La Crème de la Crème of Clay Shooting

                        Article by Henry S.F. Nachaj originally published in the Travellers Reload

The US has had for a good number of years, FITASC events, actually “Parcours de Chasse” events or in American speak “FITASC shoots”. “FITASC” has slowly gained a North American participation. Meanwhile, the Europeans and other continents have filled their shoots for many years. It is the closest to real hunting targets and presentations. Where else, would one shoot a single target once with both barrels and not repeat it? Where else, would one find targets at both extremes: 5 feet or over 250 feet? One could get a flushing into the woods grouse type of target while the next one would be a Scottish driven pheasant! And, you only get one chance at it with both barrels!

It is not a clay shooting game that is welcomed by the perfect score specialists of trap or skeet. Amazingly, many hunters like the game as well as some sporting clay shooters. Perfect scores on a Parcours are rare. The game is not of perfect scores but more of hitting that special target that most miss. Has any hunter shoot everything that he attempts? Even the best of hunters? FITASC “Parcours de Chasse” is a hunter’s game whereby the clay shooter has the best target presentation of hunting situations presented to him.

So we need a little history about what and who started this game called: Fabulous Interesting Testy Awesome Sporting Clays! And it is not a French game! There were some forms of artificial targets as early as the 17^th century to train shooters for hunting and live bird competitions. Some rules had to be established for the safe shooting of firstly glass targets and then clay pitch targets, as well as pigeons. One of the first sporting associations, officially formed in 1867 in Paris was the Circle of the Skaters in the Woods of Boulogne. As well, that same year in Italy, the Tivoli shooting club was formed. In May 1893 in England, the first sporting shooting association, the Inanimate Bird Shooting Association, was created. A number of grand sporting events were staged at these Clubs where the main participants were from high society, until the First World War.

After the First World War, the sport underwent some very important changes in many European countries as well as in North America. There was a need in forming of an International Association in order to bring together all the various national organizations, to harmonize and coordinate the sporting rules, and to supervise their enforcement during international competitions. On June 4th 1921, spurred on by France, the INTERNATIONAL UNION OF HUNTING ( English for UIC) was created in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its registered office was based at 21, rue de Clichy (remember the movie Quiet days in Clichy, the butter?), Paris, France, until 1973. The reason for a French incorporation, were the excellent French laws governing International Associations. The founding members represented at the first meeting were: South Africa, England, Belgium, Denmark, the United States of America, France, Norway, Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. The goal of this new Federation was to bring together the national groups of the world who practiced shooting sports, i.e. live pigeon shooting, clay target shooting and running deer shooting (with bullets), in order to unify their sporting rules.

The first president from 1921 to 1933 was the Count Justinien Clary. He was also the co-founder of the French Olympic Committee, in which he held the presidency of from 1913 to 1933, and was also the President of the Saint-Hubert Club (a foundation that promotes the hunting and consummation of wild game and supports several charities, still in existence today) of France from 1903 to 1933. The international sporting rules for all the disciplines of shooting with hunting shotguns were then establish by UIC, who put them into practice in the 1924 Olympic Games, in Paris. Subsequently, the Olympic Committee decided that the disciplines of shooting with hunting shotguns would no longer form part of the Olympic Games’ program. The UIC then organized under its own auspices, the International Championships. It was held annually, in countries requesting them. From 1929 to 1939, the Olympic Trench (bunker trap) World Championships took place annually; the European championships took place in 1933, 1938 and in 1940. As for live pigeon shooting, annual World championships were organized between 1930 and 1940. Upon the death of the Count Clary in 1933, the Presidency of the Federation passed to Mr. Maurice Faure, under whose Presidency the last championships were held before the Second World War. At the general assembly in 1938, the INTERNATIONAL UNION OF HUNTING (UIC) became LA FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE TIR AUX ARMES SPORTIVES DE CHASSE (FITASC) as it is still known to this day. It gathered together 27 national organizations (including the United States) divided into three sporting sections: live pigeon shooting, clay target shooting and shooting with rifles.

FITASC’s sporting activities slowed down during the Second World War and Mr Maxime Ducrocq, its Honorary President oversaw the federation’s running until 1947. On the 30th November 1947 at the general assembly of San Remo, he was elected President of the Federation. From this point in time onwards, competitive shooting with hunting shotguns made new inroads into the international shooting clay shooting circuit as well as pigeon shooting.

In an attempt to try and reintroduce clay pigeon shooting as an Olympic discipline for the 1948 games, FITASC decided in 1947, to entrust the disciplines of Olympic Trench (bunker trap) and Running Deer to the International Union of Shooting (English for I.U.T.), the latter already being affiliated to the International Olympic Committee for the disciplines of shooting with rifled barrel weapons (pistols and rifles).

The Federation, by then 13 national groups (mainly European or African) strong, organized several European championships in 1947, 1951 and 1952. However, in 1950, the affiliated federation members of both international organizations acknowledged that the majority did not feel that the system adopted in 1947 was satisfactory.

In fact, the International Union of Shooting (U.I.T.) at that time set up the following:
• Only one World championship every four years, limiting the participation to only 5 shooters per nation.
• And, in alternate four years periods, the Olympic events, limiting the participation to only 2 shooters per nation.

FITASC’s General Assembly in 1951 instructed its president, the Hon. Count. de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, to do his utmost to restart annual international clay pigeon championships under the aegis of the federation. With this aim in view, it became necessary to come to some kind of understanding with the International Shooting Union (U.I.T.).

In 1952 both Federations reached an agreement. FITASC was once again in charge of organizing an annual European championships; sixteen were held between 1952 and 1968 in the discipline of Olympic Trench (bunker trap), and fourteen in the discipline of Skeet (Olympic) between1954 and 1968 (a new discipline created a few years earlier). Since 1939, these disciplines had been in decline and FITASC gave rise to resurgence in the sport of clay target shooting by creating many other international events, such as the Cup of Nations, which was contested annually between 1956 and 1968. Thanks to the adoption and the implementation of the principle of “open” championships and not limiting the number of individual participants per nation, the number of affiliated countries and the number of shooters taking part in the international events increased considerably in the following years.

In 1966, the federation had 43 affiliated national groups, which represented 40 countries from four continents. Collaboration between FITASC and UIT continued until 1969, in accordance with the 1952 agreement. From then on, the UIT was entrusted with both Olympic disciplines on a permanent basis. IE, Olympic Trap and Skeet were given by FITASC to UIT. There was a continuous effort to keep and bring both organizations closer together. It was further boosted by a new agreement in 1981, spurred on by their presidents MM. Olegario Vasquez-Ranaof from the UIT and Pierre Etienne Guyot of FITASC. A very comprehensive understanding and cooperation with all shooting sports using hunting shotguns was established. Thus the agreement of 1981 ensured perfect understanding between the organizations in charge of, on the one hand Olympic disciplines, and on the other hand, the overseeing of non Olympic disciplines. In the years that followed, FITASC developed other clay target shooting sporting disciplines: firstly, Universal Trench (bunker trench with 5 machines), then Sporting (Parcours de Chasse), Helice (ZZ) and finally Compak Sporting, whilst continuing the sport of the live pigeon shooting which dated back to 1921. In January 2004, FITASC renounced the shooting of live birds.

Presently, FITASC board of governors include: an elected president, Jean-François Palankas (France), vice-president for North America Hallock Dupont Sr (USA), vice –president Africa Coata Halkias (South Africa), vice-president Oceania Raymond McFarlane (Australia), vice-president Europe Denis Julien, secretary-general and treasurer Bjorn Waktare (UK), presidents delegate for combined clay shooting Charles Schneider (Switzerland) and board members, Eddy De Heyn (Belgium), Mike Hampton (USA), Ital Mastrangelo (Italy), Lazlo Szebeny (Hungary), Antonin Walter (Czech), Rodrigo De Mesa Ruis (Spain), Alexander Kokin (Russia) with honorary members, Andrei Koustiouchenko (Russia) and Juan de Avolos Carballo (Spain). It has presently 50 countries that are members. FITASC is neither a French game nor a French organisation. It is an International affiliation of non-Olympic, close-as-it-gets-to-hunting shooting sports organisation devoted to the continued development of International competition.

Since 1967, FITASC had adopted rules and regulations regarding the shooting of clay targets to simulate live bird shooting. This discipline called Parcours de Chasse or Sporting has had Championships in Europe since 1968 and the rest of the World, since 1979. It is the only sport where an amateur can be squadded with the best of the World! Imagine being on the same foursome of Tiger Woods for four days or with George Digweed! One does not need to qualify for a Grand Prix or World Championship to participate; one only needs to pay his or her entry fee. Also, FITASC will choose exotic sites for a Grand Prix or World Championship where not only the targets are interesting but so are the sights and experiences.

Therefore, it would be a pity to miss the Euro in Austria and the World in Cyprus this September But you may want to take a nice vacation down under in 2009 for the World in Australia during November!

Henry S.F Nachaj