InterShoot
{{short description|International airgun shooting competition in the Netherlands}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox recurring event
|name =
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|logo = InterShoot-Logo.jpg
|logo_alt = Logo of the InterShoot shooting competition
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|status = Active
|genre = Shooting Sports
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|frequency = Annually
|venue = Ockenburg Sports Hall
|location = Den Haag
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|country = Netherlands
|years_active = {{age|1977|range=no}}
|established = {{start date|1977}}
|founder_name = Stek Geerts
|last = 2023
|prev =
|next = 2024
|participants = 200-250
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|area = Europe
|budget =
|activity = {{unbulleted list|10 metre air rifle|10 metre air pistol}}
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|organised = Stichting InterShoot
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|website = {{URL|https://intershoot.nl}}
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InterShoot is an annual international airgun shooting competition hosted in Den Haag in the Netherlands.{{cite news |author1=Graham Warwick |title=Haynes gets gold in Olympic medal quest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/809745976 |work=Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury |date=14 February 1992 |page=101 |language=en-gb |quote=The British Air Pistol champion, Steve Haynes ... was part of the England team which warmed up for a summer of fierce competition by going to Holland last weekend and fighting off competition from all over Europe to win the gold medal at the annual Intershoot Competition}} It is run to ISSF standards but on a less formal basis than major sanctioned events, providing an opportunity for junior and development athletes to build match experience in an international setting. Events are contested for the 10 metre air rifle and 10 metre air pistol disciplines.
History
InterShoot was founded by Stek Geerts, with assistance from shooting figures across Europe.{{cite web |title=Background |url=https://intershoot.nl/content/background |website=intershoot.nl |publisher=Stichting InterShoot |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227144855/https://intershoot.nl/content/background |archive-date=27 February 2023 |language=English |url-status=live}} Geerts was looking for an opportunity for his athletes to compete at an international level and develop experience at a well run match. The event was envisaged as a place where juniors and development athletes in particular could compete, with matches run to ISSF standards but in a less formal atmosphere. This filled a gap between club and domestic competitions, and international competitions such as European Championships which were only open to athletes selected by their National Governing Body.
The first edition in 1977 was hosted at the SV Zoetermeer shooting club, but rapidly outgrew this venue. It moved to the "de Houtzagerij" sports centre in the centre of Den Haag until a refurbishment programme saw the event move to its current venue at the Ockenburg Sport Centre.
The competition has been held every year since 1977 with three exceptions. In 1982 the team was too busy running the European 10metre Championships, which were hosted in The Hague that year. In 2021 and 2022, the event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The competition is one of a number of unsanctioned "B" competitions including RIAC and ISCH, which are not supervised by the ISSF but are generally recognised by coaches and national governing bodies as high quality events, and consequently attract teams and athletes from across Europe, and occasionally further.{{cite web |title=InterShoot Den Haag - Holland |url=https://www.essu.org.uk/20-international-competitions/128-intershoot |publisher=English Smallbore Shooting Union |access-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228104611/https://www.essu.org.uk/20-international-competitions/128-intershoot |archive-date=28 February 2023 |language=English |url-status=live}} Teams from India are not uncommon.{{cite web |title=Inter Shoot Tri-Series Shooting: Indian Olympic champion Bindra bags two gold medals |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/140207/sports-other-sports/article/inter-shoot-tri-series-shooting-indian-olympic-champion-bindra-0 |website=Deccan Chronicle |access-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214012059/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/140207/sports-other-sports/article/inter-shoot-tri-series-shooting-indian-olympic-champion-bindra-0 |archive-date=14 February 2014 |language=English |date=8 February 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Intershoot International Championship: Hat-trick of gold for Sandeep Singh |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/shooting/mehuli-ghosh-sandeep-singh-intershoot-shooting-championship-netherlands-den-haag/article26168444.ece |website=Sportstar |publisher=THG Publishing |access-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520051836/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/shooting/mehuli-ghosh-sandeep-singh-intershoot-shooting-championship-netherlands-den-haag/article26168444.ece |archive-date=20 May 2022 |language=English |date=3 February 2019 |url-status=live}} Since 2015, the event has routinely attracted more than 250 athletes across rifle and pistol.{{cite web |title=Statistics |url=https://intershoot.nl/content/statistics |website=intershoot.nl |publisher=Stichting InterShoot |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227144657/https://intershoot.nl/content/statistics |archive-date=27 February 2023 |language=English |date=2023 |url-status=live}} In 2019, InterShoot was a founding member of AirOShoot, an invitational competition in which the top finalists from a number of "B" competitions across Europe qualify for an annual "SuperFinal" at the end of the competition season. Athletes also earn points, which form a ranking.{{cite web |title=The Qualification Process |url=https://www.airoshoot.eu/qualification-process |website=AirOShoot |publisher=Stichting AirOShoot |access-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220002823/http://airoshoot.eu/qualification-process |archive-date=20 February 2023 |language=English |url-status=live}}
Programme
InterShoot includes matches for ISSF 10 metre air rifle and 10 metre air pistol. Events are broken into Men's and Women's matches, with Junior and Senior competitions for a total of eight events.{{cite web |title=2023 Programme |url=https://intershoot.nl/content/programme |website=intershoot.nl |publisher=Stichting InterShoot |access-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227144648/https://intershoot.nl/content/programme |archive-date=27 February 2023 |language=English |date=2023 |url-status=live}} Team prizes have also been awarded based on aggregated scores.{{cite news |title=Jones going Dutch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/857814807 |work=Burton Mail |date=24 November 1998 |language=en-gb |quote=Last year [Jones] was a member of the gold medal trio which registered a record British ladies score.}}
InterShoot takes place over four days, with the first day given to arrival and free training. On the other three days, each athlete fires a standard ISSF match every day, with an Olympic Final for the top 8. Unlike most international competitions, where one match is contested per discipline, the match-per-day format provides athletes with a lot of competition relative to their travel expense, in keeping with the organiser's ambitions for the event to provide athletes with a robust match-training opportunity.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://intershoot.nl}}
- [https://www.airoshoot.eu AirOShoot]
Category:Shooting competitions in the Netherlands