Norway has qualified for the European Champions League in Serbia, as one of four teams in 10 meter air rifle. In the finals in Belgrade from October 25 – 26, Norway will face Italy, Germany, and Serbia.
The European Champions League is a relatively new concept organized by the European Shooting Confederation (ESC). The three best European nations through the 2024 season are qualified, in addition to the host nation.
Ranking 10 meter air rifle
1. Italy 13,494 points
2. Norway 13,478 points
3. Germany 13,333 points
4. Serbia 6,440 points (qualified as the host nation)
It is the two best women and two best men from a nation on the ESC ranking that count in the qualification for the ECL. In 10 meter air rifle, these are our athletes who have collected the most points in this season:
Jeanette Hegg Duestad 4,650 points
Jon-Hermann Hegg 4,324 points
Henrik Larsen 2,294 points
Pernille Nor-Woll 2,230 points
The points are derived from the ESC European Ranking and include the European Championship, World Championship, and World Cup.
Final format
In the European Champions League, all competitions in 10 meter air rifle and air pistol will follow the format of the mixed team finals internationally. This means finals with duels shot for shot, where the first athlete/team to reach 16 points wins.
In the semifinals, team number 1 meets team number 4, and team number 2 meets team number 3 from the ESC ranking. This means that Norway will face Germany this time in the semifinals. There will be four duels, man vs. man and woman vs. woman. The best-ranked Norwegian shooter meets the best-ranked of the same gender from the opponent, and the second-best follows the same model. The winner of the duel secures one point for their team, and the first team to reach three points advances to the gold final.
In case of a tie at 2-2 after four such duels, the decision falls in a 10 meter mixed team competition. Here, the coach decides which shooters will be on the mixed team, and the winner of this duel goes to the final the next day. The final follows the same pattern for execution and decision-making.
Selection
This is a new competition established and presented in the summer of 2023. According to the rules, only athletes with points on the ESC Ranking can participate. It is natural for us that the athletes who have secured the spot for the European Champions League will be prioritized first in the selection. Champions League competitions are also held in air pistol, trap, and skeet, but we have not been successful in qualifying for these events.
New event in Champions League
Solo is a new event in this year’s concept. As the name suggests, this is an individual competition where athletes compete through two stages, semifinals and medal matches. Each nation fields two women and two men, and in the semifinals, competitions are held man vs. man and woman vs. woman. In the medal matches, men and women compete together.
More information about the competition format in the Champions League can be found at ESC.
Schedule:
Friday, October 25:
Air Rifle Team (Italy vs. Serbia): 10:30
Air Rifle Team (Norway vs. Germany): 12:30
Air Rifle Solo (men and women): 18:30
Saturday, October 26:
Air Rifle Solo Medal Matches: 10:00
Air Rifle Bronze Match: 13:00
Air Rifle Gold Match: 17:00
Both the semifinals and medal matches for SOLO and teams will be livestreamed on ESC’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.