Shooting Australia has today announced the names of 50 athletes who have been selected to the 2025 National Squad.
SHOOTING AUSTRALIA 2025 NATIONAL SQUAD
In 2025, Shooting Australia’s National Squad will incorporate two groups of athletes – Senior Performance and Junior Pathways. Chief Executive Officer, Adam Sachs, said, “As we transition from the Paris 2024 Olympic/Paralympic cycle to the LA 2028 cycle, it has been timely for us to review the structure and composition of Shooting Australia’s National Squads.
“I congratulate the 50 athletes across pistol, rifle and shotgun, para and able-bodied, who have met the criteria, and have been selected to a 2025 National Squad by the Selection Panel based on recommendations from our High Performance Program staff.”
Sachs explained, “The 28 member Performance National Squad includes athletes that were members of Australia’s Olympic or Paralympic Teams and/or that met the criteria for Athlete Categorisation with the Australian Institute of Sport in 2025. Athletes that continue to demonstrate high performance behaviours and progression in their levels of performance in domestic and international competition have also been selected and collectively, we feel that right now, this group represents our best opportunity for Shooting Australia to achieve its performance objectives at the LA 2028 Olympic or Paralympic Games. We also know that the group of athletes in line to make the next Games will continue to evolve over the coming years.”
With Junior development being a key strategic focus for Shooting Australia in the lead up the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games and beyond, 22 talented young athletes have been selected to the Junior Pathways National Squad. Sachs said, “These athletes have been identified because they were members of our 2024 Junior World Championships Team or because we consider that they are capable of achieving Junior National Team selection in 2025 and/or 2026. We consider that this is an important stepping stone for our future elite athletes and with help, will progress their development through increased engagement with our performance coaches through National Squad activities.”
Sachs also acknowledged that some very capable athletes were overlooked for inclusion in Shooting Australia’s National Squad at the beginning of 2025, saying “We had to make some tough decisions including the omission of some previous National Squad athletes. We will continue to monitor them and how they are progressing, and re-admission to the National Squad is possible for them in the future. In the meantime, it’s important to remember that athletes wanting to engage in international competition via selection to our National Teams don’t have to be National Squad members.”
Sachs continued “The Selection Criteria for the international ISSF and WSPS competitions that Shooting Australia is looking to attend in 2025 can be found on our website. I encourage all athletes, and their support networks, to read them carefully and understand what they need to do to make themselves eligible for selection. And of course, we are here to answer any questions that people might have.
“We look forward to working with all of our 2025 National Squad athletes towards their continuing development and success” Sachs concluded.
Any questions about the Shooting Australia 2025 National Squad can be directed to:
Adam Sachs, SA Chief Executive Officer Email: adam@shootingaustralia.org
Mobile: 0417 785 115
