President’s Newsletter – September 2023

President’s Newsletter – September 2023

La versión en español está abajo. 

Dear Regional Directors,

I would like to share some news from the recent Continental Council meeting:

1)    At the meeting it was reported that an IPSC Junior Program is being developed. Also, IPSC Transgender policy is being developed and it will be sent to the Regions in a short while.

2)    Despite the fact that the gun laws are getting tougher in the Regions, membership is increasing. More and more athletes practice and participate in the matches worldwide.

3)    Match Cycle was discussed at the meeting. Majority of the Continental Council members supported the idea of changing a match cycle for a 4-year and to introduce World Cups in between.

4)    A proposal to allow 2 optics in PCC was discussed at the meeting. Majority of the Continental Council members supported this idea.

IPSC President
Vitaly Kryuchin
Ipsc.org

 


 

ESPAÑOL

Estimados Directores Regionales,

Me gustaría compartir algunas noticias de la reciente reunión del Consejo Continental:

1)    En la reunión se informó de que se está elaborando un Programa Junior de IPSC. Además, se está desarrollando la Política Transgénero de IPSC y se enviará a las Regiones en poco tiempo.

2)    A pesar del hecho de que las leyes de armas son cada vez más estrictas en las Regiones, la membresía está aumentando. Cada vez más atletas practican y participan en competencias en todo el mundo.

3)    El ciclo de competencias fue discutido en la reunión. La mayoría de los miembros del Consejo Continental apoyaron la idea de cambiar un ciclo de competencias por un período de 4 años e introducir Copas Mundiales en el medio.

4)    En la reunión se discutió una propuesta para permitir 2 ópticas en PCC. La mayoría de los miembros del Consejo Continental apoyaron esta idea.

Saludos,

Vitaly Kryuchin
Presidente de IPSC

WADA launches new e-learning course for Talented Level Athletes competing at a Major Event

WADA launches new e-learning course for Talented Level Athletes competing at a Major Event

Montreal, 29 August 2023

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce the launch of a new interactive education course, ‘Talented Level Athletes competing at a Major Event,’ on its Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL). The course, which is available in EnglishFrench, and Spanish, was developed by WADA in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Testing Agency (ITA).

Specially tailored to Talented Level Athletes, who are defined in the Guidelines for the International Standard for Education as “Athletes training regularly and committed to sport, identified as talented through some formal mechanism such as attending talent camps, or part of a talented development program,” the course is intended to provide anti-doping education to young athletes that are preparing to attend a Major Event in a way that is accessible to them. This is aligned with the International Standard for Education principles that an athlete’s first experience with anti-doping should be through Education rather than doping control and that topics and content of education should be adapted to meet the needs of the target audience.

The course will walk athletes through anti-doping rules, explain why some medications contain ingredients that are banned in sport, and lay out the testing process through the lens of a Major Event.

WADA Senior Manager of Education, Katrien Daelman, said: “This is a significant time in the lives of young athletes as they discover the excitement of international competition, so it is incredibly important to ensure they are prepared to make their debuts with the rules and their responsibilities in mind. WADA is proud to offer a course that will enable young Athletes to feel equipped and empowered to navigate the world of Major Events and fully assume their responsibilities for clean sport.”

With the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 coming up in January 2024, this was a great opportunity for WADA to work with the IOC and the ITA to develop the course, which is not event-specific, but will be suitable for Gangwon 2024 in addition to many other events. The collaboration demonstrates the organizations’ continued commitment to working together to educate and support athletes along the athlete pathway.

IOC Medical and Scientific Director, Dr. Richard Budgett, said: “The anti-doping programs at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games exist to protect the participating athletes and the integrity of the Games. The IOC is pleased to support this new e-learning course, which will be especially helpful for young athletes who are preparing to participate in the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, and hopefully many events in their future.”

ITA Education Manager, Mairi Irvine, said: “As part of the independent and comprehensive anti-doping program that the ITA will deliver at the upcoming Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, the education of young athletes will play a critical role. The ITA is extremely pleased to have collaborated with WADA and the IOC on this project to ensure athletes have everything they need to compete clean and on a level-playing field.”

Completion of this course–which includes a certificate for those who achieve a score of 80% or higher–is highly recommended. WADA, the IOC and the ITA strongly encourage all National Olympic Committees to work in close collaboration with their National or Regional Anti-Doping Organizations and their National Federations to ensure that athletes and coaches are properly educated in advance of the Games–a principle that is reinforced by the International Standard for Education.

WADA has previously collaborated with the ITA and the IOC on the NOC Anti-Doping education guidebook in the continuing efforts towards clean sport education.


Save the date

27 February – 29 February 2024
2024 Global Education Conference (Cannes, France)12 March – 13 March 2024
2023 Annual Symposium (Lausanne, Switzerland)19 April 2024
Play True Day 2024

Quality Practice – Structure and Guidelines Powered by Dillon Precision

Quality Practice – Structure and Guidelines Powered by Dillon Precision

Quality Practice – Structure and Guidelines

By Christian Sailer, 2022 IPSC World Champion, Dillon Precision’s Sponsored Shooter

 

 

The only way to improve your shooting ability is to practice. How fast you improve is directly correlated with the quality of your practice. We have all fallen victim to going to the range without a plan, shooting a bunch of rounds and not learning or improving. Let’s discuss how we can ensure that each practice is a quality practice that takes steps forward rather than back in our shooting progression.

Where we’re at in the season dictates the focus of each practice session, but the core outline stays the same. Each of my practice sessions are comprised of a dryfire warm up, cold start, fundamentals check, and then 1-3 drills or scenarios. Let’s break it down.

The dryfire warm up is essential to every practice session. You never see baseball or basketball players skipping a warm up, so why should you? IPSC is a dynamic sport requiring athletic performance on demand, and you should treat your body and practice like a high-level athlete. This dryfire warm up should be structured and done before matches, home dryfire sessions, and the dryfire warm up before practice. I always start mine with light dynamic stretching. A few of the exercises include squats, arm circles, hip circles, plank walk outs, lunge torso twists, and hugs into chest expansion. Now that the body is ready to start training, I work into my shortened dryfire routine. This starts with building the grip without a draw from the holster and slapping the trigger to the rear. This checks that the grip I have will keep the sights aligned in the center of the target with the grip pressure I’m applying throughout an aggressive trigger pull. I then work this into my draw, ensuring I build up a grip conducive to shooting points at a high rate of speed from the holster. Grip is essential to this game and will build confidence as you improve it.

Next, I work on target transitions, getting the eyes warmed up to picking a spot in the center of each target and waiting until the red dot or iron sights meet what I’m looking at. I usually have an array of targets up, but while warming up at a safety table, I pick out spots on the wall or flowers/shrubs in the berm. Keep working draws, target transitions, trigger pulls and other gun handling skills until you feel confident and have a good feel for your vision and manipulation. This isn’t the time to go for your fastest reload, just focus on the process, and let your subconscious training take over.

Now it is time to load your gun up with live rounds! I have complete confidence in my ammunition, as I personally load it all on my Dillon Precision Reloader. But wait, don’t just jump right into the drills you’ve planned, let’s take advantage of the “cold start.” Many people are nervous about their first or “cold” stage, as in not hot or warmed up yet from shooting rounds. This is like the first stage we face in competitions, and let’s treat it as such. Whatever drill you’re shooting that day, plan a little run on it, maybe multiple positions, visualize and walk the stage like a match and shoot it as such. This is a great evaluation of where your skills are at on demand and can help shape your next practice session if it exposes any weaknesses.

After the cold start, evaluate how it felt. Was my grip feeling good out of the holster? Were my eyes picking up the center of each target? Was I shooting subconsciously, and did I shoot the plan?  Where did I think my shots went, and more importantly, where did they actually go? Use this as data for a future training session.

Now we have completed our dryfire warm up and cold start. Depending on where we’re at in the season, I’ll do a short fundamentals check. Shooting a few pairs at different distances assures I am shooting at sights pace and my grip is producing a linear sight path. On a day that focuses on movement, using poor fundamentals could reinforce bad habits. This is the reason behind a fundamentals check. Shooting a few magazines to make sure everything is locked in is worth it. It’s now time for the meat of my practice session.

As a match approaches, I will simulate mini stages and practice executing on demand. Each run I’ll pick and memorize a different sequence to shoot. Outside of simulated scenarios before a big match, I primarily focus on single- and multiple-target engagements along with movement. I’ll pick a few various drills or short courses that focus on a particular skill to improve upon. For single-target engagements, I’ll pick drills that focus on grip/stance, trigger control, or vision, focusing on this heavily early in the season’s progression. Multiple-target engagements focus on engaging arrays with accuracy and efficiency. Changing the distance and difficulty of targets and snapping from the center of each use what I learned on single-target engagements to hit the center. For movement, I focus on how to enter and exit positions and cover the distance in between. I’ll use cones or barricades to simulate positions. This is also a good time to practice shooting on the move. That’s a basic outline of some of the “meat” of a practice session and days could be spent talking about drills and skills for this, but there are many qualified instructors, series of books, and online series that provide greater detail.

After completing the main portion of my training, I’ll always end with right- and left-hand only (strong- and weak-hand) training. I leave 3–4 magazines to dedicate for this training at the end of my practice. Since we shoot 99.99 percent of our shots with both hands, we often neglect training our single-hand shots. Baking this into each practice ensures this skill receives attention and can help separate oneself in the match. I suggest keeping a journal to recap the training session, what was worked on, how many rounds were shot on what gun, and notes for the next practice session. Last, but not least, I’ll sweep and pick up my brass to clean and get loaded on my Dillon Precision RL1100. During this time, I think about my upcoming matches and goals for the year.

Now that we’ve covered the overall structure, it’s important to discuss some guidelines and advice for your training. Practice things harder than what you’ll see in a match. Practice what you failed on in your last match. Practice what scares you and shakes your confidence. Shooting at 10 yards and hosing rounds across the range may feel great, but doesn’t help you get better. Constantly pushing your boundaries and working outside your comfort zone is essential for growth. You should prepare for everything you’ll encounter in a match. Practice small steel at distance, prone position, unloaded starts, and you’ll find an edge.

Each practice must have a purpose, and you must come with a plan. Practice sessions that lack a plan often turn into 10-yard hosing practice, which will stunt your growth. Similarly, every round fired in your practice must have a purpose. After shooting them, you must assess how it felt and what you called (meaning where were the sights on the target when the bullet left the barrel and the sights lifted). Before a training session, make sure to come prepared. Make sure your gear is cleaned and magazines are loaded. I preload all my magazines before I arrive to maximize my time on the range and focus on the training. I keep of list of accessories and gear to bring to make sure I have everything. Leaving a stapler or target stands at home always makes for a tough practice session.

Video analysis has been helpful for my development. If you train with a partner, have them record runs. If you’re shooting solo, a tripod works great. Finding a good training partner (or partners) is great to help keep you accountable, develop range comradery, and share ideas. I’ve been very lucky to train with a group of great people and a few GMs starting out, and now I primarily shoot solo or with a good LE friend of mine. We balance catching up and overall camaraderie, while still pushing each other and getting great training.

Training is fun and exciting, but it’s also a grind and won’t always be fun when you’re trying to improve. Failing and making mistakes will happen, but if you aren’t, you aren’t pushing hard enough. Set goals and create an action plan to reach them. Nothing is better than reaching your shooting goals through dedicated practices and looking back with a smile at your progress. The entire crew at Dillon Precision and I would like to wish you the best in your upcoming training and matches. Make it happen and see you on the range!

ITA’s July monthly webinar is dedicated to “What is Doping? The 11 rules explained”.

ITA’s July monthly webinar is dedicated to “What is Doping? The 11 rules explained”.

Dear AIMS Members, Observers & ITA Partners,

ITA’s July monthly webinar is dedicated to “What is Doping? The 11 rules explained”.

A Doping violation is commonly thought of as an athlete testing positive after an analysis of their urine or blood sample. Whilst this counts for the majority of doping cases, did you know that there are additional 10 conducts which could be considered as an anti-doping rule violation in the World Anti-Doping Code?

It is important that all athletes and athlete support personnel understand these rules and how they apply to them. Join us as we discuss each one, breaking down the legal language and asking questions such as:

  • What does it mean to receive notification of a positive test?
  • What are some examples of evading or refusing doping control?
  • What conduct can constitute “tampering”?
  • What is prohibited association and how can you protect yourself?
  • What does possessing a prohibited substance mean for coaches who have a legitimate medical requirement?

Taking you through all of this, and more is this month’s expert guest Ayesha Talpade, Senior Legal Counsel for the ITA, who will also answer your questions live at the end of the session.

As always, ITA is pleased to deliver these webinars in English with simultaneous translation to four additional languages – Arabic (العربية), Spanish (español), French (français) and Russian (русский).

Attached are three banners that you can use for social media promotion. As a reminder, the attached banner (ITA_webinar_7_st) is a tailor-made visual for an Instagram or Facebook story. The white rectangle highlights where you can insert the https://ita.sport/news/what-is-doping-the-11-rules-explained/ to the dedicated registration page on the ITA website.

Topic: What is Doping? The 11 rules explained

Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Jf8bwfjKRO2Ghb9YELv6XQ#/registration

Event date: Wednesday 26 July, 14:00 – 15:00 CEST

Panellist: Ayesha Talpade, ITA Senior Legal Counsel

Moderator: Mairi Irvine, ITA Education Team

Feel free to share these posts on LinkedInFacebookInstagram and Twitter. You are also encouraged to share this information with your communications team, add it to your website, newsletters or distribute in any other way amongst your sporting communities.

As always, thank you for your support of our clean sport education efforts!

Kind regards,

AIMS on behalf of ITA

IPSC Israel is officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Israel).

IPSC Israel is officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Israel).

IPSC Israel has been officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports as a separate Directorate representing IPSC sports in Israel.

“We successfully received the written recognition from the Ministry of Culture and Sports, approving our new directorate as the sole representative of IPSC sport in Israel. I would like to thank IPSC President and IPSC Executive Council members for continuous support and guidance.

I take this opportunity to thank sincerely and warmly the Israeli Shooting Federation for their continued cooperation and for helping IPSC Israel to become what it is now.

We are still facing a long way to dealing with our regulators. In the coming days, we will have mutual work groups with the division of firearms licensing and we hope to conclude all necessary changes in the nearest future.

In our long journey to independence we had 100% of Israeli IPSC clubs support, but most of the hard work was done by a selected crew – Riki Hollander, Rony Korem, Yaniv Botvinik, Said Haddad and Nahum Zarzif. Without their dedication, professionalism and belief, we wouldn’t have made it. I thank you all!”
– Mr. Itzik Ellenbogen, Regional Director of IPSC Israel, said.