As July comes to a close, we reflect on another busy month across the Shooting Australia calendar, with Australian athletes competing on the international stage, and development opportunities supporting athletes, coaches and officials.
Let’s recap July and have a look at what’s coming up. Plus, as always, some useful information and resources.
July proved to be an outstanding month for Australian athletes competing internationally, with strong performances across the ISSF World Cups in Lonato, Italy and Hangzhou, China, and the WSPS World Cup in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Across the three international competitions, Australian athletes achieved three world record performances, three medals and six finals appearances, continuing to demonstrate the strength of Australia’s high performance shooting program on the world stage.
Congratulations to all athletes, coaches and support staff on another successful month representing Australia on the international stage.
Between the 3rd and 13th of July, Australia’s Shotgun athletes (eight Trap and two Skeet) finished competition at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun event in Lonato, Italy.
Breaking attendance records for the 2026 ISSF Shotgun season, the Lonato World Cup welcomed over 600 competitors from 80 different countries, as athletes looked to prove themselves on the biggest stage.
Australia’s Trap Mixed Team duo of James Willett and Catherine Skinner rose to the occasion claiming the gold medal and setting a new world record score in the Trap Mixed Teams final.
Skinner and Willett claimed the lead early into the Mixed Team qualification, before eventually qualifying top of the field on a combined score of 146 out of 150. James Willett hit an impressive 75 out of 75 targets in qualification and the pair maintained their momentum moving into the final, this time with Catherine Skinner stepping up to deliver a flawless 20 out of 20 finals performance to secure to the gold medal and establish the new world record Trap Mixed Team finals score of 37 out of 40.
From the 21st to the 30th of July, Australia’s Para Team competed at the Novi Sad 2026 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Serbia. The first international WSPS competition of the year, our Aussie Team competed against a record field of 291 athletes from 51 National Paralympic Committees.
Natalie Smith and Anton Zappelli both progressed to the finals in the R8 and R6 events respectively, while the team gained valuable international competition experience as preparations continue towards the 2026 WSPS World Championships. This years World Championships also mark the first opportunity for our Para athletes to qualify for the LA 2028 Paralympic Games.
The ISSF World Cup Rifle, Pistol & Shotgun was conducted in Hangzhou, China from the 20th to the 29th of July.
This World Cup was one of the largest events on the 2026 ISSF international calendar to date, welcoming 686 athletes from 61 countries for nine days of intense competition.
Building on their success in Lonato, the Australian Team (one Skeet and seven Trap athletes), delivered two medal winning performances in China.
Penny Smith and James Willett produced a near-perfect qualification performance, shooting a Trap Mixed Team qualification world record equalling score of 149 out of 150 targets, to qualify 1st overall in a field of 29 international teams.
In the Trap Mixed Team final, the Aussie duo beat out the home favourite athletes from China, shooting a score of 37 out of 40 targets to claim the gold medal and equal the Trap Mixed Team finals world record set by James Willett and Catherine Skinner in Lonato three weeks earlier.
Kiara Dean, Penny Smith and Catherine Skinner all shot qualification scores of 118 out of 125 in the Women’s Trap, joining a five way shoot off to determine the last three qualifiers to the finals. Smith and Dean both progressed.
In a highly competitive final, both Australian’s held their composure, with Smith finishing fourth and Dean winning the bronze medal – Her first in senior international competition.
Alongside the athletes and coaches, Australia was also represented amongst the event officials at the ISSF World Cups in Italy and China.
Shooting Australia congratulates Mark Farrow, who represented Australia as an International Referee at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun in Lonato, Italy, and Nicholas Trabant, who represented Australia as a member of Equipment Control at the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou, China.
Speaking to his international officiating experience, Mark Farrow highlighted, “all officiating is a learning curve. This exposure has given me a greater drive to develop stronger in all areas and I know this can be achieved at our domestic events.”
“I feel my confidence level as a referee has been given a boost. I accepted the challenge to become an official and work for the sport, so the opportunity to be on the big stage is fantastic.”
Between the 29th of June and the 5th of July, Shooting Australia hosted its second annual Trans-Tasman Para training camp at the Brisbane International Shooting Centre (BISC) in Queensland.
This training camp brought together Para shooting athletes from both Australia and New Zealand with the goal of enhancing practical skills, providing educational opportunities, strengthening international relationships and growing target shooting sports in the Oceania region.
Building from the success of last years Trans-Tasman camp, three Para athletes, as well as a team coach and a member of support staff travelled from New Zealand to Brisbane to take part in this year’s camp.
BISC Cup #2 was held in Brisbane from the 2nd to the 5th of July.
The competition brought together Rifle and Pistol athletes from across Australia, and was the third and final Pistol selection event for this years ISSF World Championships in Qatar in November.
Congratulations to all athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers who contributed to another successful domestic competition.
To see the results from BISC Cup #2 visit the link below:
The development of Officials continued to be a focus throughout July, with mentoring opportunities across domestic events supporting varying roles including Equipment Control, Jury, Range Officer, Chief Range Officer, Technical Delegate and Results & Timing Systems (RTS) roles.
A National EST course was held in Sydney on 11th and 12th of July, bringing together a group of 17 officials from across Australia. Delivered by our Officiating Mentors, Alex Maranik and Sharon Reynolds, the course provided practical education in Electronic Target Control Systems, plotting, shot value protest procedures and competition operations.
This national-level EST course provides an important pathway for officials wishing to progress to an international EST course, further strengthening the technical capability of Australia’s officiating workforce and the opportunity for Australian officials to engage in competitions overseas.
Shooting Australia is fortunate to be able to deliver these officiating activities as captured under the Play Well initiatives and associated Play Well funding from the Australian Sports Commission.
Where: Changwon, Korea
When: 7-18 September
Discipline: Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun/VI
WSPS World Championships
Adelaide Cup (Tier 1)
Where: Wingfield, SA
When: 6-9 August
Discipline: Rifle
Selection Overlay: World Championships Selection Event #3
ADELAIDE CUP EVENT INFO
PSQ State Championships (Tier 2)
Where: Brisbane International Shooting Club, QLD
When: 7-9 August
Discipline: Pistol
PSQ STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT INFO
MISC GP (Tier 2)
Where: Melbourne International Shooting Centre, VIC
When: 28-30 August
Discipline: Rifle & Pistol
Entry Closing Date: Monday 24 August
MISC GP EVENT INFO
NSW State Titles (Tier 1)
Where: Sydney International Shooting Centre, NSW
When: 11-13 September
Discipline: Shotgun
Entry Closing Date: Wednesday 9 September
Selection Overlay: World Championships Selection Event #3
NSW STATE TITLES EVENT INFO
SA State Titles (Tier 2)
Where: State Shooting Park, SA
When: 26-27 September
Discipline: Shotgun
Entry Closing Date: Thursday 24 September
SA STATE TITLES EVENT INFO
July marked two significant milestones, with the 14th of July 2026 marking two years until the Opening Ceremony of the LA 2028 Olympic Games, and 23rd of July 2026 marking six years until the Opening Ceremony of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
One in three people don’t realise the difference they can make by checking in with someone they care about. That’s why as we head towards this year’s R U OK? Day on Thursday the 10th of September, we’re reminding everyone that if someone’s on your mind, trust your instinct and start a conversation.
You can find out more about R U OK? and access resources on the R U OK? website or via the link below:
Sport Integrity Australia & eSafety are continuing to host free educational webinars around safety and integrity in sports, with some upcoming webinars below.
When: Thursday September 10, 11:30am – 12:20pm AEST
To learn more about this webinar and to register your interest, click the link below.
When: Wednesday, October 14, 11:30am – 12:10pm AEDT
To learn more about this webinar and to register your interest, click the link below.
ISSF Academy educational courses for coaches are back in 2026!
Check out the link below to see what’s coming up and to register for courses on the ISSF Academy website at the link below.
The National Team Selection Criteria and Selection Leaderboards can be found on the Shooting Australia website or via the link below!
TEAM SELECTION CRITERIA & LEADERBOARDS
The Australian Sports Commission has developed courses and resources for both coaches and officials, covering the essentials to help you succeed in your role as well as masterclasses for those who want to boost their skills and make sport more enjoyable for the athletes you support.
You can find the resources and more on the Play by the Rules website or via the links below:
OFFICIATING COURSES & RESOURCES
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Shooting Australia TV on YouTube where you will be able to re-watch domestic event coverage, hear from athletes – post competition, and more! Best of all, it is free!
