About the oldest sport -  skeet shooting

We continue our acquaintance with sports - we present information about a subspecies of sports shooting - trap shooting.

About the history of trap shooting

Shotgun shooting is the oldest sport that originates from past centuries. Initially, birds were used as targets, mainly pigeons, which were thrown up from their shelters. The International Olympic Committee banned the use of live birds in 1910.

Shooting at artificial targets, which were thrown at a distance of up to 32 meters, appeared in the middle of the last century. Glass balls filled with smoke, dust or feathers were used as targets, and shooting when they hit them was obtained with a special effect. Throwing machines and targets in the form of modern cymbals appeared in 1880 in America, then in Germany and France, and cymbal shooting spread throughout Europe.

Shotgun shooting is one of the oldest Olympic sports, it was included in the program of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 by the French champion Pierre de Coubertin. Competitions in this sport did not take place at the Olympic Games in 1904 and 1928. The first competitions were held among men, women were given the opportunity to participate in 1968 at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. The division into male and female disciplines began at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Men's and women's disciplines have been separated since 1996 in Atlanta.

The Olympic program includes three disciplines of trap shooting: round trap (skit), trench trap (trap) and double trap (source: detivsport.rnd@gmail.com ).

• Trench stand (or ladder) - a platform on which shooting numbers are located in a straight line, from 5 shooting numbers (specially marked places located in a line from which the shooter fires at targets). Shooting is carried out at targets flying in turn from 15 throwing machines, which are installed in a trench under the shooting range at a distance of 15 meters from the shooting number. The target moves away from the shooter along three different flight paths (straight, to the right or left of the shooter with a deviation of up to 45 degrees), and also have different flight heights. Target casting range 76±1 meters. All flights are governed by the Shotgun Competition Rules. One shooting series consists of 25 targets.
  Trench competitions have been part of the Olympic Games program since 1900. Competition program:

Women

• 75 targets (qualification);

• 15 targets (semi-final);

• 15 targets (medal match);

Men
125 targets (qualification);

• 15 targets (semi-final);

• 15 targets (medal match).

• Round stand (English skeet, transcription "skeet" is also used) - is performed on the shooting range with 8 shooting numbers (shooting numbers are located on the site in a semicircle from the first to the seventh numbers, number 8 is located in the center between the booths). On a round stand, targets are fired by two throwing machines installed in two booths (upper and lower) located at the extreme points of the semicircle at a distance of 40 meters from each other. Until the target appears, the shooter holds the gun with the butt at the waist, the shot at the target is made with the gun thrown to the shoulder. One machine throws a target from a height of 3 m 05 cm (high booth), the other from 1 m 07 cm (low booth).

When shooting a series consisting of 25 targets, repeatedly on numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, in addition to single flying targets, paired targets "doubles" are fired simultaneously from both booths in the opposite direction. Unlike a trench test bench, the flight of targets on a round test bench has a constant direction. All targets, both high and low house, must fly through the 90 cm diameter ring, set to adjust the flight at the intersection of the target's flight paths. The flight range of targets varies within 68 ± 1 meters, and the zone of permissible target damage is defined within the boundaries of the site and is equal to 40 meters. One shooting series consists of 25 targets. Competitions on a round stand have been included in the program of the Olympic Games since 1968.

Competition program:

Women - 75 targets (qualification);
  - 16 targets (semi-final);
  - 16 targets (medal match);

Men - 125 targets (qualification);
  - 16 targets (semi-final);
  - 16 targets (medal match).

• DOUBLE-TRAP is performed on the shooting range - “Trench stand or “TRAP” with 5 shooting numbers by repeating doublet shots aimed at hitting 2 targets simultaneously flying in parallel, having a slightly divergent and quickly moving away from the shooter flight path and flight range not exceeding 55 ± 1 meters. Throwing machines are located in the same way as in the “TRAP” exercise, but only 3 (three) throwing machines are used, located opposite the 3rd shooting number. Cars are arranged in a row at a certain distance from each other. There are 3 (three) different schemes for adjusting the flight path of targets, scheme - A, B and C. After the shooter's command, the targets fly out from the same place according to a scheme unknown to the shooter. The trajectory of the target during the shooting series changes, as well as changing the angle of view and shooting, based on a specific shooting number. One shooting series consists of 15 doublets (30 targets). Competitions of the exercise "Double - trap" have been included in the program of the Olympic Games since 1996.

Competition program:
Men - 150 targets (qualification); 

- 30 targets (semi-final);
- 30 targets (medal match).

Clay shooting in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, trap shooting dates back to the 1930s. In the 50s, the first shooting and hunting stand was built in the city of Almaty. In 1955, a section was created with only a few people.

At the IV Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, Kazakhstani athletes were able to take 4th place out of 17 teams, losing only one point to the team that took third place. All four shooters passed 98 out of 100. On the round stand, the youngest representative was Kazakhstani V. Siso. At that time he was 17 years old, the oldest was A. Lineberger at the age of 63. Trenchers took 6th place in the team standings. An example of the successful performance of domestic athletes gave impetus to the development of clay shooting in Kazakhstan: in five cities - Shymkent, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Pavlodar, Kostanay, Tselinograd (Astana), Petropavlovsk, shooting stands appeared a year later. Clay shooting has been actively cultivated by various voluntary sports societies.

In Kaz GiFK, its rector Kh. M. Mukhamedzhanov, who was an expert in clay shooting, the first president of the Kazakhstan clay shooting Federation, opened the department of clay shooting. Since 1969, the All-Union tournament for the prize of the newspaper "Vechernyaya Alma-Ata" began to be held in Alma-Ata, which is evidence of the recognition of the sports success of Kazakhstanis. The best and strongest athletes of the USSR, champions of all republics, winners and champions of the USSR were invited to the tournament in Almaty.

Today, athletes of Kazakhstan participate in all world-class competitions and achieve better results with each performance. We note only one of the latest performances - at the World Cup in Shotgun and Bullet Shooting, held in Indian New Delhi in March 2021, Kazakhstanis were awarded six medals: one gold, two silvers and three bronzes, and took the sixth team place among teams of 53 countries with a total of about 300 athletes.