Klerksdorp Record, Klerksdorp - More than 1 million rounds were fired at the World Shoot event that finished without any incident this past weekend.
Match Director, John Loupellis cannot be more impressed. Speaking to Klerksdorp Record on Tuesday September 30 he said this world shoot was the biggest world shoot ever held. Some 76 countries were represented with 1 766 competitors and 127 match officials.
Team USA was the best performing team, and also the biggest contingency. Team SA also walked away with gold medals and Nikolaos Loupellis, the only NW shooter at the event, finished in twentieth place out of hundreds of competitors.
The event finished with the award ceremony on Saturday September 27. It was planned to take place at Star Raceway, but had to be changed to Spirit Word at Stilfontein due to inclement weather.
“We have to thank Spirit Word. They stepped up at short notice and pulled it off. We contacted the pastor and they accommodated us,” he said. Crime activist and member of Parliament Ian Cameron was the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Afterwards he said that World Shoot XX was more than a competition. “It was a gathering of a global community that understands something deeper: sport shooting is not a game. It is discipline. It is responsibility. It is truth.
“When you step onto that line, the target does not care who you are. It does not care about excuses, reputation, or feelings. The target only cares about the truth. That honesty is what shapes character, and that is what makes the sport shooting community so critical to safer societies.’’
Loupellis said most of the international competitors have already returned home, but others are still touring South Africa, visiting the Kruger Park, Madikwe and Cape Town. He was grateful that Klerksdorp welcomed the competitors with open arms and said they were impressed with their accommodations and the restaurants in the city.
World Shoot takes place every four years and the next event in 2029 will be in Italy.
