Shooting sports

Shooting sports

From the final shoot-off at the men's skeet competition during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Highest governing body	Several organizations, see list
Nicknames	Shooting
First played	Switzerland in the second half of the 15th century[citation needed]
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Yes or no, depending on competition
Mixed-sex	Yes or no, depending on discipline
Type	Indoor or outdoor
Venue	Shooting range
Presence
Olympic	Yes
World Championships	Yes
Paralympic	Yes

Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as handguns,^[1] rifles^[2] and shotguns^[3]) and bows/crossbows.^[4][5]

Shooting sports can be categorized by equipment, shooting distances, targets, time limits and degrees of athleticism involved. Shooting sports may involve both team and individual competition, and team performance is usually assessed by summing the scores of the individual team members. Due to the noise^[6] of shooting and the high (and often lethal) impact energy of the projectiles, shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent shooting ranges^[7] or temporary shooting fields in the area away from settlements.