The ISSF Academy has been a thriving success since its inauguration last year, with the figures to back it up.
More than 900 people have taken part in ISSF Academy courses, with more than a thousand applications sent to date.
2024
In May 2024, the pilot D course, the foundation level of coaching within the ISSF Academy, saw 59 participants from 20 different Member Federations across all three disciplines: rifle, pistol and shotgun.
Once the ISSF Academy launched, there were a total of 442 applicants to be part of the D course in September 2024, with 278 being selected from 79 Member Federations.
There were 115 participants in rifle, 106 in pistol and 57 in shotgun.
Aside from this, the ISSF Academy held an online D course with the Asian Shooting Confederation, which was attended by 33 people from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, held in the Russian language.
Another course was then held in-person in December 2024 in Dubai for 19 pistol and 40 rifle participants, delivered in Arabic.
Additionally, 117 individuals earned their merit-based licenses - which is open to those who can prove a greater standard of coaching qualification and experience already. 46 licenses in rifle were awarded, with 38 in pistol and 33 in shotgun.
2025
There were 190 applicants for the January 2025 intake on the D course, with 103 participants selected from 47 Member Federations.
A total of 48 participants are studying rifle, with 27 in pistol and 28 in shotgun.
January 2025 also saw the first set of C-level courses, with 280 participants being selected from 393 applications for January and February intakes, representing 67 Member Federations.
Overall
As of February 2025, there have been 929 participants in ISSF Academy courses across D and C-level courses, as well as those earning their license through the merit-based pathway.
Interest has been very high in the ISSF Academy, just nine months since its first course was held.
There have been a total of 1,201 applications to ISSF Academy courses so far, with an acceptance rate of 77%.
With B and A-level courses set to start later this year, there is plenty of opportunity for improving the development of coaches and their athletes through the ISSF Academy in 2025.