The Grand Prix D’Egypte was part of the 2016 World Helices Championship, which took place at the Shooting Club. This tournament was divided into five competitive divisions: open, juniors, women’s, veterans, and super veterans.
Argentineans showed a great performance in the open competition, with Javier Oviedo coming in first place. His compatriot Cervigni Rogilio Gostavo came in third place. Argentinean Brahin Leonel won the juniors competition.
The 2017 World Helices Championship will take place in the United State, and the following year’s helices championship will be held in Argentina.
The events of the Grand Prix D’Egypte were recently concluded, and on this occasion Daily News Egypt met with Javier Oviedo.
How did you start practicing this sport?
I used to play football, but then I was injured. My father is a big fan of shooting and had established a very small club. I had never held a shotgun before, nor had I been trained, but I went to the club to try my hand at shooting. I liked it a lot and found it easy so I abandoned football and started shooting in 1998.
Argentinean shooters showed a great performance at the 2016 World Helices Championship. Why is Argentina so advanced in this sport?
This sport is practiced a lot in Argentina—almost every weekend and on Sundays we have competitions. I believe that the sport originates from hunting, and in Argentina there were a lot of hunters.
In Argentina, there was a tradition of hunting doves; however, it was prohibited due to ecological issues. The most similar shooting discipline to this is helices, so people began helices shooting.
Argentineans are fans of shooting doves; I believe that if it was allowed, every shooter would abandon helices and go back to hunting doves—especially accomplished shooters.
So all forms of dove hunting and shooting are prohibited?
Yes, the only exception is an annual event in the province of Santiago del Estero, where the day of the capital is celebrated.
Who finances the sport in Argentina?
Shooters finance themselves. The Argentinean Shooting Federation could help two or three shooters with some costs for international tournaments, such as paying for flight tickets, for example.
What international tournaments have you competed in?
The Grand Prix D’Egypte is my second international tournament, and my first was in Valencia, Spain in 2001.
In which city of Argentina will the 2018 World Helices Championship be celebrated?
I do not know. It could take place in the city of Córdoba, as it is located in the geographical centre of Argentina, where there is a club that can host an international shooting tournament. Of course many preparations will be needed at the club to host such a prestigious tournament.
How many shooters do you expect to participate at the 2018 World Helices Championship?
As the world championship will be hosted in Argentina, I believe that the number of shooters competing there could reach 600-700, maybe even more.
Why do you believe that the number will be that high?
There are a lot of shooters in the huge country of Argentina. When there is an important championship, all the shooters travel to the centre of the country to compete.
For example in the Argentinean city of Córdoba, there is club that holds shooting championships. You cannot imagine the number of shooters that come to participate at this championship.
Keep in mind that at the most recent championship in Cairo, the Argentinean delegation was the largest delegation after the Egyptian team. We had about 36 shooters participating.
