International Shooting Sport Federation


The International Shooting Sport Federation is the governing body of the Olympic Shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines, and of several non-Olympic Shooting sport events. ISSF's activities include regulation of the sport, Olympic qualifications and organization of international competitions such as the ISSF World Cup Series, the ISSF World Cup Finals, the ISSF Separate World Championship in Shotgun events and the ISSF World Championship in all events.
Founded in 1907 as the International Shooting Union, and then changing its name in 1998, the ISSF affiliates nowadays over 150 National Shooting Federations from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The ISSF Presidency is held by Mr. Vladimir Lisin, a Russian steel tycoon and President of the European Shooting Federation, since the 30th of November 2018. The ISSF headquarters is in Munich, Germany.

Competitions and records

The ISSF recognizes the following competitions as ISSF Championships:
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.

Events

Disciplines and olympic events

Shooting sports currently consist of three different disciplines: Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun. Each and every one of them includes multiple events, varying for distance from the target, position and type of sport gun.

Pistol

Olympic shooting includes five different pistol events: 10 m Air Pistol Men, 10 m Air Pistol Women, 50 m Pistol Men, 25 m Pistol Women, 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Men.
For 10 m Air Pistol events, athletes use air pistols loaded with.177/ 4.5 mm calibre pellets. For 25 m and 50 m Pistol events, athletes use pistol loaded with.22/ 5.6 mm calibre shots.
According to the ISSF Rules changes introduced after the 2012 Olympic Games, 10 m and 50 m Pistol finals, as well as the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Men final are conducted with an elimination-style format. 25 m Pistol Women finals are conducted over two phases: semi-finals and medal matches. Also according to the new rules, all Pistol finals start from zero and the qualification score is no longer carried forward into the final.

10 m Air Pistol (Men)

The 10 m Air Pistol Men event is conducted in standing position, and the target is placed at a distance of 10 meters. Athletes reload after each shot, as pistols are single-loaded. The qualifications round consists of 60 shots, while in the elimination-style final athletes can shoot a maximum of 24 shots.
Following the athletes' presentation, the final begins with 2 series of 5 shots, where each series must be fired in 250 seconds. After the first 2 series, a maximum of 14 single shots can be fired, and in this case each shot must be fired in 50 seconds. From this point, the lowest-ranked athlete is eliminated after every 2 shots. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line and the last 2 shots decide the gold medal winner.
Tie scores are broken by shoot-offs shots.

10 m Air Pistol (Women)

Just like in the men's event, the 10 m Air Pistol Women event is conducted in standing position, the target is placed at a distance of 10 meters and athletes reload after each shot. The women qualifications round also consists of 60 shots, while the elimination-style final consists again of a maximum of 24 shots.
The final procedure is also very similar to the men event, as it begins with 2 series of 5 shots, where each series must be fired in 250 seconds. After the first 2 series, a maximum of 14 single shots can be fired, and in this case each shot must be fired in 50 seconds. From this point, the lowest-ranked athlete is eliminated after every 2 shots. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last 2 shots deciding the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs shots.

50 m Pistol Men

The 50 m Pistol Men event is conducted in standing position. The target is placed at a distance of 50 meters and athletes reload after each shot. The qualification round consists of 60 shots and the elimination-style final consists of a maximum of 20 shots.
Just like in the two 10 m events the final begins with 2 series of 3 shots, where each series must be fired in 150 seconds. After the first two series, a maximum of 14 single shots can be fired, and in this case each shot must be fired in 50 seconds. From this point, the lowest-ranked athlete is eliminated after every 2 shots. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last 2 shots deciding the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs shots.

25 m Pistol Women

The 25 m Pistol Women event is conducted in standing position and the target is placed at a distance of 25 meters. The event is made up of three different stages: one qualification round, two semifinals and two finals, one for the gold medal and one for the bronze. Athletes’ pistols are loaded with five.22 caliber shots in a magazine, whose diameter is 5.6 mm.
The qualification round consists of 60 shots, after which the top-8 athletes advance to the semifinal, consisting of 5 series of 5 shots each. Athletes only have 3 seconds to fire each shot, and they must lower their arm down at a 45° angle before firing each shot. The top-2 athletes after the semifinal advance to the gold medal match; the 3rd and the 4th ranked athletes go to the bronze medal match.
The scoring system changes when it comes to the medal matches: each match is fired on a series-by-series basis, with every series including 5 shots. The athlete with the highest number of hits in each series receives 2 points, and in case there is a tie in a series 1 point is awarded to both athletes. The first one who reaches 7 points, wins the match. If both athletes reach 7 points after the same number of series, they will fire additional series until the tie is broken.
The principle adopted to assign points during the medal matches remains hit or miss: a shot of 10.2 points or more counts as a hit; a shot lower than 10.2 points counts as a miss.

25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Men

The 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Men event is conducted in the standing position, and the target is placed at a distance of 25 meters. The qualification round consists of 60 shots, divided into 2 rounds. Each round consists of six 5-shot series: the first 2 series are fired in 8 seconds and the following 2 in 6 seconds. The last 2 series are fired in 4 seconds, meaning that athletes have less than 1 second per shot.
The top-6 athletes after the qualification round advance to the elimination-style final, consisting of 8 series of 5 shots each. Each series must be fired in 4 seconds. From the 4th series and after every single one of them, the athlete with the lowest score is eliminated and has to leave the match. Eliminations continue until the 8th series, when the gold and the silver medals are decided.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs series.
The scoring system terminology used during the final is hit or miss: a shot of 9.7 points or more counts as a hit; a shot lower than 9.7 points counts as a miss.

Rifle

Olympic shooting includes five different rifle events: 10 m Air Rifle Men, 10 m Air Rifle Women, 50 m Rifle 3 Positions Men, 50 m Rifle 3 Positions Women, 50 m Rifle Prone Men.
For 10 m Air Rifle events, athletes use air rifles loaded with.177/ 4.5 mm calibre pellets. For 50 m Rifle events, athletes use pistol loaded with.22/ 5.6 mm calibre shots. In this discipline, athletes must wear special shooting equipment such as jackets, trousers, gloves and shoes, whose characteristics are regulated and checked by the Federation.
According to the ISSF Rule changes introduced after the 2012 Olympic Games, all Olympic Rifle finals are conducted with an elimination-style format: the top-8 shooters after the qualifications advance to the final. The qualification score is no longer carried forward into the final, as every athlete starts from zero.

10 m Air Rifle Men

The 10 m Air Rifle Men event is conducted in the standing position, and the target is placed at a distance of 10 meters. Athletes reload their rifles after each shot. The qualifications consist of 60 shots, while in the elimination-style final athletes can shoot a maximum of 24 shots.
After the athletes’ presentation, the final begins with 2 series of 5 shots, where each series must be fired within 250 seconds. After the first two series, a total of 14 single shots are fired, and in this case, each shot must be fired within 50 seconds. From this point, after every 2 shots, the lowest-ranked athlete is eliminated. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last 2 shots decide the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs.

10 m Air Rifle Women

The 10 m Air Rifle Women event is also conducted in the standing position. The target is placed at a distance of 10 meters and athletes reload after each shot, as rifles are single-loaded. Since 2018 the qualification round consists of the same 60 shots as in men's event; before this, qualification consisted of 40 shots. As with the men's event, the elimination-style final also consists of a maximum of 24 shots.
Just like in the men's event, the final begins with 2 series of 5 shots, where each series must be fired within 250 seconds. After the first two series, a total of 14 single shots are fired, and in this case, each shot must be fired within 50 seconds. From this point, after every 2 shots, the lowest-ranked athlete is eliminated. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last two shots decide the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs.

50 m Rifle 3 Positions Men

The 50 m Rifle 3 Positions Men event is conducted in three different shooting positions: kneeling, prone and standing. The target is placed at a distance of 50 meters and athletes reload after each shot, as rifles are single-loaded.
The qualification round consists of 40 shots in each of the three positions, for a total of 120 shots, while the elimination-style final consists of a maximum of 45 shots: 15 shots in each position.
The final begins in the kneeling position, with 3 series of 5 shots each that have to be fired in 200 seconds per series. After a changeover time, used by the athletes to set-up their rifles and shooting equipment as well as for some sighting shots, the prone position section of the match starts. Athletes fire 3 series of 5 shots each, with a time limit 150 seconds per series. After a second and last changeover break, the final continues with the standing position, starting with 2 series of 5 shots each that have to be fired within 250 seconds. Here the two lowest-ranked athletes are eliminated. The standing position shooting then continues with 5 single shots and a limitation of 50 seconds per shot. The lowest-ranking athlete is eliminated after every single shot. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last shot decides the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs.

50 m Rifle 3 Positions Women

The 50 m Rifle 3 Positions Women event is conducted in three different shooting positions: kneeling, prone and standing. The target is placed at a distance of 50 meters and athletes reload after each shot, as rifles are single-loaded.
As of 2018, the qualification round consists of the same 40 shots in each of the three positions as the men's event, for a total of 120 shots, while the elimination-style final consists of a maximum of 45 shots: 15 shots in each position.
After the athletes’ presentation, the final begins in the kneeling position, with 3 series of 5 shots each that have to be fired within 200 seconds per series. After a changeover time, used by the athletes to set-up their rifles and shooting equipment as well as for some sighting shots, the prone positions section of the match starts. Athletes fire 3 series of 5 shots each, with a time limit of 150 seconds per series. After a second and last changeover break, the final continues with the standing position, starting with 2 series of 5 shots each that have to be completed in 250 seconds. Here, the two lowest-ranked athletes are eliminated. The standing position section then continues with 5 single shots and a time limit of 50 seconds. The lowest-ranking athlete is eliminated after every single shot. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last shot decides the gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs.

50 m Rifle Prone Men

The 50 m Rifle Prone Men event is conducted in the prone position. The target is placed at a distance of 50 meters and athletes reload after each shot, as rifles are single-loaded. The qualification round consists of 60 shots, while the elimination-style final consists of a maximum of 20 shots.
After the athletes’ presentation, the final starts with 2 series of 3 shots, and a limitation of 100 seconds per series. After the first 2 series, a maximum of 14 single shots can be fired, and the time limit is lowered to 30 seconds per shot. From this point, after every 2 shots, the lowest-ranking athlete is eliminated. The final ends up with only two athletes left on the line, and the last two shots decide the Gold medal winner.
Ties are broken by shoot-offs.

Shotgun

Olympic shooting includes five different shotgun events: Trap Men, Trap Women, Skeet Men, Skeet Women and Double Trap Men.
Athletes use a 12-gauge, single trigger, over-under shotgun, loaded with smooth bored shells with a maximum of 24.5 grams of pellets.
Targets used in ISSF Shotgun events measure 11 cm/4” in diameter and 2,5 cm/1” in height. Targets used in semifinals and medal matches might also contain an orange or green powder that puffs when the target is hit, bringing out the definition of flash targets. For Trap and Double Trap events targets are thrown by special machines installed in a bunker placed 15 meters in front of the shooter. For the Skeet events the machines are placed inside two houses located at the left and right end of the range.
According to new rules introduced after the 2012 Olympic Games, all the Shotgun finals start from zero. Meaning that the qualifications and semifinal scores are not carried forward into the following competition phases.
In all of the five events, the top-2 athletes after the Semifinal advance to the gold medal match, while the 3rd and 4th ranked athletes go to the bronze medal match. Ties after the qualification round, involving 2nd or 4th place at the end of a semifinal, or at the end of a medal match, are broken by shoot-offs: the first who misses is out.
World records are recorded during the qualifications only.

Trap Men

Each athlete passing through the Trap Men qualifications shoots 125 targets, divided in five rounds of 25 targets each, typically over two days of competition. Athletes competing in the qualification phase are divided in six-shooter squads, use all of the five stations of the layout, and might fire two shots at each target. Targets are thrown randomly, so the shooter does not know the angle and the direction of the target, even though the rotation logic ensures that all competitors will shoot the same targets sometimes during the round.
The top-6 shooters after the qualifications advance to the semifinal, where they shoot 15 targets. Targets are thrown with the same random-logic of the qualification round, but semifinalists can only fire one shot at each target. The top-2 shooters after the semifinal will advance to the gold medal match, while the shooters ranked 3rd and 4th will advance to the bronze medal match.
During a medal match, the two athletes compete on stations 2, 3 and 4 only, shooting a total of 15 targets. Like in the semifinal, targets are thrown randomly and medal match contenders can only fire one shot at each target. Ties at the end of a medal match are decided by shoot-offs.

Trap Women

Each athlete passing through the Trap Women qualifications shoots 75 targets, divided in three rounds of 25 targets each, typically over one day of competition. Athletes competing in the qualification phase are divided in six-shooter squads, use all of the five stations of the layout, and might fire two shots at each target. Targets are thrown randomly, so the shooter does not know the angle and the direction of the target, even though the rotation logic ensures that all competitors will shoot the same targets sometimes during the round.
The top-6 shooters after the qualifications advance to the semifinal, where they shoot 15 targets. Targets are thrown with the same random-logic of the qualification round, but semifinalists can only fire one shot at each target. The top-2 shooters after the semifinal will advance to the gold medal match, while the shooters ranked 3rd and 4th will advance to the Bronze medal match.
During a medal match, the two athletes will compete on stations 2, 3 and 4 only, shooting a total of 15 targets. Like in the semifinal, targets are thrown randomly and medal match contenders can only fire one shot at each target. Ties at the end of a medal match are decided by shoot-offs.

Skeet Men

Each athlete passing through the Skeet Men qualifications shoots 125 targets, divided in five rounds of 25 targets each, typically over two competition days. Athletes competing in the qualification phase are divided in six-shooter squads, and use all of the eight stations of the skeet layout. Targets are thrown from the two houses, low-house and high-house, placed at the left and right end of the range. During the qualification round targets can be thrown simultaneously, or double mode, or one at a time, also called single mode, depending on the station. The shooters know the direction of the targets in advance, and is only allowed to fire one shot at each target.
The top-6 shooters after the qualifications advance to the semifinal. There, they compete on stations 3, 4, 5 and then back to 4. Semifinalists shoot one regular double, with the high target first and the low target second, and one reverse double, meaning low target first and high target second, on each station. The semifinal stage consists therefore of 16 targets: the top-2 shooters after the semi-final advance to the gold medal match; the 3rd and 4th ranked shooters go to the bronze medal match.
During a medal match, the two shooters compete again on stations 3, 4, 5 and then back to 4, shooting a total of 16 targets. Targets are thrown following the same logic of the semifinal: one regular double and one reverse double on each station. Ties at the end of a medal match are decided by shoot-offs.

Skeet Women

Each athlete passing through Skeet Women qualifications shoot 75 targets, divided in three rounds of 25 targets each, typically over one competition day. Athletes competing in the qualification phase are divided in six-shooter squads, and use all of the eight stations of the skeet layout. Targets are thrown from the two houses, low-house and high-house, placed at the left and right end of the range. During the qualifications, targets can be thrown simultaneously, also called double mode, or one at a time, single mode, depending on the station. The shooter knows the direction of the targets in advance, and is only allowed to fire one shot at each target.
The top-6 shooters after the qualifications advance to the Semifinal. There, they compete on stations 3, 4, 5 and then back to 4. Just like in the Skeet Men, semifinalists shoot one regular double and one reverse double on each station. Also like in the men event, the semifinal stage consists of 16 targets: the top-2 shooters after the semifinal will advance to the gold medal match; The 3rd and 4th ranked shooters will go to the bronze medal match.
During a medal match, the two shooters compete again on stations 3, 4, 5 and then back to 4, shooting a total of 16 targets. Targets are thrown following the same logic of the semifinal: one regular double and one reverse double on each station. Ties at the end of a medal match are decided by shoot-offs.

Double Trap Men

Each athlete passing through the Double Trap Men qualifications shoots 150 targets, divided in three rounds of 50 targets each. Athletes competing in the qualification phase are divided in six-shooter squads, and use all of the five stations of the layout. Targets are always thrown two at a time simultaneously, or in doubles, following a scheme.
The top-6 shooters after the qualifications advance to the semifinal round. There, they shoot at a total of 30 targets, meaning 15 doubles. The top-2 shooters after the semifinal advance to the gold medal match, while the shooters ranked 3rd and 4th advance to the bronze medal match.
During a medal match, the two shooters compete on stations 2, 3 and 4 only, shooting at a total of 30 targets. Ties at the end of a medal match are decided by shoot-offs.

History

First Olympiad and early 20th century

The shooting sport began part of the modern Olympic Games since its first steps, in 1896. In the first Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, 39 shooters from seven nations competed in three pistol and two highpower rifle events; they grew to 139 shooters from 13 nations in the following edition of the Games. held in Paris in 1900.
On 17 July 1907, representatives of seven national shooting federations, Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands from Europe, Argentina from South America, met in Zurich, Switzerland, to formally establish L’Union Internationale des Fédérations et Associations nationals de Tir, International Union of National Shooting Federations and Associations in English. That meeting would be remembered as the first ISSF General Assembly. Daniel Mérillon, a French lawyer from Paris, was also elected as the first ISSF President.
Following the desire of the first ISSF leaders to make their organization a world sport institution, more national federations joined L’Unione Internationale in the ensuing years: in 1912, 284 shooters coming from 16 different countries participated in the Games of the V Olympiad. In 1916, World War I caused the cancellation of the Olympic Games and every shooting international event; and under the influence of President Mérillon, the Union of National Shooting folded.
In 1920 President Mérillon invited representative of the previous members and from the countries established after the world war to come to a meeting in Paris on 16 April 1920, with the intent to renew ISSF activities. Delegates from 14 countries attended the meeting and agreed to re-establish the ISSF under the name L’Union Internationale de Tir, and Daniel Mérillon was re-elected President of the Union. In the first Olympic Games after the hiatus, held in Antwerp in the same year, 233 athletes from 18 nations participated in 21 shooting events. The following year, 1921, the International Olympic Committee, declared that the ISSF regulations were to govern the shooting events in the next Olympic Games: this was the first concrete step in forging a union between the ISSF and the IOC, a step that was to have such a profound impact on the Federation's future.
A crisis between the ISSF and the IOC happened between years 1926 and 1928: the practice of awarding money prizes in ISSF Championships clashed with the rigid amateur standards of the IOC, causing the Committee to exclude shooting from the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. After a formal appeal, in 1932 shooting was re-included in the Olympic program, but the number of events was widely reduced and many of the world's best marksmen were missing because they were labeled incompatible with the IOC amateur standards. A small sample of shooting events was present in the 1936 Berlin Olympic program, while the following year Catherine Woodring became the first woman to fire in a UIT World Championship event.
1940 marks another break in the history of Olympic Games and shooting, as the 2nd World War exploded. The federal books, with records and archives were transported from Paris to Stockholm, in a neutral country. After the conclusion of the world conflict, in 1947, eight members agreed on holding a World Championship and a General Assembly in Stockholm, where Erik Carlsson was elected as the third president of the ISSF history.

Late 20th century

The Pan-American Games and the Asian Games were both created, on their respective continent, as multi-sport international competitions, in 1951, and shooting was accepted in both. Since that year, Pan-Am Games and Asian Games have been staged every four year, with shooting always present in the program. Since 1954, the ISSF started adopting a four-year cycle for its World Championship.
During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, President Carlsson decided not to be a candidate for the further election, making room for Dr. Karl Hasler as the fourth ISSF President. In 1966 the UIT decided to recognize its events as mixed ones, allowing women to compete alongside men in every official competition, including the 1968 Olympic Games and their three following editions.
In 1976 Hasler, after serving the ISSF for sixteen years, stepped down form the presidency, opening the way for his First Vice President George Vichos, whose administration lasted only for four years: during the ISSF General Assembly of the XXII Olympiad, held in Mexico City, Olegario Vázquez Raña, emerged as the leading candidate for the presidency. The Mexican, an active and successful shooter with four Olympic Games and five World Championship participations, was elected in February 1980, with 125 out of 132 votes in his favor. The 1980 General Assembly also elected Horst G. Schreiber, a prominent attorney in Munich, Germany, as the new Secretary General.
The constant growth of the member federations to over 100 changed the needs of the ISSF, leading the new leadership to the promotion of a new ISSF Constitution, drafted and approved in an Extraordinary General Assembly happened in Moscow in 1980. The new Constitution transferred the technical rule making authority to the Administrative Council, increased the authority of the ISSF Section Committees and strengthened the Federation's financial accountability. It also established the ISSF Women's Committee, that replaced the provisional 1977's Ladies Committee.
In 1984 Mrs. Unni Nicolaysen became the first woman in the 77-year-old history of the Federation to be elected as a member of the Administrative Council. That same year, the IOC added three women events to the Olympic Shooting program.
Two years later, at the suggestion of the IOC, the ISSF developed an Olympic qualification system, establishing a new series of World Cups, including them in the system and recognizing their scores as potential World Records. The first ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup was held in Mexico City in March 1986, followed by the first ISSF Shotgun World Cup, held in Montecatini, Italy, in April. Since 1986, ISSF World Cup has been played on a yearly basis, always leading to an ISSF World Cup Final where shooters with the best scores were invited to compete in an elite competition at the end of each season. 25 junior events were added to the Championship programs in 1994.
During the General Assembly held in Barcelona in 1998, the word sport was formally incorporated into the Federation's name, changing it into the current International Shooting Sport Federation. Between 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, three women events were added to the program.

21st century

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, 390 shooters, representing 106 countries, competed in 17 events, and after that two categories were removed from the program, reducing it to 15 events. Another record setting participation was recorded in 2006 in Zagreb for the ISSF World Championship in all events: 1.932 senior and junior athletes represented 97 nations, and competed in 54 individual events and 51 team events. Also in 2006, Mr. Olegario Vázquez Raña and Mr. Horst Schreiber were voted and re-elected respectively as President and Secretary General of the ISSF.
On July 17, 2007 the International Shooting Sport Federation celebrated the 100th anniversary of that meeting in Zurich, reaching the milestone of one century of history. Currently counting 158 members from 146 countries, the Federation started as the governing body of two shooting events, growing to 15 Olympic and 23 World Championship ones, and becoming an Olympic organ, overviewing one of the largest and most popular sports in the world.
In 2008, in Beijing, 390 athletes from 103 countries competed in 15 events for three disciplines: Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun. Following what the IOC President Jacques Rogge called “A tradition”, the first gold medal of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad was awarded on August 9 to Katerina Emmons, a Czech shooter competing in the 10 m Air Rifle Women event.