The ESC President thanked all the Member Federations that took part in the ISSF Extraordinary General Assembly in Munich on June 25, 2017 for their support of the Olympic future of Shooting
Mr. Vladimir Lisin, President of the European Shooting Confederation, has sent a letter of gratitude to the ESC Member Federations that took part in the ISSF Extraordinary General Assembly in Munich on June 25, 2017. It says:
I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you who took part in the ISSF Extraordinary General Assembly and for your support of the Olympic future of our sport.
We can only regret that the existing ISSF Constitution allows about 15 percent of all the Member Federations to force all the other Member Federations to spend their time, effort and money on attending an unnecessary event. It was clear to all from the very beginning why this Extraordinary General Assembly would never be in a position to bring forward any positive result or outcome. There was no real proposal put forward to address the agenda item on how “to provide a solution to prevent the cancellation of three major shooting events: 50m Rifle Prone, 50m Pistol and Double Trap, in compliance with the IOC standards and the Olympic Charter”.
It was obvious that those who led the call for the Extraordinary General Assembly did not have a solution to present nor could they suggest any viable alternatives. The motion was clearly derived solely from a political perspective with the goal of establishing a moral high ground from which to launch a political campaign to assume the leadership of the ISSF. We all know of many politicians for whom the only important thing is not the end result but the process.
Allow me just briefly remind of what I wrote to you all on March 27, 2017:
1. Nobody will give us more than 15 events in the Olympic Program.
2. We have to follow the Olympic Charter and comply with the recommendations of gender equality.
3. Any proposal to change the content of the Olympic shooting program, to substitute or to eliminate one or another event, will lead inevitably, to resistance and disaffected persons within the shooting community and the industry.
Again, I take the opportunity to remind you that I am not happy with the elimination of certain events. But each discipline, each event, has to continually prove its popularity and the right to be kept in the Olympic Program. In the case a discipline or an event that is not included one time, it must continue to have the chance to develop and, in the case of significant success, the possibility of returning to the Olympic Program.
There are a lot of tasks that the ISSF now have to accomplish. It is necessary to do this in a balanced and responsible way. Those who aspire to attain the leadership positions of the ISSF will have to prove their ambitions through concrete actions and deeds, and not through empty populist appeals. Now more than ever, we need leadership that is focused on the future of our sport within the Olympic Movement and not just because it strikes a chord of popularity.
I look forward with great enthusiasm to meeting you all at the ESC General Assembly in Baku!
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