SHOOTING AUSTRALIA UNVEILS 2021 NATIONAL PERFORMANCE SERIES

Shooting Australia today announced a comprehensive program of events for the 2021 National Performance Series.

The series that was cancelled in 2020, will see up to 40 major competitions held across the Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun and Fullbore disciplines with several of them fully integrated with Able and Para athletes shooting side by side.

Commencing next month, the majority of Performance Series events in each discipline will serve as selection qualifying events for either the 2021 ISSF Junior World Championships, the 2021 Oceania Shooting Federation Championships, or the Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships to be held in India in January, 2022.

Conducted in partnership with Shooting Australia’s Member Organisations and Event Partners, the 2021 Performance Series will also provide the most meaningful competition for athletes in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in July, August, and September next year.

Shooting Australia Chief Executive, Luke van Kempen, said the Performance Series schedule provides a multitude of benefits for athletes while providing a clear National Teams selection pathway.

"Given the uncertainty of whether our Olympic and Paralympic Team members will be able to travel overseas prior to the Tokyo Games, we need to ensure there is a high-level domestic competition series that gives athletes a great preparation before they leave for the Games," said Mr van Kempen.

"We’re also utilising the Performance Series to select our National Teams who will compete at the 2021 ISSF Junior World Championships, 2021 Oceania Shooting Federation Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships. These teams will be selected from the nominated events within each discipline over the course of the year.

"This means that there will be consistent opportunities for athletes to compete in meaningful, high-level competitions which we believe will continue to elevate athlete performance standards.

Mr van Kempen also outlined a revamped National Team Selection Strategy and a new National Squad Structure.

"The existing National Squad, Aiming for Gold (A4G), was established to identify a group of athletes who Shooting Australia support to develop towards National Team selection and medal success in international competition," said Mr van Kempen.

"Over the course of this year, we reviewed this structure in line with the direction that the Australian Institute of Sport is taking with all of their funded sports. As a result, we have developed a new three-tier squad structure," he added.

The squads are:

High Performance Squad – Current world-class athletes who have demonstrated their ability to regularly make finals and win medals in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) competitions in recent years

Performance Squad – Athletes who are regularly achieving selection to National Teams and whose international performances indicate that they are ‘on track’ to making finals and win medals in ISSF competitions

Pathways Squad – Athletes who are considered capable of achieving National Team selection based largely on their performances in domestic competition (i.e. junior or senior) and demonstrated commitment to becoming a High Performance athlete.

"The introduction of this tiered National Squad structure will enhance our program impact by allowing a clear delineation of athletes at different stages of their development allowing us to cater for them with appropriate support and resourcing," said Mr van Kempen.

"Under the new structure our National Coaches and High Performance staff will have the ability to engage with athletes earlier in their journey through the evolving pathway," he added.

Mr van Kempen said the High Performance Selection Strategy was reviewed following the Tokyo 2020 cycle.

"The National Team Selection Strategy has been revamped as we head into the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic cycle. The improvements to the strategy are in line with the changes we’ve seen across the Australian Institute of Sport direction for Australian High Performance sport, as well as the changes to the ISSF competition structure leading into Paris 2024.

"We’re confident that our new National Squad structure along with the 2021-2022 National Team Selection Strategy and 2021 Performance Series of events will go a long way to ensuring Shooting remains one of Australia’s most successful Olympic sports," he said.

Full details of the event specific selection policies will be available in the New Year.

2021 NATIONAL PERFORMANCE SERIES

Team Selection Key

jWCH: ISSF Junior World Championships OC: Oceania Championships

CSC: Commonwealth Shooting Championships

PISTOL – Pistol Australia (PA)

Month

Date

Event

Location

Qualifying Event

Event Partners

January

29-31

BISC Cup

BISC

jWCH1

Pistol QLD

BISC

February

12-14

Sydney Cup

SISC

jWCH2

OC1

NSW Office of Sport

April

1-4

PA Nationals

BISC

jWCH3

OC2

BISC

May

14-16

Brisbane Cup

BISC

jWCH4

CSC1

Pistol QLD

BISC

June

3-6

Brisbane Cup

BISC

jWCH5

OC3

CSC2

Pistol QLD

BISC

August

6-8

QLD State Titles

BISC

OC4

CSC3

Pistol QLD

BISC

September

10-12

SISC Open

SISC

OC5

CSC4

NSW Office of Sport

October

2-4

NSW State Titles

SISC

CSC5

NSW Amateur Pistol Association (NSWAPA)

NSW Office of Sport

RIFLE – Target Rifle Australia (TRA)

Month

Date

Event

Location

Qualifying Event

Event Partners

January

22-24

Grand Prix

Wingfield

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

February

12-14

Sydney Cup

SISC

NSW Office of Sport

26-28

TRV State Champs

MISC

jWCH1

TRV

MISC

March

25-28

Grand Prix

Wingfield

jWCH2

OC1

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

April

29-30

TRSA State Champs

Wingfield

jWCH3

OC2

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

May

1-2

TRSA State Champs Cont’d.

Wingfield

14-16

Brisbane Cup

BISC

OC3

QTS

BISC

June

4-6

Brisbane Cup

BISC

jWCH4

OC4

CSC1

QTS

BISC

25-27

Grand Prix

Wingfield

jWCH5

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

September

9-12

Rifle Grand Prix

Wingfield

CSC2

OC5

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

October

1-3

QLD State Championships

BISC

CSC3

QTS

BISC

14-17

MISC Rifle Grand Prix

MISC

CSC4

TRV

MISC

November

4-7

Rifle Grand Prix

Wingfield

CSC5

TRSA

Wingfield Rifle Range

SHOTGUN – Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA)

Month

Date

Event

Location

Qualifying Event

February

12-14

NSW State Titles

Newcastle

jWCH1

OC1

NSWCTA

Newcastle Lake Macquarie Clay Target Club

March

26-28

Yarra Valley Grand Prix

Melb. GC

jWCH2

OC2

CSC1

VCTA

Melbourne Gun Club

April

30

VIC State Titles

Echuca

jWCH3

OC3

CSC2

VCTA

Echuca Clay Target Club

May

1-2

VIC State Titles Cont’d.

Echuca

June

4-6

QLD State Titles

Brisb. GC

jWCH4

OC4

CSC3

QLDCTA

Brisbane Gun Club

August

27-29

SA State Titles

Int. CTC

OC5

SACTA

International Clay Target Club

September

10-12

Mildura Gun Club Event

Mildura

VCTA

Mildura Gun Club

October

15-17

WA State Titles

WAGC

WACTA

WA Gun Club

18-23

ACTA Commonwealth Title

WAGC

CSC4

ACTA

WA Gun Club

18-23

ACTA National Title

WAGC

CSC5

ACTA

WA Gun Club

FULLBORE – National Rifle Association Australia (NRAA)

Month

Date

Event

Location

Qualifying Event

April

14-18

Victorian Championships

Wellsford Rifle Range, Bendigo

VIC Rifle Association

May

12-16

NQLD State Championships

Herveys Range Shooting Complex

NQLD Rifle Association

June

14-18

National Championships

Belmont Shooting Complex Brisbane

OC1

NRAA

QLD Rifle Association

22-23

Australia Cup 1

Belmont Shooting Complex Brisbane

OC2

CSC1

NRAA

QLD Rife Association

August

9-10

Australia Cup 2

Belmont Shooting Complex Brisbane

OC3

CSC2

NRAA

QLD Rifle Association

September

15-19

NSW State Championships

ANZAC Rifle Range, Malabar

OC4

NSW Rifle Association

November

15-21

Oceania Championship

Belmont Shooting Complex Brisbane

CSC3

17-21

ACT State Championships

McIntosh Rifle Range, Canberra

ACT Fullbore Rifle Association

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