By Callum Ludwig
The Melbourne Gun Club (MGC) in Yering is hoping to bring the Victorian Commonwealth Games to the Yarra Ranges in 2026.
The MGC has thrown their support behind Shooting Australia’s bid to incorporate Shooting as an event at the Games hosted throughout regional Victoria and believes it is best placed to host any shooting events.
Treasurer Ben Reed said Commonwealths games events would be amazing for the Club and the local community.
“Melbourne Gun Club has grown substantially, and with recent grants, we’ve been able to upgrade our facilities. In preparation, we’ve also had a conceptual plan drawn up to incorporate Target Rifle Victoria here into a complex designed by architects,” he said.
“I dare say it would make the Melbourne Gun Club the number one facility in Victoria, without a doubt because it would cater for International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) para-shooters, so persons with a disability, which we do already here. It would make a world of difference not just to the Club and shooters, but the community as a whole.”
The Melbourne Gun Club previously hosted Commonwealth Games events in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Mr Reed said he finds it quite remarkable that the Yarra Ranges is not considered regional but believes the Melbourne Gun Club would be a fitting location.
“You step outside our front and back door, and there are just cows, but that’s the zoning and we can’t do much about it. Either way, if we were to host the games here, we can ensure this facility will be used again rather than just once. The Club is open three days a week,” he said.
“It would simplify things for athletes as well because we’d be relatively so close to the CBD and the travel is easy. It would also promote the Yarra Valley which is a major plus, we see benefits all the way.”
Shooting Australia launched their ‘Shoot for the Games 2026’ social media campaign on Wednesday 20 July 2022 as the next step in Shooting’s bid to be included in the Regional Victorian 2026 Commonwealth Games set for 17 to 26 March 2026.
Mr Reed said the funding that would be incumbent for hosting events would also be critical.
“If we were able to attract the Commonwealth Games here, of course, there will be some form of funding, and it is really critical to these clubs because we’re not-for-profit. Anything that we can receive from the Government to assist and especially with our para-shooters we would take with open arms and would make a world of difference to us,” he said.
“The design of our new facilities has been in the works for the past eight months and Target Rifle Victoria said this would be perfect for the Games and could do everything in the one location, considering we already have all the facilities set up for the shotgun events.
The Melbourne Gun Club has recently hosted Come n’ Try Days and invited para-shooters to attend to try out and test the new disability-friendly upgrades including pathways and other improvements.
Shooting Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Sachs, said Shooting Australia is really keen to make sure that their target shooting community finds its collective voice and expresses its strong desire for Shooting’s inclusion in VIC 2026.
“Our primary objective is to remind the Victorian Government, the Commonwealth Games Association and the wider public that the target shooting sports have a strong and important presence in the community especially across regional Victoria, and a critical role to play in the medal success of the Australian Team at a home Games in 2026.”
Shooting is Australia’s fourth most-successful Commonwealth Games sport of all time, achieving more medals than any other country with 175 in total comprised of 70 gold, 60 silver and 45 bronze from the 13 Commonwealth Games it has been incorporated into to date.
The ISSF will submit Shooting’s proposal to the Commonwealth Games Federation by 19 August. An announcement regarding Phase 2 sports to be included is anticipated in October.
