adminA key function of IROA is to identify and train national match officials who display a high level of competence, attitude, and personal commitment to the sport in its myriad member regions.
Practical Pistol, with some 93 member nations throughout the world, is arguably the largest shooting sport discipline in the world, and Zimbabwe was one of the sport’s founding members at the 1976 Columbia Conference in the United States.
Local shottist David Westerhout, still competing today, became the 1977 world champion and 1977 Sportsman of the Year, and so the bonds between the sport and this country are particularly strong.
Maidwell and Corbett will now have to officiate at two Level III matches within the next two years to become fully accredited match officials.
In Zimbabwe, the various provincial championships shot throughout the year are listed as Level II matches, with the Zimbabwe Open at the end of the year being internationally sanctioned as a Level III.
In neighbouring South Africa, matches throughout the year are all Level IIIs, which means that Zimbabwean officials can compete and officiate there as well in order to gain points toward accreditation.
Last year Zimbabwe successfully hosted the All-Africa regional championships, which is a Level IV shoot, and world championships, shot every three years — such as next year’s in the United States — are graded as Level V matches.
Online Reporter