“Hit and Miss” scoring system and the new final format are “more exciting”, the ISSF Grand Prix participants said. All the athletes participating in this test match in Munich had a chance to try the new Rapid Fire final round format.
The ISSF 25 Rapid Fire Pistol Grand Prix, which was organized by the International Shooting Sport Federation to present the new competition format of Rapid Fire event, saw the participation of athletes coming from more than 15 countries. The schedule of the Gran Prix gave a chance to all the participants to experience at least one final-round-style match.
With the new competition format, developed in favor of spectators and TV, the six finalists are shooting together, one after the other, sharing three shooting bays of five targets. The scoring system is now based on a “hit & miss” system (similar to biathlon), and points are no longer displayed in the final.
The regular Rapid Fire targets used in the past are indeed set to display a “hit” when a 9.7 points or better shot is scored, and a “miss” when the finalist scores less than that value. The new final round consists in eight series. After the first four series, the finalist with the lowest score leaves the match, and so on right to the height series, when the last two shooters duel for the Gold medal.
Radoslaw Podgorski, 34, won the Grand Prix final, finishing on the highest step of the podium after a breathtaking final. The Polish shooter entered the medal match with a qualification score of 579 points (points are indeed still used in the qualifications). Then, following the new rules, his score was set to zero at the beginning of the final round.
Series after series, following the new “hit or miss” scoring system, Podgorski advanced right to the last duel against Spain’s 23-year old Santiago Montis. The two athletes, fighting for gold, ended up with a tied score of 29 hits, and had to shoot-off for Gold. Then, it was the experienced Polish shooter who secured the brightest medal and the 50g Gold Bar awarded by ISSF outdoing his opponents 3 to 2 hits. Following them, the Bronze medal went to the home shooter Marco Spangenberg of Germany, who finished on the podium with a total score of 23 hits.
“It has been a great match, I like the new format a lot!” The Polish winner said. “There’s not a big difference in the way you train for this new competition format. And the facilities are almost the same – he continued – so it is not too difficult to adapt to it. But at the same time is more exciting. It’s fun to shoot and to watch.”
The second final of the day, the “Best Of” match where the best shooters of yesterday’s final round tests met, was won by France’s Fabrice Daumal, 24. The young shooter, winner of the 2010 ISSF World Cup in Belgrade, secured the ISSF Gold Bar with a total score of 29 hits, leaving Podgorski in second with 26 hits. Following them, the Bronze medal went to Czech Republic’s Martin Podhrasky, third with 24 hits.
Daumal, one of today’s youngest competitors, shared some thoughts with Podgorski. “This new format is by far more exciting than the old one;” he stated right after the last competition series “I believe this is a good step forward in favour of the spectators”
“The match is much faster and more interesting – Daumal added – but at the same time it is not difficult to train for this event. This system will be used during this year’s World Cup Series and at the Olympic, so I am training everyday, and I will participate in all 2011 ISSF World Cup Stages”
The new rules will be adopted during the 2011 ISSF World Cup Series (qualifying match for the 2012 Olympic Games). The first World Cup Stage featuring a 25m Rapid Fire Pistol final will be held in Sydney (AUS) starting from the 21st of March.