals.
In addition, the ISSF received several comments from IOC members, Member Federation Officials and ISSF Officials during the World Championships in Munich and the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore urging the ISSF to improve the Rapid-Fire Pistol Final because the present system is neither very attractive nor media friendly. It is very important for the shooting sport and especially for the future of the Rapid-Fire Pistol Event to cooperate with the IOC in developing improved final round presentations and events. Olympic sports today are dynamic and changing; the sports that will advance and grow are the sports that are best adapted to the modern media and electronic age; it is important for shooting to also adopt changes to improve its presentation and image and to make its events more media and spectator friendly. We of course know that any change means hard work and intensive training for our shooters and coaches, but we know that we can count on their cooperation in implementing these changes for the benefit of our shooting sport.
The final round presentation and Rapid-Fire Pistol final round changes that were developed after our meetings with the IOC OBS were then discussed with many shooters and coaches from member federations and major tests were conducted in February and August 2010. A revised version was presented to participants in the World Cup Final in Munich. This important test received many positive reactions as well as some proposals for changes. The ISSF took these proposals seriously and incorporated several of them in the final version of the rules that were presented for approval to the ISSF Executive Committee and Administrative Council that met in Acapulco, Mexico on 7-8 November 2010. Both bodies discussed these proposed changes in great detail. The Executive Committee unanimously approved them and the Administrative Council accepted them with only one dissenting vote. These new rules will become effective on 1 January 2011 and will govern the conduct of the 2011 and 2012 ISSF Championships and of course the 2012 Olympic Games. Finally, we would like to express our concern about a circular letter and survey expressing opposition to these changes that was distributed to all ISSF Member Federations without the knowledge or approval of either the ISSF President, Executive Committee or Administrative Council. This letter unfortunately asked ISSF Members Federations to respond without giving them any information about the changes and it asked that replies be sent to a non-ISSF email address. The ISSF has, however, discussed these changes with many federations and they all expressed very positive views regarding the changes in final round presentations and the Rapid-Fire Pistol Final.
To give you a full explanation of the changes, we are linking a document titled Summary of ISSF Rules Changes Approved by the ISSF Administrative Council, To be Valid from 1 January 2011. You will receive complete official rules and regulations very soon.
In addition, the ISSF is planning to organize a demonstration competition for the new Rapid-Fire Pistol Final that will help athletes, coaches, Range Officers and Judges prepare for the new final before the 2011 World Cups begin. You will receive an invitation soon. Further, the ISSF is offering our Continental Shooting Confederations any support they may require to organize further demonstration competitions.
The ISSF looks forward to having more exciting Finals next year as a result of these changes. We are very confident that these changes will enhance the image of a very active and innovative shooting sport and that these changes will aid in the promotion of our sport worldwide.
With best regards,
Sincerely yours,
Olegario Vázquez Raña
(ISSF President)
Horst G. Schreiber
(ISSF Secretary General)
Download the new rules at: http://www.issf-sports.org/getfile.aspx?mod=docf&pane=1&inst=31&iist=29&file=ISSF_Rule_Changes_2011_Summary_9Nov2010.pdf