Ratner’s Election Programme in action

Presented at the General Assembly and supported by member federations, the ESC Grant Programme has really picked up.

The results of 5 months of the first year confirm the high demand for this initiative. Out of 58 member federations, 43 are already participating. Among them, 38 have submitted applications for funding for a total of €7.6 million, and 5 have reserved their budget for next year.

To date, the ESC has already paid out more than €1.1 million directly from the Grant Programme. This funding was distributed based on the specific needs of the sport: €450,000 was allocated to 8 federations for sport equipment, €445,000 went to 11 federations for athlete preparation, and €240,000 was invested by 4 federations into range reconstruction.

Apart from the grants, the ESC, as it was announced in Ratner’s Election Programme, supports the competition activity of the federations. After the Championships in Burgas, Yerevan, and Osijek, 25 nations received over €111,000 in total as compensation for expenses of federations for days of ESC Challenge events.

As an example of how the Grant Programme works in practice, Siobhan Scarlett, General Secretary of Target Shooting Ireland, explains that without state funding, their athletes are entirely self-funded. They are using the ESC Grant to buy competition-standard equipment and fund travel to international tournaments. Thanks to this, the federation has already sent a team to the European Championship in Osijek for the first time in years.

The experience of Target Shooting Ireland also highlights the broader challenges of securing international sports funding, which is not always easy. Dr Scarlett spoke openly about the obstacles her federation has faced elsewhere:

"We applied for alternative international development funding in May 2025 and heard nothing back even after four emails until March this year. We were approved, but the requirement now is to spend the money first and be reimbursed — we don’t have a spare €20,000 lying around. The whole process is out of touch with the actual situation of federations requesting these grants.

The shift in the ESC's approach shows a true understanding of what member federations are struggling with and what they need. This approach is athlete, federation, and sport-focused. As a developing federation, we feel heard and supported."

The ESC Grant Programme also opens doors to exclusive benefits from the industry. Today, the total list of partners participating in the programme includes major, world-renowned companies, such as SCATT, Laporte, Walther Arms, Matarelli, Capapie, SIUS, and Sport Quantum. As part of the initiative, ESC member federations receive special discounted prices on equipment, targets, and throwing machines.

We asked Laporte, the global specialist in shooting targets, to share their perspective on the initiative:

"The launch of the ESC Grant Programme comes at just the right time, enabling national federations to develop the sport with greater autonomy and meet growing demand.

Supporting federations regardless of their resources helps preserve the fairness of the sport. By staying close to them, it becomes easier to promote inclusion, technical support, and knowledge sharing.

The ESC is also working to make shooting sports even more attractive for young competitors. New age-group divisions create greater fairness in the results and increase the chances for less developed federations to be represented on the international stage."

This focus on long-term development is critical, as the growing complexity and costs of the Games are forcing the IOC to optimize the Olympic programme. In her recent address IOC President Kirsty Coventry confirmed the necessity of a strict audit:

"I know that I am now asking all of us to sit down and look and analyse ourselves, looking at what have we achieved, where are we today, how can we get better. We have to be the best version of ourselves... in order to be able to move this Movement forward."

The ongoing optimization of the Olympic programme puts many traditional sports, including shooting, at risk of exclusion.Under these conditions, the ESC Grant Programme acts as a necessary protective measure, since without this direct financial and technical support, our sport could face similar risks. To secure our permanent position in the Olympic Movement, we must continue to develop and strengthen our member federations.

The ESC Grant Programme is simple and transparent and proves that election promises were based on realistic plans for the benefit of the shooting sport development in Europe.

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