U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- On the eve of the IPSC Shotgun World Shoot III the inaugural meeting of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Continental Council was held on May 31, 2018 in Chateauroux, France. The main topics for discussion by the IPSC Continental Council members were IPSC Regional development, the official launch of MISSIA, the role of an IPSC Athlete’s Committee, and the evolution of the IPSC Competition Rules and Constitution.
The Continental Council is an advisory committee consisting of representatives from all the IPSC Zones: Africa, Australasia, Europe and Pan-America. Its Representatives are experienced Regional Directors from strong and successful Regions within the IPSC Zones.
The Continental Council was created to monitor the development of, and support given to, IPSC Regions. It will analyse the current situation of each Region in order to suggest options for the efficient development of new ones and will encourage new Regions to join IPSC. The Continental Council can recommend new sponsors and partners for the development of IPSC, and will hold an official meeting 1-2 times a year in conjunction with Level IV and V matches.
The inaugural meeting was attended by Regional Director for the Philippines Edwin B. Lim, Regional Director for Australia Gareth Graham, Regional Director for Norway Kyrre Lee, Regional Director for Italy Silvia Bussi, Regional Director for the Czech Republic Roman Šedy, Regional Director for the USA Mike Foley and Members of the IPSC Executive Council and IPSC Administration.
The session was opened with welcome speeches from the IPSC President, Vitaly Kryuchin, who greeted the audience and announced the main goals and tasks of the Continental Council, and from the IPSC Vice President for the new Regions, Alain Joly.
Within the framework of this meeting, all Council members reported on the work accomplished in 2017 and the 1sthalf of 2018 and shared their plans for further development.
IPSC Secretary Sasja Barentsen presented the action plan on becoming of the IPSC a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), and how this can assist development of the IPSC shooting sport in future.
All members agreed that it is crucial for IPSC development to modernize the scoring system. Alain Joly said that “For the first time ever we will have an electronic scoring system during Shotgun World Shoot III, which is easy to use and matches with WinMSS for all disciplines. We got the authorization of the IPSC President and it will be distributed through the IROA Academy to everybody who wants to have it”.
During the meeting the IPSC President, Vitaly Kryuchin, officially presented the mission and sustainable development goals of the Master International Shooting Safety Instructors Association (MISSIA). The mission of MISSIA is ‘To create and develop a uniform worldwide standard for the training of athletes in the sport of Practical Shooting’. And the following goals were noted as strategic:
- Create an institute for the ongoing development of the curriculum that covers all the aspects of the sport.
- Form a unified approach to, and the standard required of, training.
- Increase both the quality and efficiency of training.
- Promote gender equality and equity in the sport.
- Develop junior programs.
Among the discussion topics were the modernization of the IPSC Constitution and IPSC membership of GAISF. “Now it is a new time in IPSC. We have a new administration, new President and it is a chance for change. We should have an open discussion and a team approach”, noted IPSC General Secretary, Friedrich Gepperth.
At the end of the meeting, the President of IPSC Vitaly Kryuchin proposed to the IPSC Continental Council members that an Athletes Committee, consisting of possibly 1 or 2 athletes from each IPSC Zone, be created in order to get feedback from ground level athletes.
The next IPSC Continental Council meeting will take place on September 12, 2018 in Pattaya, Thailand.
IPSC CONTINENTAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES:
AFRICAN ZONE: Regional Director for South Africa Chrissie Wessels, Regional Director for the United Arab Emirates Salem Al Matroushi
AUSTRALASIAN ZONE: Regional Director for Indonesia Bambang Trihatmodjo, Regional Director for the Philippines Edwin B. Lim, Regional Director for Australia Gareth Graham, Regional Director for Thailand Voravith Chavananand
EUROPEAN ZONE: Regional Director for Norway Kyrre Lee, Regional Director for Italy Silvia Bussi, Regional Director for the Czech Republic Roman Sedy
PAN-AMERICAN ZONE: Regional Director for Jamaica Alastair Charles Stewart, Regional Director for the USA Mike Foley, Regional Director for Ecuador Dr Roberto Gilbert.
About the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC)
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC)was founded in 1976 as a shooting sport and today recognizes all the main shooting disciplines – Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, and Action Air. The Latin words Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas (DVC) meaning accuracy, power, and speed are IPSC’s motto and form the foundation for competition.
IPSC also emphasizes procedures for safe gun handling and strict adherence to the rules governing the sport. In IPSC courses of fire the results are calculated by dividing the competitor’s target score by the time taken to complete the course of fire. The shooter must be the most accurate and fastest to win.
Courses of fire utilize many aspects not found in the more traditional shooting disciplines such as movement by the shooter, moving targets, multiple targets, and the freedom for the shooter to solve the shooting challenges presented in the courses of fire. Therefore, competitions are very exciting for competitors and interesting for spectators.
105 countries (IPSC Regions) are members of the Confederation and actively organize IPSC Matches. The number of active IPSC competitors worldwide exceeded 200,000 in 2017 with 351 IPSC national and international sanctioned matches held.