Shooters need national shooting range

If we really believe in sports tourism we must compete with other Mediterranean destinations that are investing heavily in sports facilities.

The Malta Shooting Sports Federation has been insisting that Malta must have an international shooting complex that would attract hundreds of sports shooters to our country. The MSSF has been asked to host the ISSF World Cup 2010 but because the project of the national shooting complex has not yet materialised, we might have to postpone to a later date.

This means that Malta is losing the opportunity that our neighbours in Cyprus are benefiting from. Having the same climate as Cyprus, Malta could easily attract many shooters from the Nordic countries who could come for training camps here.

A national shooting complex that incorporates all the shooting disciplines under the International Shooting Sport Federation that the Malta Shooting Sport Federation is affiliated with can become a reality if the authorities realise the benefits for both our sports culture and also tourism wise. The ISSF secretary general Horste Schreiber visited Malta last February for the MSSF centenary celebrations and is backing this initiative to host world cups and international championships here.

This weekend, with the limited facilities that the MSSF have in Bidnija, we are organising the Malta International Trap Grand Prix 2008 that attracted many shooters from Italy and Moldova. Most of them are accompanied by their coaches and officials. It is very important that these events are encouraged for the benefit of sports tourism.