Vladimir Lisin, along with new ISSF secretary general Alexander Ratner, made it one of their first jobs to campaign for shooting’s inclusion in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
On 4 December the pair visited Birmingham to make representations on the sport’s behalf to the decision-making team for the Games, which included Paul Blanchard – CEO of the England Commonwealth Games Association – and Ian Reid, interim CEO of Birmingham 2022.
Along with ISSF councillors Peter Underhill and Hamish McInnes, they stressed the importance of shooting sports to the Commonwealth movement – including that it is one of the only medal opportunities for several smaller nations, who may end up not sending a team at all if shooting isn’t included.
Alexander Ratner said: “We hope our counterparts understand that the attempt to save a relatively small amount of money in the organisation of the event can lead to multi-million losses in the countries where shooting sport receives governmental support.
“Besides that, it can affect smaller nations, where our sport is the only one in which they are represented at the Games or win medals. All this would certainly have a negative impact on the Commonwealth community.”
Shooting was not included on Birmingham’s list of planned sports when it stepped in to host the Games last year, replacing Durban. Several other sports have also made representations as to why they should be added to the programme, with a decision due at the next Birmingham 2022 delivery meeting on 22 January.
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