Warrnambool to host 2009 World Sporting Clay Shooting Championships

The 2009 FITASC (Federation Internationale De Tir Aux Armes Sportives De Chasse) World Sporting Clay Shooting Championships are returning to Australia after 15 years, with Warrnambool winning the right to host the major international sporting carnival.

The seven-day clay shooting championship carnival will be held at the Laang Range in Warrnambool from November 16 to 22, 2009, with more than 600 competitors from 23 countries expected to participate. This will be the third time that the event has been held in Australia (Geelong in 1988 and. Mount Gambier in 1994).

FITASC was formed in 1921 and controls the recognised Non-Olympic shotgun shooting disciplines world-wide. World Championships in Sporting Clay Target Shooting commenced in 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal, and are conducted each year in a different country.

The event will see a huge increase in international visitors to Warrnambool and Victoria with around 1000 delegates expected to descend on Australian soil - with a huge potential spin-off for tourism both regionally and throughout Australia.

“To secure such a prestigious international sporting event is a major coup for Warrnambool and the entire Shipwreck Coast region, as it is expected to attract more than 1000 competitors and delegates over the six-day carnival”, says Shipwreck Coast Tourism CEO Carole Reid.

“Economic indicators predict that an international event of this calibre could potentially inject more than $1.11 million dollars into our local economy over six days from just the participants”, said Ms Reid.

FITASC, through their Australian affiliate Field and Game Federation of Australia, have endorsed the Federation’s decision to choose the SSAA Warrnambool Branch to host the event. This followed the clubs successful staging of the Federation’s National Titles in 2006, which attracted a record of more than 325 competitors.

“The 2009 FITASC Championships offer the opportunity to showcase this great part of Victoria on an international stage during the competition and this year at the 2008 World Championships in Cyprus,” said Mal Price from the SSAA Warrnambool Branch.

A Warrnambool delegation will be sent to Cyprus this year to promote the event as well as the region’s array of spectacular features to encourage as many participants and tourists to Warrnambool for the 2009 event.

The opening ceremony will kick off on November 17, 2009. National teams from all the competing countries will march through the streets of Warrnambool to the Civic Green, the venue for the official opening, and local school children will be chosen to carry each competing national team’s flag.

The first three days comprises practice where each competitor can get used to the different light conditions and the terrain over which the event is conducted. The actual competition is over four days, with each competitor shooting 50 targets per day for a total of 200 targets each. Events are conducted to find both the Individual and the National Teams World Champions in the following categories: Open, Ladies, Juniors, Veterans and Super Veterans.

FITASC will also be holding a General Assembly and AGM while in Warrnambool, to which there are more than 70 countries registered as members and required to attend. It will also be an opportunity for FITASC to present the Individual World Cup Trophy, to which competitors attend various events around the world to qualify for this trophy. The World Championships are also the final event in the FITASC World Cup Competition for 2009.

For further information on the 2009 FITASC event, contact Mal Price on 0439 108 625.