World Championship in practical shooting Patriot park. Carbine Shooting World Championship
Prematch(special competition for officials and sponsors) was held on August 21-26 at the new shooting range of the National Shooting Center “Federation Francaise des Tir” in Châteauroux, and the championship itself began on August 28.
Over 1,500 shooters participate in the World Shoot XVIII in France.
Over 1,500 shooters from 67 countries will go through 30 stages of the championship in search of victory.
IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017 Opening Ceremony
Traditionally, the opening ceremony began with a parade of participants in Place de la Republique.
Team Germany at the IPSC 2017 World Championship. 
The Italian IPSC team goes to the Place de la Republique. 
Over 67 countries are represented at the IPSC 2017 World Championship. 
Participants of the IPSC World Cup Parade enter the Place de la République.
After building all the teams, they were joined by the judges, greeted with applause from the audience and participants. After the speeches by the officials, IPSC President Nick Alexakos took the stage and declared the 18th World Championship open.
At the end of the ceremony, the organizers arranged a wine and cheese tasting at Place Voltaire. But many of the shooters left the event early as the competition starts on Monday at 07.30!
The only thing that could cause displeasure to the participants was security measures.
Heavily armed police and military surrounded the square, which was surrounded by truck barricades.
Armed police and military guards ensure the security of the event
For security reasons, the military keeps order
1 day of matches IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017
As is usually the case in such large championships, participants shoot for half a day, in the morning and evening alternately, with one day off per week.
The main match of the 18th IPSC World Shoot started on a sunny Monday morning.
Stages are divided into different zones to simplify organization. In total there are 5 zones, 6 stages each, associated with different continents - Africa, Asia, America, Australia and Europe, decorated in the appropriate style.
The Championship stages are divided into 5 zones corresponding to different continents.
Start of the 1st day competition 18th IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017
One of the stages of the IPSC World Cup 2017 in France zone: pay attention to the Eiffel Tower!
Let's look at a typical stage following one of the European teams.
For the team, the match starts in Zone 3 associated with France.
It is not surprising that shooters will meet Napoleon, the Eiffel Tower and Asterix here at different stages.
The low shooting positions were some of the most tiring at IPSC World Cup 2017.
The first day of the competition was very intense both in terms of loads and points.
With a total maximum of 550 points that can be obtained in stages 13-18 Zone 3, this is one of the most difficult and difficult zones the entire match.
A large number of low shooting positions made life difficult for the shooters in Zone 3. Stage 17, which had a length of 32 shots with ranges up to 50 meters, proved especially challenging for many shooters. Only a few were able to pass this stage without a single miss.
European champion Gregory Midgley was especially unlucky, who had an exacerbation of lumbago in the last two low positions. He received medical attention.
Dynamic Shooting: At IPSC World Cup 2017, movement was constant.
At the 18th IPSC World Championship, the shooters go all out.
Day 2 IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017
Before we move on to the description of the battle in the Standard Division, we need to talk about the meeting General Assembly held on Saturday. Its key event was the election of a new president.
New IPSC President: Vitaly Kryuchin (Russia)
The election of a new IPSC president was prompted by the decision of previous president Nick Alexakos to step down. Applicants for the post were the Russian regional director Vitaly Kryuchin, Executive Director of IPSC Vince Pinto and Lubor Novak from the Czech Republic. In the final, Kryuchin won the vote by an impressive margin - he received 56 votes, while Pinto received 26 votes and Novak only 3 votes.
Thus, the new IPSC President Vitaly Kryuchin will take office on January 1, 2018.
Of note in the rule changes is the new "Production Optics" division, which allows shooters to use the Mini Red Dot Sight (MRDS) red dot sights on Production class pistols. It was also announced that the next championship peace will pass in Thailand.
Who is Mr. Kryuchin?
Vitaliy Kryuchin is the new IPSC President elected by the IPSC General Assembly during the World Shoot XVIII in Chateaunoux, France. Kryuchin was born on July 26, 1963; he is a Russian sports shooter and president of the Russian Practical Shooting Confederation. He won gold and bronze medals in the 2003 and 2006 European Shotgun Championships, as well as gold medal European pistol championship in 2007.
In addition to achievements in competitions, Mr. Kryuchin is known for his waist shooting skills. In his 2016 ode videos, he, accompanied by classical musicians, performed Beethoven's Ode to Joy and several other melodies, firing GLOCK pistols at specially tuned metal targets.
Watch the video here:
Stunning start of Eric Grauffel on Day 2 of the IPSC Hadgun World Shoot 2017
And now to the championship: since Standard Division entered the business only on Tuesday, many were eagerly waiting for the European and World champion Frenchman Eric Grauffel to perform on his home soil.
US shooter Shane Coley finished the first day in the Standard Division ahead of France's Eric Grauffe.
In short, the result was not very impressive. A number of small mistakes led to the fact that Grauffel could not become the leader of the first day.
Instead, he was ahead Robert G Vogel from USA. I wonder he used a gun GLOCK 35 with a lead-filled underbarrel as weight on the frame. Another Glock lover, American Shane Coley was also ahead of Grauffel.
Italian and Czech shooters in Standard shooters suffered from misses, usually showing high results.
Strong shooters from the Czech team were forced to correct misses at the IPSC World Shoot 2017.
Overview of other divisions 2 days IPSC World Shoot 2017
In the Classic Divison, living legend Jethro “The Jet” Dionisio from the Philippines is in the lead, shooting in the "Major" category (most European shooters prefer the 9mm "Minor" category due to the larger magazine capacity)
Results of the IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017 in France
Jethro "The Jet" Dionisio won the first day of the IPSC World Shoot Championship in the Classic Division.
In Revolver Division shooter Sascha Back from Germany showed good results with an S&W revolver.
US shooter John McLain wearing his lucky pants at the 2017 IPSC World Shoot.
There are no clear leaders in the "Open and Production" divisions yet. So we will be watching with interest for the next few days.
It will be especially interesting to follow the Open Division, where the reigning world champion Max Michel Jr from the USA will face the European champion Jorge Ballesteros from Spain.
Day 3 IPSC Handgun World Shoot 2017
The 18th IPSC World Championships are in full swing and athletes from all divisions are fighting desperately for the top spots. So far, none of the divisions (Open, Standard, Production, Revolver, Classic) has revealed a clear leader.
Results in the Classic Division after the 3rd day of the IPSC World Shoot Championship
The Classic Division, where only single-row magazine M1911 pistols are allowed, has 165 shooters. Initially dominated by Jethro “The Jet” Dionisio from the Philippines, but a couple of delays on the third day in Zone 5, his chances of winning drastically worsened, as he had to retire from stages 25 and 29 with 11 and 16 misses, respectively.
Filipino shooter Jeufro Emil Lejano took the lead in the Classic Division at the World Championship practical shooting IPSC.
American Elias Paul Frangoulis, who was second, for unknown reasons, could not shoot three stages and fell sharply into overall rating. Filipino came out on top Jeufro Emil Lejano, on the second - American Phil Strader, on the third Lenard Lopez also from the Philippines.
German revolver shooting ace Sascha Back could not keep the palm and is now in 4th place. On the first and second places now Americans Michae William Poggie and Joshua Lentz, on third Australian Gerald Reiter.
Other results from the 3rd day of the IPSC World Shoot 2017
Favorite Eric Grauffel shoots at IPSC World Shoot 2017.
IN divisions Standard and Production while the Americans are in the lead. In the Standard, Robert Vogel is in first place, ahead of favorite Eric Grauffel. It will be interesting to see. Will Vogel be able to maintain his incredible pace until the end of the match. In the most massive production division with 485 entrants, Benjamin Stoeger leads with a Tanfoglio pistol. However, two Russians Pavel Torgashov and Alexey Pichugin confidently follow him. Very impressive results Maria Gushchina, also from Russia, which is only 3% behind the leader.
German shooter Holger Joest shoots at the IPSC World Shoot 2017.
Finally look at division Open. Here in the first place while the French Emile Obrio followed by the Dutchman Saul Kirsch. current champion peace, american Max Michel so far only in 4th place.
The third day of the match was worrisome because of the weather, as dark clouds had come up in the morning. In the morning, the shooting range was still dry, but in the evening it began to rain heavily, so the shooting had to be curtailed at about 18:00. However. Luckily, the downpour was short and soon the participants were able to return and finish shooting their Stages before sunset.
Surprise on the 3rd day of the competition: break due to rain
The third day of the match was also exciting because of the weather. In the morning dark clouds appeared, and everyone looked at the sky in the hope that the rain would bypass them.
In the second half of the 3rd day of the championship, due to heavy rain, the match had to be interrupted.
In the afternoon of the 3rd day of the championship, due to heavy rain, the IPSC World match had to be interrupted.
The shooters shooting in the morning were lucky and left the range with dry feet.
Others were less fortunate, with heavy rain until about 6 pm, resulting in a short break in the match.
Fortunately, the storm ended after a couple of minutes, and the day parties were able to finish the day before sunset.
Swedish shooter Olof Lindskog fires his revolver.
American shooter in the Classic division during the replacement of the pistol magazine.
German shooter Günther Knaus in action at the IPSC World Shooting Championship.
Day 4 of the match IPSC World Shoot 2017 Pistol
The fourth day of the match has come to an end, and the final is approaching. However, there are still no clear leaders in sight, so anything can happen in the last two days. Especially due to the change of current leaders in the Standard, Open and Classic divisions.
Ranking Changes for Day 4 of the IPSC World Shooting Championship
To the delight of the French shooters Eric Grauffel finally managed to overtake the American Vogel, but they are separated by only 2 points after three zones with 1520 points. On the third place Shane Coley.
The current world champion Max Michel (USA) leads the Open division.
In the Open division, the Frenchman Emile Obriot left 1st place and dropped to 3rd, instead he took the lead Max Michel from the USA, in second place is a Spaniard. The difference between 1st and 3rd place is only 19 points so far, so the situation may change again.
In the Classic division, interim leader Jeufro Emil Lejano lost the palm to the American Elias Paul Frangoulis, who completed previously missed stages and now leads with a 2.5% advantage. Most of the shooters of this division had a day off.
In division Production, as well as in Revolver, there were no changes in the leaders, the Americans are in the first places Benjamin Stoeger And Michale William Poggie respectively.
Spaniard Jorge Ballesteros shoots in the Open division.
The shooter from Spain finished second in the Open division.
VIP visit on the day of the 4th IPSC Shoot World match pistol
French sports minister and former Olympic champion in fencing Laura Flessel attended the IPSC Shoot World 2017 Pistol Championship.
Some embarrassment was introduced by the visit of a VIP person. French Minister of Sports and former Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel visited the championships, and during her visit, already stringent security measures were further tightened and part of the shooting range was closed.
5th and 6th day of the Match, Shoot-Off and awards ceremony for the winners of the World Championship in Practical Shooting 2017 IPSC Pistol
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Unconditional victory Russian athletes- at the first ever World Championship in practical shooting from a carbine in the Moscow region. These competitions have in common with classical shooting only hitting the target. Everything else is rather against the rules. There is no time to catch the rhythm of the heart, it is better to press the trigger first, especially if this is a duel.
Eleven gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals - such a harvest for our practical shooting team. In second place, far behind, are the Americans. Third - the Finnish team.
Not just in the bull's-eye, but also for a while. From uncomfortable positions: on the run, in a jump. On the closing day of the championship - pure adrenaline. Perhaps the most spectacular part of the event is the duel. The task is to shoot at the same targets at the same time and put the last one down. Whoever does this wins. Unfortunately, discipline is not included in the overall standings. But cups and medals will be required. A top-notch shooter can easily find himself next to someone who has only recently trained. But no one will give a head start. Target, weapon, five rounds in the magazine. Accuracy is important, but it is not the key to success.
“You can learn how to shoot. Lots of great shooters. But as they hear the timer - they disappear and dissolve. Therefore, here 60, maybe even 70 percent is psychological preparation, psychological stability, the ability to control all your actions in a stressful situation, ”explains the master of sports international class, world and European champion in practical shooting Evgeny Efimov.
Gold, silver and bronze, 16 sets of medals and 48 cups, which will be awarded to the best of the best from 41 countries. Practical shooting can be practiced at any age. At this championship there were those who are over 60, and very young shooters. With small restrictions, everyone chose a weapon for himself. The team of paratroopers, for example, fundamentally abandoned optics.
“Our weapons always fire. And with optics - you need to replace something, a pebble hit or the batteries are dead. We don't run out of batteries, we just don't have them. We have good sights, you shoot yourself and that's it, ”says Elena Guzhvenko, associate professor at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School.
600 athletes from all over the world. Among them is the indisputable authority in practical shooting Jerry Michulek. I came to the championship from the USA, from the homeland of this sport. sports career- 40 years. And before that it was just a hobby - hunting.
“For me, this is a new discipline in this sport. I'm a little out of shape, not enough practice. I'm here to shoot and learn,” he says.
It started to rain, but this is unlikely to stop journalist First Sergey Zenin, because he just persuaded an absolutely amazing person to participate in a duel, tactical shooting legend Jerry Michulik from the USA. The result can be predicted in advance, but still it would be nice to try.
All the targets hit from the first shot took Jerry less than four seconds. He showed such a result during the competition. This is "gold" in the oldest age category. The younger champions were predominantly from Russia. A married couple, Oleg and Irina Perfilyeva, immediately took two medals of the highest dignity.
“We train together, no one suspects anything, everyone has a weapon, we go to competitions together. Instead of rest. We shop for weapons together. This family unites very strongly, in fact,” they say.
The duel, although bright, is only a small part of the World Cup. There were also tactical shooting, where the athlete was required not only accuracy and endurance, but also a good physical training. Everyone appreciated the high quality of the shooting center itself. That's why the first World Cup was held in Russia: suburban club"Patriot" has no analogues in the world. Superbly equipped, huge territory, comfortable conditions for participants.
A date for the next championship has not yet been set. But the organizers are already saying that we will most likely host the next tournament again.
If five years ago they had told me that Russia would accept and carry out the highest level Carbine shooting world championship, I would say: "Bullshit!" And I would be wrong...
Judge for yourself. Of the 100 countries that wanted to host this tournament, Russia won. The tournament has taken place. It was attended by more than 750 athletes from 40 countries. The base of the tournament was the "Patriot" park near Moscow, which has no analogues in the world in terms of equipping firing lines for practical shooting.
And these are not the ideas of our jingoistic patriots. These are the words of participants-athletes who have traveled dozens of world championships around the world. So the president of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), Nick Alexakos, noted that the multifunctional firing center (fire center) built in the Patriot is the largest and most high-tech facility of this type in the world. Russia turned out to be the only one of the countries contenders to host the match that fulfilled all the requirements for preparing a shooting facility for holding such a large-scale competition.
Today, the development of military sports in Russia is of great importance. Thus, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Practical Shooting Federation of Russia, Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, took part in the opening ceremony of the Championship. He was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Kosilov Sergey Vasilievich, Head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Armed Forces Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Buvaltsev Ivan Alexandrovich. And among the world-class persons, the President of the International Practical Shooting Confederation Nick Alexakos and the head International Association judges Dino Evangelionos. And the manned group "Swifts" greeted the participants of the competitions and the spectators by demonstrating aerobatics at an altitude of only 200 meters!
I find it significant that although the World Championships in Practical Shooting have been held for more than 20 years, The first World Championship in practical carbine shooting in world history was held in Russia! This gives hope that practical shooting will become popular view sports and they will be able to do not only residents of megacities and large cities of Russia, but also residents of the hinterland. It is important that in Putin's address to the participants of the competitions it was said: “You will have to demonstrate your art at the first world championship in the history of this sport. I am confident that your healthy rivalry at the shooting range and friendly communication between athletes and fans will serve to promote sports, spread a high culture of handling weapons, strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between the peoples of our countries in the interests of world peace and security.” I want to believe that the development of practical shooting as a sport will eventually lead to the liberalization of the law on weapons and the circulation of firearms will become easier and more accessible.
According to the director of the park, Sergey Miroshnichenko, the firing center will be used not only for combat training, but also for amateur shooting for park guests. “The firing center allows you to fully ensure the safety of firing from a long-barreled rifled weapons on sports and during the training of civilians," said Anatoly Ivanovich Kondrukh, chairman of the central council of the Federation of Practical Shooting of Russia.
The tournament itself was held from 5 to 11 June 2017. Participants performed tasks not only for accuracy, but also for time, moving from one shooting position to another. Here you can download and familiarize yourself with the briefing (description of the exercises) that the shooters-athletes performed.
There were no scandals either. Due to sanctions, not all athletes were able to come. Most of the guests of the competition came to the tournament without weapons. Well, sanctions, the import of weapons into Russia is prohibited. It doesn't matter if you're an athlete. What if the evil Russians steal the secret of our weapons business?!
Some athletes sued the governments of their countries and defended in court the right to participate and import their sports and firearms equipment. But not everyone was able to defeat politicians and bureaucrats. So the representative of the French national team Gerard Joel said: “Unfortunately, the sanctions affected both the composition of the team and the fact that we arrived here without our usual weapons. We express our gratitude to the organizers of the championship for not leaving us unarmed (the Kalashnikov concern issued sports rifles "Saiga"). We have already got the opportunity to test them in action, they suit us." It is important to note that the Kalashnikov Concern, despite all the bureaucratic delays, found an opportunity to provide foreign athletes with Saiga rifles to participate in the Championship. They were received by the teams of France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Denmark.
In general, the Kalashnikov concern is cool, not only were they issued 60 Saiga carbines to foreign athletes, they also established prize fund 1 million rubles for the best shooter among the participants of the world championship in practical shooting from a carbine. Also, they developed unique pump-action rifled carbine based on Kalash. I will talk about it in detail in the next post.
It so happened that hunters and other lovers of firearms habitually find fault with our licensing and permitting services for excessive red tape associated with the circulation of weapons. In my opinion, every year it becomes easier and easier to be the owner of a weapon. Every year I buy another barrel for my collection and every year I note that it is becoming easier and easier to do this. The carbine world championship confirms this opinion. Due to the high degree of interaction and coordination with the divisions of the Russian Guard, customs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, foreign athletes were able to import several hundred pieces of sporting weapons without delay for the successful holding of the World Cup!
In addition, service employees helped to ensure security at the World Championship itself, in the places of residence of athletes, as well as along their routes. Without the support of these services, it would be difficult to hold such a large-scale and important event for the country as the World Cup.
The shooting days themselves took place from 5 to 11 June every day from 8:00 to 19:00. Thousands of spectators were able to attend this tournament. I regret that I found out about him too late and could not come. Fortunately, there is youtube and a diary of the World Cup. Thanks to this channel, I was able to learn about all the truly significant performances. Below is a selection of videos. Watch and enjoy the skill of handling firearms!
Diary of the World Rifle Championship - Day 1 - Opening
Studio guest Mikhail Galustyan
The opening ceremony
Registration
Diary of the World Rifle Championship - Day 2 - start of shooting
Guests in the studio:
celebrity shooter Jerry Michulek, Kay Michulek and Lina Michulek.
Rifle World Championship Diary - Day 3 - Women's Team
Russian Women's Rifle Team
News from the shooting range
A story about weapons at the Championship and congratulations from Space!
World Rifle Championship Diary - Day 4
The guest of the program is the leader of the Dutch national team Bart Nieman
Championship news
Championship Weapons
Russian national team in the standard class
World Rifle Championship Diary - Day 5 - mid match
Visiting Diary:
Tatyana Korobeinik - member of the Russian team in the open manual
Maria Gushchina - member of the Russian National Team in open semi-automatic, as well as news from shooting galleries
World Rifle Championship Diary - Day 6
News
Juniors
Tactics
World Rifle Championship Diary - Day 7
Team leaders USA and Finland Jerry Michelek, Raine Peltakoski, Timmu Rintall
The guest of the studio is Hunter Kyle.
Last day of the 2017 Rifle World Championship
On June 11, in the Patriot park near Moscow, the main shooting event of the year in Russia ended - the first world championship in practical shooting from a carbine.
The team from Russia became the winner of the tournament!
Duel of the 21st century
... A call in the form of a cartel impeccably polite, a secluded place away from the eyes of idle onlookers, an offer of reconciliation, a refusal, seconds check and distribute weapons, wave a handkerchief and immediately - the clang of swords or the flash of a pistol shot ...
This is how we remember duels from books and films. In our time, when duels have become one of the types of practical shooting sports exercises, they began to look completely different.
Are you ready?
Frozen, facing the target field, the two shooters nod.
Timer beep. The arrows do not even fall, but literally collapse, instantly taking up a position for prone shooting. A few fractions of seconds are spent on “investing” in the weapon, finding the first target through the optics of the sights and…
And the shots begin to rumble at such a speed, as if the fire is being fired not from self-loading carbines, but from machine guns. Fountains fly away towards the sleeve. The sound of bullets hitting metal targets merges into one viscous ringing peal.
Finally, the last shot, the last fallen popper and - a new booming sound. This time, it's applause!
This is how the duel of modern shooters-athletes looked like. The duel, which ended on June 11, the first world championship in practical shooting from a carbine, held in the Multifunctional center of the military-patriotic park of culture and recreation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation "Patriot".
Recall that this event was held by the Practical Shooting Federation of Russia LLC with the participation of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Moscow Region.
Putin's message and 500 thousand rounds of ammunition
The significance and scale of the tournament can be judged by the following data.
During the opening of the championship, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin read out the message addressed to the participants by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
“You will have to demonstrate your skills at the world championship, the first in the history of this kind of sport,” the head of state noted. “I am confident that your healthy rivalry at the shooting range and friendly communication between athletes and fans will serve to promote sports, spread a high culture of handling weapons, strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between the peoples of our countries in the interests of world peace and security.”
More than 600 shooters from 41 countries of the world took part in the championship. In the first three days of the competition alone, they used up more than 200,000 rounds of ammunition! In total, a batch of 500 thousand special sports cartridges was made for the participants.
One more nuance. The first world championship in practical shooting from a carbine served a record number of judges for tournaments of this kind - 120 people from 20 countries.
In a word, the scope of the event turned out to be such that the shooters among themselves called the tournament in the "Patriot" "almost the Olympic Games."
Now a little about the most practical shooting. Her motto is "Diligentia - Vis - Celeritas" ("Precision - Power - Speed"). Thus, the athlete is prescribed the ability to accurately and quickly shoot from powerful weapon. The winner is the shooter who can hit all the targets as quickly as possible.
Despite the fact that practical shooting appeared in Russia only in 1999, and became a sport only in 2006, domestic “practitioner” shooters have more than once convincingly proved on Russian and international competitions your skill.
An indicative moment - in 2016, Russia, in terms of the number of first places in international competitions in practical shooting, took a leading position among 101 participating countries.
The first world championship in practical carbine shooting once again confirmed the highest qualifications of Russian athletes. With 11 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals, the Russians have secured first place in the team standings. The second place went to the Americans (5 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze), and the third place went to the Finns (4 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals).
Why Russia?
With a request to comment on the events of the tournament Federal news agency turned to Anna Astakhova- Consultant-expert of OSOO "Practical Shooting Federation of Russia".
- When did the preparation for the championship start?
If you are asking about the athletes, then I think they have been preparing for this tournament all their lives. If we are talking about the organizers, then, apparently, 2013 can be taken as a starting point. It was then that the 37th General Assembly of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) accepted an application from the Russian Practical Shooting Federation to host the first world championship in practical carbine shooting in our country.
- Why was Russia chosen as the venue for this tournament?
Because only we had a shooting facility that met all the requirements necessary for holding the championship.
- Are you talking about the center of the Patriot Park?
Yes. The multifunctional firing center is the largest shooting range in Russia certified for civilian shooters.
- Contrary to the thesis widely spread in the West about the “isolation” of Russia, a large number of foreign athletes took part in the championship. Have anti-Russian sanctions affected them?
Row foreign teams, in particular the Austrian, Danish and Dutch, faced the problem of exporting their weapons. I emphasize - not import to Russia, but export of carbines from the countries of their residence.
One million from Kalashnikov
- How was the problem solved?
The Dutch athletes, after receiving an export ban, went to court and won their claim. The rest was helped by the Kalashnikov concern, which provided the athletes with a Saiga carbine of its own production. Not only that, the concern even established a special prize of 1 million rubles, which will be raffled off among World Championship athletes who use Kalashnikov weapons in the Semi-auto Standard and Semi-auto Open classes.
Who got the million?
The Kalashnikov prize was shared between three Russian and one American athlete. The award went Evgeny Yudenkov, Maria Schwartz, Anastasia Tereshina and an athlete from the USA Quan Watson.
- I remember that someone from the German team noted the reliability and light weight of the Kalashnikov carbines. The owner of more than fifty national awards and titles, as well as 45 international titles, without exaggeration, the legendary American shooter Jerry Miculek reacted to his acquaintance with the Kalashnikov carbine as follows: “Good! Can I have one?" Thus, we can say that foreigners spoke positively about the weapons provided by the group. At the same time, from a series domestic athletes in relation to the same trunks, one could hear critical remarks ... However, let's digress from the "iron" and return to the people. How did foreign shooters assess the level of the championship?
They got acquainted in detail with the shooting galleries, after which they agreed that, yes, only in the firing center of the Patriot Park this championship should be held. Everyone really liked the fact that designers from different countries took part in the creation of the exercises. After that, these exercises received the corresponding names. For example, the Chinese participated in the creation of the Panda exercise, American designers became the authors of the Great Lakes, etc.
- To politicize sports is the last thing, however, I would like to know if the Ukrainian team took part in the championship?
No, I didn't. At the same time, teams from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, i.e. from countries whose governments treat Russia, let's say, rather ambiguously, came to our tournament.
- How many Russian athletes competed at the championship?
- Wow! And the American ones?
Nineteen. At the same time, Jerry Miculek, whom you already mentioned, brought with him his wife and daughter, who also participated in the championship. Here is such an American family contract. But that is not all. Along with Miculek, his 22-year-old student also arrived. Hunter Cale. He is disabled from childhood. He has a congenital hand injury. We can say that Cale simply does not have hands. But that doesn't stop him from being a great shooter. An amazing person with fantastic willpower! ..
From Russia with love!
- There is an opinion among some shooters that practical shooting is a family sport. To what extent do you think this opinion is correct?
It seems to me that, in relation to the past championship, it is quite true. At the tournament, there was often a situation when the father acted as an instructor or judge, and the son or daughter were members of one or another team. We had a family from Moldova - 6 people at once. In general, a lot of people came with their families. If not to participate directly in the tournament, then at least to support their own.
- Vitaly Kryuchin, President of the Practical Shooting Federation of Russia, said not without reason that shooting is love, and all ages are submissive to it. Not only men and women competed at the championship, but even juniors...
Why are there juniors! .. Even those who have recently learned to walk appeared here. Quite ordinary, for example, was such a picture. Mom performs, and dad moves behind her. On his chest in a "kengurushnik" is a child who is only a year and two months old. Still, I think, many people remember our shooter-athlete Maxim Burov, walking with a large bag in which two small kittens were sitting. In between performances, Maxim, to the delight of others, fed the kittens with milk from a bottle. I think that the first world championship in practical shooting from a carbine will be remembered for a long time by everyone who visited Patriot during its days. The championship has become sports ground, bringing together the most amazing and most talented people!
