Team of shooters take on world's elite
Rifle shooting
Team Namibia's competition days at the 2024 IPRF World Championship will be on Saturday and Monday.
The national team of the Namibia Precision Rifle Association (NAPRA) and their equipment has arrived safely in Grand Junction, Colorado, USA, to compete at the Precision Rifle World Championship. The opening of the championships of the International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF) held at the Cameo Shooting Centre will take place tomorrow, before the event concludes on 17 September.
All of the Namibian team members consisting of Dirk Sauber, Michael Barlow, Janus van der Merwe, Keiran Mans, Liebies Liebenberg and Francois Marais will compete in the Open Division.
Their competition days are this coming Saturday and Monday 16 September. In preparation for Team Namibia they have one hour to their disposal today to conduct zero checks and calibrate their equipment.
At the previous world championship two years ago in France, the Namibian team finished in seventh position, with Dirk Sauber placed seventh individually.
The NPRA said: “We wish Team Namibia the best of luck as they compete at this international event. Let's go Team Namibia!”
World Championship format
National Teams: Each Nation may enter a four-person team in each of the divisions on offer.
Open Division: From each six-person team, the four highest scores count towards the team score. The national team with the highest score will be the world champions.
Individuals: Each athlete shoot simultaneously as both a team member, as well as an individual. Athletes also compete per division and category for individual world titles.
The Open division’s weapon of choice is .30 calibre rifles; max muzzle velocity 3200 feet per second.
A total of 28 countries and 300 marksmen will be in action at the Cameo Shooting Centre. The member countries are Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and the USA.
The next world championship of precision rifle shooting will be held in the United Kingdom in late August 2025.
About the IPRF
The IPRF aims to unify the sport of precision rifle shooting worldwide and set standards for competition internationally to enable a level field of play at regional and world championship.
The IPRF’s first meeting was held in Dublin, Ireland in September of 2019 and was attended by Ireland, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA.
Since then, the IPRF has grown in leaps and bounds with nations joining and committing to set up their internal national structures as the sport of precision rifle shooting matures in each country.
The Namibia Sport Shooting Association applauds the following sponsors for their much-valued support: Agra Safari Den, Paratus, Direct Import Agencies, WCE, GES, Summit Sales, Outjo Bakkery, Outjo Apteek, Norman Campbell, AGA Pipes and Retirement Fund Solutions.
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