On target! A look ahead to the Olympics
Jasper Fellows gives you some pointers on the Tokyo Olympics with Sporting Gun’s summary of the clay-shooting events at the summer Games – not forgetting our rifle competitor
Olympic shotgun sports are divided into three categories: Olympic Skeet, Olympic Trap and Mixed Trap Teams. In Olympic Skeet, competitors move around a semi-circle of seven stations, shooting at targets launched from two fixed positions, a High House on the left and a Low House on the right. The final eighth station is located between the two trap houses. The sequence of 25 targets involves a mixture of singles and simultaneous pairs. As a consequence of the competitors moving around the semi-circle, the shooting angle changes, enabling a wide variety of the targets to be presented. Superb muscle memory is called for, so that each shot becomes a reflex reaction.
In Olympic Trap, athletes shoot from five stations at ‘going away’ targets thrown from 15 traps (three per station). Each athlete takes a turn to shoot, before moving to the next station. Ultra-fast reflexes are needed.
Mixed Trap Teams sees a male and female shooter join forces to take on an Olympic Trap course. They shoot separately but their combined scores are counted as one.
Olympic Skeet
Olympic Skeet is one of the hardest disciplines to shoot, not least because it must be shot in a ‘gun down’ ready position, with the toe of the stock level with the natural drop of the elbow. In addition, there is a random delay in the release of the target; the target may appear instantly or up to three seconds after the call.
In qualification, athletes shoot 125 clays over five rounds of 25 targets each. Usually three qualification rounds are shot on Day 1 and two rounds and a final shot on Day 2. Each round starts on Station 1, where squads of up to six athletes will shoot in turn – a single High House and then a pair shooting the high bird first; the same sequence is also shot on Stations 2 and 3. On Station 4, the first time around, a single High House is shot, followed by a single Low House.
Stations 5 and 6 feature a single Low House followed by a pair shooting the low bird first, while on Station 7, only a pair must be shot, again taking low bird first. The squad then returns to Station 4 to shoot both pairs of targets, first the high pair where the high target must be shot first and then the second pair where the Low House is shot first. Station 8 is a High House single after which the athlete turns to address the last target of the round, a Low House single.
The top six athletes from qualification compete in the final, where up to 60 targets can be shot. Shooters face rounds of 10 targets; both pairs from Station 3, one double on Station 4 and both doubles on Station 5. Once all athletes have completed two rounds the lowest-scoring participant is eliminated. This continues until two athletes remain, having shot 60 targets each. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off decides the winner.
Olympic Trap
During qualification, athletes shoot five rounds of 25 clays, giving a total of 125 targets shot each. Five athletes shoot one-byone from five stations, moving clockwise to the next after their neighbour has attempted their target. The top six athletes advance to the final, with shoot-offs breaking any ties for positions in the final.
In the final, the six athletes rotate around all stations. Once they have shot five times from each station the lowest-ranking athlete is eliminated. After three further loops another athlete is eliminated. This continues until only two shooters remain, at which point two more loops are performed. Then, if there is still a tie, a shoot-off can be declared.