International-style Shooting

I will no longer be updating these pages except for maybe the Links. My site has fulfilled its original purpose, which was to promote the international shooting sports on the internet when there were very few sites with substantial information.

What is UIT (ISSF) Shooting?

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), formerly the UIT is the governing body of the International Amateur Shooting Sports at international and world-wide levels of competition, including World Championships and the Olympic Games.

USA Shooting is the national governing body for ISSF-style shooting in the United States by authority of the US Olympic Committee and the ISSF.

In the Olympics, the shooting sports continue to draw the third-greatest number of countries and impose participation quotas to keep competitors to a manageable number. One of the greatest surges in participation came in 1984, when separate women's events were first added to the Olympic program.

The ISSF recognizes a huge number of different shooting events in rifle, pistol, shotgun, and running target though only 17 events are featured in the Olympic Games. While there are great differences between disciplines, all rely on stamina and concentration to successfully shoot so many rounds with such precision. The sport's reliance on such skills makes shooting a sport in which size and age, unlike athletics or gymnastics, have little bearing on success.

Oscar Swahn from Sweden was an amazing 72 years old in 1920 when he won his last shooting medal to become the oldest medalist in the history of the Games. The youngest shooter to win a medal was 16 year old Konstantin Lukashik from Belarus, who won a Gold medal in 1992. It is not uncommon for Olympic shooters to have been training for more than 20 years. Due to the competitive longevity of the sport, several shooters have competed in four or more Games.

The Summer Olympic Games will be held in Athens, Greece in 2004.

Please take a few moments when you are finished browsing my pages to fill out my Content Survey / Guestbook so I can continue to improve my pages.