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Hong Kong To Host IPSC Action Air World Shooting Championship Next Year

OptimusPrime

We finally get official information of the Inaugural IPSC Action Air World Shoot (airsoft practical shooting). Initially, it was awarded to Hungary and was slated for this year, but we have not heard much of it, even signs of preparation. Finally, it was awarded to Hong Kong, which I believe is the best thing to do. Hong Kong has been at the forefront and the centre of Action Air in the world, and being the host of the first IPSC Action Air World Shoot is the best way to recognize this.

In a report posted on the International Sport Press Association, the IPSC awarded the Inaugural Action Air World shoot to the Hong Kong Practical Shooting Association (HKPSA), headed by its President Emily Ngan.  According to the report, over 600 shooters from IPSC’s 102-member countries are expected be participating in this event which is slated for the 29th of June to the 1st of July 2018 at the Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Center (KITEC).

There will be 30 Courses of Fire (COFs), which will be of varying degrees of difficulty to test the skills of the shooters. The good thing is that all of these COFs will be inside the KITEC, meaning that this will be an indoor shoot.

This event is very significant in the history of airsoft. Not so long ago, practical shooting was just a small niche in airsoft, mainly being a sport in the Hong Kong, where access to firearms is not that easy. Over the years, airsoft practical shooting grew in Southeast Asia and in Europe with the IPSC giving recognition to their efforts and eventually calling airsoft practical shooting as “Action Air” and sanctioning matches for recognized members. One big international event was the 5.11 Action Air Match that was held in the Philippines in 2011 where shooters from South East Asia and Hong Kong participated in. Then in Europe, the first of the Airsoft Surgeon Practical Pistol European Championships took place in 2013 and other countries in Europe started hosting their national and international Action Air opens such as the United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Slovenia, The Netherlands, and Belgium.

Of all airsoft tournaments, it is Action Air/Airsoft Practical shooting that has shown steady and long term growth being a discipline that is based on an already recognized format --- practical shooting. We will be seeing the best Action Air shooters from around the world converging on one place next year, with the hosts being the favourites.

Thus, we shall see history in the making next year. If you are an airsoft practical shooter and aiming to compete with the best, then better get ready for Hong Kong.

 

Top Photo: Samson Chan, a top Hong Kong shooter, at the MMC Shoot in 2015.

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