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THE ESC PRESIDENT HAS ADDRESSED THE ESC MEMBER FEDERATIONS CONCERNING ELECTIONS OF THE ISSF PRESIDENT AT THE ISSF GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN MUNICH

Mr. Vladimir Lisin, ESC President, has addressed today the ESC Member Federation concerning elections of the ISSF President at the ISSF General Assembly to take place in Munich, Germany, on December 3, 2014.

Here is the text of this letter:

 

Dear Colleagues and Friends!


As you are aware, December 3rd 2014 marks the date for the elections that will take place during the ISSF General Assembly in Munich. Now that the deadline for nominations is over, I wish to inform you that I will be voting for Olegario Vazquez Raña to continue as President of the ISSF. I myself am running for the position of the ISSF Vice-President and I am counting on your continued support for both of us.


I wish to draw your attention to something that was a big surprise for me and, I think, for many others and that is the nomination of our colleague Sheikh Salman S.S.H. Al Sabah, President of the Asian Shooting Confederation, for the position of the ISSF President.


Sheikh Salman S.S.H Al Sabah is well-known within the shooting sport world. He was a former member of the ISSF Administrative Council and currently holds the position of ISSF Vice-President. But what concerns me about his nomination for ISSF President is this. One year ago Sheikh Salman S.S.H Al Sabah informed ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Raña, ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber and many others that in particular due to his appointment to an important government position he will not be able to dedicate his time to the shooting sports and will resign from the post of ISSF Vice-President.


It is notable that Sheikh Salman S.S.H. Al Sabah has indeed been inactive in the life of the ISSF of late. In 2014, for example, he did not attend the 2nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing nor the ISSF World Championship in Granada – the two of the biggest events of the shooting sports calendar.


While it is true that Sheikh Salman S.S.H. Al Sabah did not submit his letter of resignation he has managed to send a few days ago a circular letter addressed individually to each of the federations informing that he would be honored to represent them and asking for support during the ISSF General Assembly.


Whilst reading that circular it personally struck me as strange to hear calls for change coming from a man who throughout all of his tenure in senior ISSF positions has never before made a critical remark against the current ISSF President, Olegario Vazquez Raña, nor has he suggested a single fundamentally new idea concerning the activities of the ISSF. It also strikes me as strange that before making such a crucial move, Sheikh Salman S.S.H. Al Sabah did not consult with the Presidents of the other Continental Confederations whilst in his letter he calls at the same time for more unified team work.


Does the shooting sport need changes? Certainly, yes it does! And I have spoken openly with most of you concerning this. We have met with agreement on many matters with ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Raña. They include amongst others, changes to rules and regulations, the necessity to build Final Halls and Final Ranges, equipment and ammunition control, new competition formats, new approaches to organize TV coverage. A lot of things have been changed recently, and we have all seen it. Of course, not everything is solved quickly and in the way we would like it. But it is evident that we are making progress. We are introducing new competitions, developing the European Youth League, improving the refereeing system. We succeeded in having the shooting sports included in the program of the European Games and our Championships are now regularly broadcasted by TV and via Internet on the ESC website.


Speaking of the necessity for change within the ISSF, I would like to draw a parallel with the International Olympic Committee which is currently preparing to adopt major changes in all spheres of the IOC activity as well as of the Olympic Movement. I agree with IOC President Dr. Thomas Bach who affirms that we should take care of the reforms not when the weight of problems becomes socially dangerous and the organization has to feverously find the way out of the crisis, but when it is in good shape and can quietly think about progression.


We are on the path of evolving and developing our sport to meet the needs of the future. I am sure the majority within our sport and not only in Europe but also within the other continents share this point of view as well. What position you hold within the ISSF is not important. We see that all reasonable initiatives are examined and accepted. I am sure that all of us are motivated not by ambition but by the love of our sport and for its athletes. Their future and that of our sport should not depend on random acts, spontaneous circumstances and unexpected revolutions!


Looking forward to meeting all of you soon in Munich,



Vladimir Lisin

President



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