National Squad Information

In 2021, Shooting Australia replaced its existing ‘Aiming4Gold’ (A4G) Squad with a new National Squad structure comprised of three levels including:

  • High Performance Squad – Current world-class athletes who have demonstrated their ability to regularly make finals and win medals in ISSF competitions in recent years. These athletes continue to demonstrate their commitment to high performance training/preparation on and off the range;
  • Performance Squad – Athletes who are regularly achieving selection to National Teams and whose international performances indicate that they are ‘on track’ to making finals and win medals in ISSF competitions. These athletes are also demonstrating a commitment to high performance training/preparation on and off the range; and
  • Pathways Squad – Athletes who are considered capable of achieving National Team selection based largely on their performances in domestic competition (i.e. junior or senior) and demonstrated commitment to becoming a high performance athlete.

The introduction of this tiered National Squad structure will enhance the high-performance program by allowing:

  • A clear delineation of athletes at different stages of development thus allowing for appropriate support and resourcing.
  • Greater understanding by athletes of where they sit on their journey to High Performance
  • Meaningful engagement with athletes not selected for Tokyo 2020 (2021) who are now preparing for Paris
  • National Coaches and High Performance staff to have the ability to engage with a deeper cohort of athletes by virtue of the Pathway Squad
  • Compliance with the objectives laid out in our funding from the AIS.

Athletes will be required to apply for membership of Shooting Australia’s new National Squads each year and if successful, will be selected to the squad that best suits their age and stage of development within Shooting’s Athlete Development Pathway.

Selection decisions will be made by Shooting Australia’s National Coaches and High Performance staff, and will be based on a combination of each athlete’s current level of performance (i.e. domestic and international), and their potential to progress towards world-class performance standards in the future.

The 2023 National Squad Applications are now open and you can find out more by clicking here.

For FAQ’s on the National Squad process click here


2023 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN