Organisation Profile

The Shooting Sport Federation is undoubtly the first sports organisation in Malta with its origins dating back to 1908.  Sport shooting, still in its infancy, had always fascinating to the Maltese and shooters from all over the country used to meet on organised shoots and shoot on a variety of targets.  As days went by, clay pigeons were the only targets allowed for sport shooting so much so that up to some time ago the only firearm  licensed by the authorities was the shotgun.

As days went by, the Council of the Malta Shooting Federation together with the assistance of a number of members felt it necessary to move their range from Attard to a more suitable location to allow for adequate practice of Olympic Trap.  Financing the project was not an easy task, however the constant support of Mr. Paddy Stubbs together with the determination and financial assistance of the members, in 1977  the Malta  Shooting Federation inaugurated a new Olympic Range in Bidnija, limits of Mosta, a location which nowadays is synonymous with the sport of shooting. 

During these years, the Federation went through radical changes, obtaining numerous successes to the extent that it can safely be said that shooting is the most successful sport in the Maltese Islands .  These achievements in the shooting disciplines immensely augmented the profile of the Malta Shooting Federation, and sport shooting evolved to the extent that today Malta has no less than 6 Olympic Trap ranges including 1 in Gozo. 

By way of this rapid progress, Malta earned the respect of international shooting bodies and the Malta Shooting Sport Federation is today affiliated as a full active member to the UIT which later became to be known as the International Shooting Sport Federation. This earned the Maltese athletes the right to participate in shooting competitions overseas besides giving Malta the right to organise international shoots.  

Maltese Shooters had the honour of participating in the Mediterranean Games of 1958 held at Beirut , and in 1960 in Rome for the Olympic Games. These Games served to spur the Council and its members to look into the possibility of organising international level games at the Bidnija Range . The first games to be organized successfully were the Games of the Small States of Europe, made up of the five states namely, Luxembourg , Monaco , Andorra , San Marino and Malta . This competition provided a model of the way such games should be organized and today although the number of states have been enlarged with the introduction of Cyprus , Liechtenstein and Iceland the model is still valid.

The GSSE games of 1993 were held in Malta , so the Government laid the layout for another Olympic Trap range and a skeet layout. On the 10th February, 3 months before the opening of the Games the work on the new ranges was complete.

Nowadays competition shoots in the Olympic disciplines of Trap, Skeet, Double Trap and 10 mtrs air weapons together with the popular compact sporting and down the line, occupy practically every weekend. The Bidnija ranges offer a number of amenities to its members, including modern computerized range management facilities, monitors outside and inside the clubhouse, restaurant, parking facilities and others.  The latest addition to the complex was the Air Weapons Range which was inaugurated in October 1996.  All this, makes this place one of the most complete shooting complexes in Europe .  With the enactment of the new Arms Act 2005, to which the MSSF gave an active contribution,  the Federation is looking into the possibility of expanding further to provide for other shooting disciplines.