Team Navy Road to the Warrior Games Featured Sport: Shooting
WASHINGTON -- In this series, we will explore each of the twelve sports that will be featured during the Department of Defense (DoD) Warrior Games: archery, cycling, field, golf, indoor rowing, powerlifting, shooting (precision air sports), sitting volleyball, swimming, track, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
Shooting is the ultimate test of accuracy and control. In this precision sport, athletes use focus and controlled breathing to reduce their heart hearts and improve stability and high performance. This ability to steady hand and mind to deliver a sequence of shots requires well-developed powers of concentration and emotional control. This sport is all about coordination, balance, control and precision.
Shooting has been on the Paralympic program since the Toronto 1976 Paralympic Games and today is practiced in more than 75 countries.
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From the sport’s Paralympic Games history to explaining the competition style, here is a list of three facts to know.
- Paralympics History: Shooting made its debut at the summer 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto, Canada. Since its debut, in which only there was only three competition events, there will be 13 competition events during the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021, nine rifle events and four pistole events.
In the past, shooters used to fire at paper targets pinned to a wall. However, that is a vast departure from the way the competitions are executed today, where the targets and scoring are must more sophisticated.
One of the events unique to Paralympic competition is Air Rifle Prone. Though athletes will not lay on the ground in the traditional prone position, they are able to rest their elbows on a shooting table while shooting.
- Warrior Games Competition Style: During the Department of Defense (DoD) Warrior Games, the shooting competition is composed of three major events: air rifle-prone, air rifle-standing, and air pistol. Athletes may compete in no more than two of the three competitions, across four classification categories for the air rifle and two classification categories for the air pistol.
Competitors use rifles or pistols to shoot at a static target from the standing or prone position. During air rifle-prone, will rest their elbows on a shooting table while shooting.
Competitors shoot at a distance of 10 meters from the firing line to the electronic target.
- Shooting Classification: Male and female athletes compete against each other in all competitions. Athletes competing in air rifle-prone or air rifle-standing, can compete in one of four classifications categories. Athletes competing in air pistol can compete in one of two classification categories.
Follow along on Team Navy's Road to the Warrior Games on the official Team Navy webpage, Facebook, and Instagram, and join us in cheering for the team at the DoD Warrior Games!
Article originally published on July 6, 2021 | Story by Megan Trexler | Commander, Navy Installations Command