Stand shooting in Russia: sport or entertainment?

     The starting point for the development of Sporting in Russia is considered to be 1999, when the first official shooting competitions were held. At that time there were only 5 small clubs on the territory of our country, which in every possible way promoted a new sport for Russians and took an active part in the formation of the National Sporting Federation.

     Nowadays there are about 30 Sporting clubs. Club and All-Russian competitions are attracting the attention of more and more amateurs every day, so we can already say that this sport in Russia has long been included in the list of serious sports disciplines.

     Sporting is a type of sport shooting at flying and moving targets on the ground, for launching which a special device called a throwing machine is used. 

There are two main varieties of throwing machines for benchrest shooting:

            1. Mechanical - the laying of targets on the combat blade and preparation for launching targets is done manually.

            2. Automatic - the process of preparing targets and putting the paddle on the firing paddle is done automatically with the help of an electric motor.

     So far sporting is not an Olympic sport, but the prospects of its inclusion in the International Shooting Federation ISSF are quite bright. Moreover, the manufacturers of skeet throwing machines are already developing models designed for professional use, which means that the time when shooting competitions will reach the world level is not far off.

     According to the regulations of international sporting rules, only licensed throwing machines that have passed the mandatory certification process can be used for benchrest shooting. In addition, competition grounds must be equipped with security systems, and their location must be agreed with the city or regional administrations.     

     Thus, sporting in Russia has long ceased to be just a banal entertainment. Now it is a whole sports federation that actively promotes benchrest shooting and annually attracts hundreds of new athletes, each of whom is ready to do anything for the sake of conquering the Olympic peaks.