Shooting as a sport is accessible and inclusive for all ages and abilities. Australia’s shooting athletes regularly represent the country successfully and with distinction across international competitions, including Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
Shooting sports are not amongst the twenty-three ‘core’ sports (automatic inclusion) for the Commonwealth Games but are high on the list of ‘optional’ sports that may be included. The current process is ‘business as usual’ for the Commonwealth Games Federation and should not cause any alarm amongst shooters.
A detailed and compelling submission for the inclusion of shooting in Regional Victoria’s 2026 Commonwelath Games has been put to the decision makers by the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). ISSFs submission carries the heaving backing of Shooting Australia. The ISSF submission also has the support of World Shooting Para Sports (WSPS), the International Confederation of Full-Bore Rifle Associations (ICFRA), and the Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF).
As a part of our regular advocacy work, as well as our joint approach to the Victorian State Election, SSAA Victoria, along with Victoria’s other leading shooting and hunting organisations, has had a round of meetings in recent weeks with key Government, Opposition and Crossbench MPs where the associations have firmly pushed the expectation of Victoria’s quarter of a million licensed shooters that shooting events will be included in the next Commonwealth Games.
The Victorian Government and the Commonwealth Games Federation are expected to announce which ‘Phase 2’ sports will be included in Regional Victoria’s Commonwealth Games in early October.
