Shooting with a Disability

Shooting is a Paralympic sport and has been since the first Paralympic games in 1964. Men’s, women’s and mixed shooting competitions have been part of the Paralympic program since the 1980 Games in Arnhem.

Paralympic competition shooting is divided into rifle and pistol events and Air and .22 calibre firearms are used.

The sport is open to all athletes with a physical disability, with two classifications of competition, depending on the degree of disability – SH1 and SH2.  Shooting utilizes a functional classification system which enables athletes from different disability classes with the same abilites to compete together.

The rules governing the competitions for the disabled are those of the International Shooting Committee for the Disabled. There are 12 Paralympic shooting events in total.   Six are open to both women and men, three are open to women only and three are open to men only.

Most disabilities are eligible, for example, amputee, spina bifida, spinal cord injured, mild cerebal palsy, muscle or bone degenerative diseases with at least 20% loss of strength.