The final year of any Olympic and Paralympic cycle represents the culmination of an enormous amount of effort and investment from a wide range of stakeholders in what is typically over a four-year period, but in the case of Paris 2024, was a three-year period.
We would like to congratulate our athletes and their families, Shooting Australia’s (SA) staff, and our High Performance (HP) and Games’ delivery partners for their commitment and performances leading into and during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. And of course, we would like to offer special acknowledgement and our warmest congratulations to Penny Smith for her bronze medal winning performance in Women’s Trap. We are all very proud of you Penny!
Now that the Games are behind us, we are continuing to progress SA’s end of Paris cycle review, including Shooting’s pinnacle event debriefs, before our focus shifts to the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics and Paralympics in 2028. The LA Games are significant on their own, but they will also be an important launch pad for the Brisbane (BNE) 2032 Games. These ‘home Games’ represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for athletes to showcase their extraordinary talents in pursuit of world class performances in front of their families, friends, Australia and the world.
In late 2023, we were excited to hear that Shooting was confirmed on the competition program for the LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Organising Committee also advised that, whilst venues were yet to be confirmed, Shooting events would be conducted inside the LA metropolitan area and not in a satellite site like this year’s Games in Chateauroux, which was three hundred kilometres south of Paris. The composition of events within each Shooting discipline, together with the qualification system for LA 2028, are still unknown but we expect to know more in 2025. We are anticipating potentially significant changes to both the events and process for qualification.
Looking ahead to LA 2028 and BNE 2032, SA is well-progressed with the development of its HP Strategic Plan for the next 4+ years. The strategy development process is being led by SA’s principal investor, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), with significant input from a range of key stakeholders both within and outside of our sport. Our strategy and investment conversations have been evolving over the past twelve months and will culminate in SA’s HP funding for the period 2025 to 2028 being confirmed in December 2024. We are anticipating strong continuing support from the Federal Government through the AIS for athletes and programs that SA is responsible for delivering.
In advance of these funding decisions, SA is continuing to plan for the evolution of its current HP Program. We will continue to select and support athletes and teams to international competitions, but we are also committed to increasing our support for coach development and the positive impact that comes from athletes, coaches and performance support staff working better together in HP daily training environments. There will also be a significantly increased focus within Shooting, as there is across Australia’s HP system, on the identification and development of athletes with the potential to achieve medal success at the LA 2028 and BNE 2032 Paralympic Games. These are important shifts for Shooting in Australia and while SA remains committed to leading this work, we will continue to rely heavily on productive engagement with and from our athletes and the wider Shooting community.
The Christmas break is approaching quickly, and we will need some time to rest and recharge ahead of a full program of activities in 2025. In the coming weeks, however, SA is prioritising its focus on the following:
The 2025 Domestic Endorsed Event Program
After close collaboration with event hosts and SA’s Member Organisations, and ensuring alignment with the international event calendar, the 2025 Domestic Endorsed Event Program has been finalised and will be published in the coming days. These events will continue to provide athletes with important opportunities to improve their Average Performance Scores and compete for selection to SA’s National Teams.
2025 National Team Selection Criteria
2025 National Team Selection Criteria for an ISSF Junior World Cup, ISSF and WSPS Senior World Cups/Grands Prix and the ISSF World Championships will be published in the coming weeks. These documents will outline the process and criteria that athletes will be required to fulfill in order to represent Australia in international competitions in 2025. It’s worth noting that with some ISSF and WSPS international competitions yet to be announced/confirmed, updates may be required to the National Team Selection Criteria. These changes will be communicated as/if required in 2025.
SA National Squad and Categorised Athletes for 2025
SA’s 2025 National Squad will be published before the end of 2024. Unlike previous years, there will be no application process for membership of next year’s National Squad. Athletes will be selected in accordance with the National Squad Criteria, which is currently available on SA’s website. In addition, National Squad athletes that meet the requirements of Shooting’s 2021-2024 Athlete Categorisation Policy will also be categorised by the AIS in 2025. Details of these athletes will also be published before the end of the year.
So, while there are elements of ‘business as usual’ to SA’s HP Program and activities in 2025, there will also be some significant changes to the way we prioritise our time and resources in people and programs in response to the AIS and the evolution of Australia’s HP system. These changes are captured in SA’s LA 2028+ HP Strategic Plan. More about the Strategic Plan will be communicated in the new year, and we encourage and welcome any questions you might have about ‘what’ SA will be doing and ‘why’ over the next four years and beyond.
In closing, I would like to offer my heartfelt personal thanks to the members of SA’s Board and staff, and extend this thanks to the many volunteers who enable SA to deliver its HP Program, activities and events. Without your commitment, professionalism and camaraderie, our organisation and our sport would be unable to support our athletes to realise the progression and success that they have achieved in this Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic cycle.
Best Wishes,
Adam Sachs, Chief Executive Officer, Shooting Australia
