The shooting competitions of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place over ten days, from July 27 to August 5, 2024: starting with the 10-meter rifle qualifications and the C10 Mixed Team final, ending with the Mixed Skeet final, which is a novelty since the Mixed Trap competition was held in Tokyo 2020.
The shooting competitions of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad were initially planned to be held in a temporary facility in La Courneuve, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region, about 10 km northeast of downtown Paris. Then, in July 2012, the organizing committee announced that the rifle, pistol and shotgun competitions would be held at the Châteauroux-Déols National Shooting Center (CNTS), located farther away, about 250 km south in Paris. Fear not for fans: the CNTS can be reached by car via the A20 highway or Departmental road 925, by train (the station is a 15-minute drive away), or even by plane because Marcel Dassault Airport is 10 minutes away.
The National Shooting Sports Center of in Châteauroux
Purchased in 2012 by the French Shooting Federation, the Châteauroux National Shooting Sports Center was inaugurated in 2018. It is among the largest shooting ranges internationally and the largest in Europe. Covering an area of more than 100 hectares, it can host competitions and training of all shooting sports disciplines between 10 and 600 meters.
There are five shotgun platforms, with the central one designated for the finals, on an area of 44,600 m2 : it is one of the most modern and efficient installations in France, equipped with 75 Laporte clay target throwing machines and a grandstand that can accommodate up to 500 people. No competitions of particular international importance have been held there so far, but likely French Olympians train there almost permanently and it appears to be very good. The 10-meter stand has an area of 3,000 m2 and 80 firing lines equipped with Sius electronic targets, the 25-meter one is 2,000 m2 for 60 lines with electronic targets. The 50-meter one, typically open-air, has an area of 8,400 m2 with 80 lines equipped with electronic targets. The large shooting finals stand measures 4,500 m2 for 20 shooting stations equipped with electronic targets at distances ranging from 10 to 50 meters.
We will hear a lot about the CNTS in the coming years. The Châteauroux facility is already being used for various types of competitions, but also for courses, evaluation tests and training. It is also equipped with shooting stations with moving targets, for sporting crossbow, and running boar from 30 to 100 meters. Then there are 40 200-meter firing lines with Kongsberg electronic targets, 30 300-m lines and as many 600-m lines, with electronic targets and 2 gongs. No less than 33 outdoor shooting stages for Dynamic Shooting at ranges between 25 and 200 meters. In short: a true paradise for shooters! Lines cost from 10 euros for half a day for air guns and for the 25- and 50-m stands, up to 150 euros for a day on a Dynamic Shooting stage. A skeet platform costs 7 euros.
ISSF's commitment to the 2024 Olympic Games
Even the president of the International Shooting Federation (ISSF), Luciano Rossi, was amazed at the beauty and efficiency of the facilities built by the French Shooting Federation (FFtir) during a visit last October 7. He regretted that sport shooting had been relegated so far from Paris and the Olympic Village, but expressed hope that the organizing committee could support FFtir's efforts to make the competitions a success. The authorities of Châteauroux-Déols are committed, together with the ISSF, to try to make the stay of athletes, coaches, technicians, journalists and all those who will arrive in Châteauroux for the Olympic Games more comfortable and pleasant. The ISSF will set up a hospitality house where medal winners can celebrate and host the entire shooting community in the best possible way.
There will be 170 men and 170 women in all competing in shooting sports in Paris 2024. The total of 340 shooters is less than the 360 who competed in Tokyo 2020. In recent months, ISSF has received reassurance from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the shooting sport events programme (rifle, pistol and shotgun) will be confirmed and it will thus maintain the record of being part of all the Summer Olympic Games since the first of the modern era, back in 1896. "“When I took over as President in December 2022 shooting sports were at real risk of being removed from the Olympics or of being present only with a reduced programme," President Rossi explained. "Thanks to great teamwork by the ISSF Council, member federations, continental representatives, technical committee members and the ISSF Office, we have been able to maintain our current programme. ISSF will continue to review all its procedures and structures to help our federations and athletes to develop and thrive. Our technical teams will now ensure that we support the IOC, and LA2028, to maximise the popularity and impact of shooting at the Olympic Games in a way that is as cost effective as possible.“
