Club competition: Sport shooters rely on laser technology

Also this year, Brigachtal sports shooters will compete in the 2nd German League with the best air rifle shooters in the country. However, the club can only achieve such major sporting achievements in the long term if it also pays attention to training and promoting young talent. The earlier young people can be introduced to the sport, the greater the chance of being able to produce sports shooting sports in the Bundesliga and beyond in the future.

Due to legal requirements, young people are only allowed to learn how to use an air rifle from the age of twelve. At this age, many aspirants are already active in other clubs and have less free time for weekly training.

Successful athletesSport shooters in Brigachtal fighting with an air rifle in the 2nd Bundesliga. Their best shooter, Peter Sidi, also successfully participated in the Olympic Games and World Championships. Laser rifles are planned to be purchased for youth work. Children can use it under supervision from the age of eight.

The solution: training with light, specifically with a modern laser rifle. In terms of design, handling and accuracy, this is fully consistent with the air rifle that sports shooters also use in competitions. But it no longer fires bullets and is therefore harmless and silent.

The German Shooting Federation (DSB) has also recognized this and is supporting clubs in developing training concepts suitable for children aged eight and above. Under the supervision and guidance of certified youth trainers, children learn how to hit the center of a target measuring only ten centimeters from a distance of ten meters in the shooting range. To do this requires a lot of focus and body control. Characteristics that children and young people also benefit from in their normal daily lives.

Studies show that many children also develop their cognitive skills and improve their school performance. This training also helps children who have a high need for movement or even symptoms of ADHD to adapt better to their daily lives.

The whole topic is relatively new and the technology is now widely available and affordable. However, purchasing a laser rifle with a digital target with electronic evaluation options costs the club about 2,500 euros. Breigstal sports shooters would like to purchase two or three of these kits, provided they can secure financing.

The sooner the club succeeds in this, the sooner it can begin new training offers for children aged eight and above. The more children and young people can take up the sport early enough, the greater the chance that one or two of the sport's shooters will make it to the Bundesliga – or even to the Olympics.

This is how the club competition works

From Monday, April 22 to Friday, May 3, SÜDKURIER is now presenting the 30 clubs that have qualified with their sustainable projects to vote for the Readers' Prize in the Grand Club Competition 2024. The competition will award a total of €100,000 to the best clubs for their projects. Clubs and readers should know these details now:

Guideline: Many clubs with countless members make an invaluable contribution to society. There is often a lack of funds to implement good and innovative projects. That's why this guiding principle stands above club competition: We are for the region. With this major campaign, the media company SÜDKURIER and Sparkasse Schwarzwald-Baar want to highlight the many meritorious achievements of volunteer work as well as consciously promote them in times of increasingly limited budgets. An additional impact of the competition should be the exposure of the club and project in this newspaper. The publications aim to create more interest in the work of the clubs, which are therefore of great importance for social cohesion.

Readers' Vote: Readers of this newspaper can vote online on projects they think are particularly good. This is possible after the completion of the presentation of the 30 projects between April 22 and May 3. The website www.suedkurier.de/vereinsgewinn24 will then be activated for voting purposes. Every reader can vote here from May 6 to 17 and support their favorite club or project. Readers' votes award a total prize money of €60,000, which will then be divided between the different projects.

Jury Prize: An additional €40,000 is offered here. A first-class jury awards its prizes in addition to readers' votes. The jury can choose from all entries in the competition.

How will the winners be notified? All winners, both from reader vote and from the jury prize, will be announced and awarded at a grand final joint event in the Villinger Tonhalle. This event will take place on Monday, July 15th. This evening, the individual club rankings as well as the winners will be announced for the first time.