ISSF President Rossi's speech from the ISSF General Assembly

This General Assembly is taking place exactly two years after my election in 2022. It is a significant milestone and gives me the opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished, together, since then. 

At our Elective General Assembly in Sharm el-Sheikh, I had the pleasure of presenting a video and a programme of clear, well-defined objectives. Today, two years later, I would like to revisit these points to show not only what has been achieved but also what lies ahead in the coming years, as we face new challenges and important goals together.   

I promised you a New Start, and we will continue with this project! We have laid the foundations and can look to building the next chapter in our history.  

In 2022, when I took office, we were just one step away from being out of the Olympic Games. A clear indication of this was where our sport was held during the recent Olympic Games of Paris 2024. More than three hours from the heart of the main Olympic Venues and the Olympic Village! 

As President myself of an International Federation, I know very well what it means to be excluded from the Olympics and I am certain you understand it too. It means that our sport, at home, is considered to be less important and valued than others in the Olympic Family.

For this reason, the primary goal for these past two years has been clear. We have worked tirelessly on lobbying and rebuilding relations with the IOC and the Olympic Family and showing the real potential of shooting sports as a relevant and appealing part of the Olympic Games. Today, we can confidently say that for 2028, we have secured our place in the Los Angeles Olympics!

We must continue working and investing to grow because many sports aspire to join, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce.

We need to become more mainstream, more visible, loved by young people and seen as trendy, not old-fashioned. To achieve this, we must raise the standard of our competitions, enhance the quality of our television productions, and strengthen our presence at international events.

This requires significant investments, which is why we are constantly seeking sponsors and partners to secure additional resources. Having good sponsors is not just about money but working together with their marketing and communication teams to boost interest and awareness of our sport.

We are also asking for your support at the local, national level. I understand that some decisions that we MUST take may be unpopular. My team and I are willing to take these steps to ensure the survival and growth of all of us in the years to come.

To achieve this Goal, two years ago, I promised you a “New Start” based on four pillars.

- Stakeholder Engagement  

- Integrity and Sustainability  

- Athlete First Approach  

- Operational Transformation  

A fundamental aspect I focused on from the beginning was engaging our stakeholders.

The situation I found was extremely challenging. Relations with the IOC were at an all-time low, putting our Olympic participation - and the very survival of our sport - at risk. Our priority was to rebuild constructive dialogue with the IOC leadership.

The videos we just saw, sent to us by [IOC President] Thomas Bach and [IOC Sports Director] Kit McConnell, show how significantly this situation has changed. This new relationship has led to concrete impact: it has allowed us to secure our participation in the 2028 Olympics.

But this is just the beginning. Relationships are built from day to day, and achieving success requires a collective effort.

That’s why we have actively worked on creating opportunities for engagement, such as those at the ISSF House, where our federations could take centre stage, welcoming numerous visitors and ensuring we were not just spectators, but active participants in the Olympic Games.  

Our work is far from finished, and many challenges lie ahead.  

One of our goals is to make the ISSF the home of all shooting sports.

This “home” must also welcome young people who have a fresh approach to the world of shooting.

That is why we are also focusing on esports, a rapidly expanding field, with the ambition of becoming leaders and participating in future Virtual Olympics.  

Furthermore, we must look ahead with foresight to the global context.

The international landscape is set to change soon with the leadership transition from IOC President Thomas Bach to his successor.

My role in the coming years is to prepare us for this change, and make sure that the new governance fully recognises the crucial role we play, and the importance of our contributions to the Olympic Movement.  

Finally, we are actively working on collaborating with other federations, from the Paralympic to military and university sport sectors, to create a larger, more inclusive and representative movement of our sport in all its forms.  

Moving on to the second pillar of my programme, we delve into a complex yet fundamental area: integrity and sustainability. The first concrete action I undertook was to update anti-doping regulations and sign a strategic agreement with ITA and we are now at the forefront of promoting clean sport and safeguarding the integrity of our competitions.   

This also impacted on our internal organisation. Transparency became a key principle.

We worked intensively to make ISSF’s operations open, clear, and accessible to all. A concrete example of this approach is our digitalisation project, which not only streamlines processes but ensures greater visibility and oversight of all activities.  

I have always remembered the importance of the environment. As athletes, we have a responsibility to our planet, not just as a set of actions but as a philosophy to guide every decision.   

ISSF has defined a strategy for Environmental Sustainability for our disciplines, following the principles and guidelines set out by the IOC. 

Our Committee for Environmental Sustainability, chaired by Dr. Sandra Honour, has worked intensely over the past 2 years, preparing policy that takes account of national and regional regulations that are constantly evolving.  

The priority has been to address the issue of ammunition, which is subject of significant prescriptions aimed to limit the use of lead. 

ISSF is working to balance the need to safeguard the characteristics of our disciplines with the principles of environmental sustainability required by the IOC and other stakeholders. 

We have an important job ahead of us on these very delicate issues, which are crucial to the future of our disciplines. 

A critical point we have focused on, especially in recent months, is creating new revenue sources for the ISSF to reduce dependence on IOC contributions. Financial independence is essential to ensure freedom of thought and expression, free from external influences. I promised you freedom of thought: whether for or against me, which should always be exercised democratically. Our goal is to generate resources independently through sponsorships, partnerships, and other opportunities.

Let’s turn now to our athletes, the real reason we are all here. They must be at the centre of our activities. We must enhance their visibility and, most importantly, listen to them.  

This summer, we witnessed how our sport received exceptional public interest and attention thanks to the performances of athletes like Yusuf Dikec and Kim Yeji. Their style and appeal brought unprecedented visibility to our movement!

To reward them and increase competitiveness, we reinstated the Athlete of the Year award and reintroduced the ISSF World Cup Finals, which are essential to maintaining a high level of competition.  

Additionally, we are developing new event formats, with a particular focus on enhancing finals and new Olympic qualification criteria to make the process fairer and better for our athletes, improving sporting and professional opportunities.  

In a world dominated by social and media presence, we must elevate these athlete talents. We are working on new communication opportunities to enhance their visibility, transforming them into true ambassadors for our sport and offering them greater opportunities, including economically.  

To build our New Start, it was necessary to modernise the structure of our Federation, and to this end, I chose to involve highly-qualified professionals. In just nine months, our new Secretary General has already achieved significant results.

A major milestone was the launch of the Federation’s digitalisation process.This has enabled us to improve transparency, communication, speed, and dynamism.

This is a journey that will continue, bringing innovation to every aspect of our activities. Another significant innovation is the creation of the ISSF Academy, ensuring continuous training for our coaches.

We started with the coaches, who now have a more official and professionally recognised role, ensuring a level of training certified by the ISSF. We are already working to extend this model to other professionals, improving the quality of our competitions.  

We have, for the first time, implemented structured marketing and communication plans - indispensable tools for increasing our Federation’s visibility and growth.  

In closing, I thank you for your trust which motivates me every day to work with commitment and dedication.