The 18th International Junior Shooting Competition (IWK) organized by the German Shooting Federation (DSB) in Suhl, Germany (11-17 June) where 400 young shooters from 33 countries met to compete in Shotgun, Rifle and Pistol events, was also a stage for presenting two new sport formats.
Youth Games Competition: Looking Forward to the Youth Olympic Games
During this competition, the ISSF invited national teams to participate in a new Youth Games Mixed Team Cup competition. This event followed the format for new 10m Mixed Team events that will be on the program of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.
The 10m Air Pistol teams in this event consisted of two athletes of mixed genders and nationalities. The event began with a Qualification Round where each team member fired 20 shots in a maximum time of 35 minutes. The scores of each team member were combined to determine the best eight teams that advanced into Quarterfinals. Starting with the Quarterfinals, teams were paired with each other to compete in duels. In the duels, each team member fired single shots on command. The scores of the two team members were combined and the team with the highest two-shot total received one point. The winner of the duel was the team that reached ten points. Team names were taken from ISSF World Shooting Championship host cities.
The winning teams in the four Quarterfinal duels advanced to the Semifinals. The two winning teams in the Semifinal advanced to a Gold medal match, while the two losers proceeded to a Bronze medal match. “Team Zagreb” with Francesca Pop (ROU) and Stefan Rares Ion (ROU) won the gold medal by defeating “Team Milan” with Alexander Bassariev (RUS) and Alexander Skakov (RUS) 10 to 8 points. “Team Thun” with Satoko Yamada (JPN) and Felipe Almeida Wu (BRA) won the bronze medal 10 to 7 points over “Team Wiesbaden” with Shreya Gawande (IND) and Malaika Goel (IND)
“It was great to participate in this event. We had a lot of fun shooting as teams and it was a good chance to see a competition format we will see again in the next Youth Olympic Games,” one participant said of the match.
“The young athletes were enthusiastic and we received much positive feedback. The ISSF believes in the Youth Olympic Games and the possibilities these Games offer us to increase youth participation in Shooting,” ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber said.
Mixed team events in both Rifle and Pistol will be staged for the first time in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Results from the 10-meter individual events will be used to determine team members. The first place male in each event will be paired with the 20th place female, the second place male will be paired with the 19th place female and so on. Teams will mix genders and nations. While the total number of 80 quota places remains unchanged for 2014, the new Air Rifle and Air Pistol Mixed Team events will offer athletes more chances to compete in a unique international experience that features fair play and borderless friendship.
ISSF 3x10 Cup: Adding a New Challenge to Rifle Shooting
The International Junior Competition in Suhl was also the stage for a special ISSF 3x10 Cup. This 50m Rifle event called for athletes to fire 10 shots in prone, 10 shots in standing and 10 shots in kneeling, with a maximum of seven minutes to change from one position to the next and fire sighting shots.
The competition was conducted on electronic targets set to set to score all 30 shots in decimals. The match started in the prone position. After seven minutes of preparation and sighting time, competitors shot a series of three shots in 150 seconds, followed by another series of three shots in 150 seconds. The remaining four shots were fired shot-by-shot in 45 seconds each. After the tenth prone shot, the timer started counting and participants had to change their position to standing and complete sighting shots within seven minutes. The same shooting sequence was followed in standing and kneeling with and additional seven-minute changeover between those positions. An athlete’s ability to quickly change the rifle and get into a new position became a decisive factor. The fastest shooters gained additional time for sighting shots.
Austrian shooter Gernot Rumpler finished on the highest step of the podium, securing the Gold medal of the first ISSF 3x10 Cup with an overall score of 302.0 points (103.6 points in Prone, 98.0 points in Standing and 100.4 points in Kneeling). Following him, an Italian duo, Barbara Gambaro and Jennifer Messaggiero, pocketed the Silver and Bronze medals, with 298.1 and 297.9 points, respectively. The host country shooter Andre Link (GER) finished in fourth, just 0.4 far from the podium, with an overall score of 297.5 points.
“This is the best test for a new competition format I have ever seen,” one coach stated right after the last shot. “Changing times are exiting, and add a new test to the match! Our shooters will need to train for this, but they can do it.”
“We are trying to develop a rifle competition format with shooting in all three positions and short change-over times between positions,” ISSF Vice-President Gary Anderson said. “Our aim is to add a new dynamic to position rifle shooting that is a new skill for shooters to master. We also feel this will add interest for media and spectators. Quickly changing positions is a difficult challenge, but the youth who participated accepted this challenge with enthusiasm and demonstrated that it can be done. We received many positive comments about the 3x10 event from athletes and coaches.”