The European Shooting Confederation (ESC) is an association of the

International Shooting Sport Federation The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several ISSF shooting events, non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities ...

's member federations from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

History

The organisation of European Shooting Championships was first decided in 1952 at the Congress of the International Shooting Union. Successful Championships and regional competitions were organised by the Committee for European Affairs within the International Union. The Confederation was founded as a distinct entity in 1969. Between 2009 and 2021, Vladimir Lisin served as President. Alexander Ratner was elected President in 2021, taking over from

Vladimir Lisin Vladimir Sergeyevich Lisin (born 7 May 1956) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and majority shareholder of Novolipetsk (NLMK), one of the four largest steel companies in Russia. According to ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index' ...

, who had been elected President of the

in 2018. Following the 2022

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

the ESC and ISSF had banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from their competitions. In addition, the ESC stripped Russia of its right to host the 2022

European Shooting Championships The European Shooting Championships are the continental championships for ISSF sport shooting disciplines in Europe, including 10m air rifle and air pistol, cartridge rifle (50m and 300m) and pistol (25m and 50m). Sometimes the competition also i ...

in the 25m, 50m, 300m, running target and shotgun. In March, both ESC President Alexander Ratner and ISSF President Vladimir Lisin were barred from attending the European 10metre Shooting Championships in any official capacity, amid calls for them to step aside. Ratner attended privately, insisting that neither he nor Lisin had links with the Russian government. In July 2023, the Finnish Shooting Sport Federation (SAL) called for a secret ballot on the ESC Presidency to be added to the agenda of the 2023 ESC General Assembly in October. In particular they complained that Ratner had used ESC platforms to support Vladimir Lisin in the ISSF elections, as well as breaching the neutrality required as salaried staff at the ISSF (Ratner was ISSF Secretary-General at the time). In response, Mr Ratner threatened legal action. SAL appealed the matter to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

, which found itself unable to impose provisional measures. No ballot was held at the General Assembly.

European Championships

;Last editions contested

Competitions administered by the ESC

*European Championships in all

ISSF shooting events The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic status. They are divided into four disciplines: rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target. The main distinctions between different rif ...

except airgun events are held every odd-numbered year in July or August *Extra European Championships in shotgun events and junior events are held in all other years *European Championships in

10 metre air rifle 10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It is one of the ISSF sports governed in shooting spor ...

10 metre air pistol The 10 metre air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 metre air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm (or .177) caliber air guns at a distance of , and tha ...

10 metre running target 10 meter running target is one of the ISSF shooting events, shot with an airgun at a target that moves sideways. The target is pulled across a two meter wide aisle at the range of 10 meters from the firing point. The target is pulled at either o ...

and

10 metre running target mixed 10 meter running target mixed is one of the ISSF shooting events, in which one shoots an airgun An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to pro ...

are held every year at the end of the indoor season, typically in March *The European Cup 300 m (currently Lapua European Cup 300 m) in the non-Olympic

300 metre rifle three positions 300 m rifle three positions (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an ISSF shooting event, involving shooting 40 shots each from the prone, the standing and the kneeling positions. Men and women both shoot the same number of shot ...

300 metre rifle prone 300 m rifle prone (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an ISSF shooting event. It was added to the World Championship program in 1982, and was based on the English Match but shot with the same full-power rifle as in 300 metr ...

and 300 metre standard rifle with a similar season structure to the

ISSF World Cup The ISSF World Cup was introduced by the International Shooting Sport Federation in 1986 to provide a homogeneous system for qualification to the Olympic shooting competitions. It still is carried out in the Olympic shooting events, with four comp ...

in Olympic events *The European Cup 25 m (currently Walther European Cup 25 m) in the non-Olympic

25 metre center-fire pistol 25 meter center-fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events, and is normally a men-only event. Its origin lies in competitions with military-style service pistols, and as such its history dates back to the 19th century. 25 meter pistol (fo ...

and

25 metre standard pistol The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic status. They are divided into four disciplines: rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target. The main distinctions between different rif ...

*The European Shotgun Tournament *The ESC Youth League for national teams in 10 metre air rifle and 10 metre air pistol, in preparation for the

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

, premiering in 2009

References

External links

*
Archive Results
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Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

Shooting sports in Europe Shooting sports governing bodies