Shooting and Paralympic Archery venue
11/05/2011 by Buildington

On target: First images of London 2012 Shooting venue unveiled as construction starts at Royal Artillery Barracks.

New images of the London 2012 Shooting venue – located in the grounds of Woolwich’s historic Royal Artillery Barracks - were today released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
The temporary venue in south-east London will host the Shooting and Paralympic Shooting competitions, in addition to Paralympic Archery.

The contractor for the three enclosed ranges and three open-air ranges is Hertfordshire-based John Sisk & Sons, with the venue set to be completed ahead of international shooting test events next spring.

Spectators will enter the venue with views of the world-famous military base - the longest continuous Georgian building façade in the UK - before taking their seats to watch the sporting action.

ODA Project Sponsor for the Shooting venue Richard Arnold said: 'The Shooting venue is the ODA’s final venue to start construction and will be ready to host test events next year. It will be a fitting arena for athletes during the London 2012 Games and spectators will also benefit from an excellent location that is steeped in history.'

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: 'Staging the Shooting and Paralympic Archery events at the world famous Royal Artillery Barracks will provide a memorable background during the Games which will inspire the athletes and provide a great showcase for London and the UK.'

President of the International Shooting Sport Federation, Olegario Vázquez Raña, said during a recent visit to the site: 'It is fantastic to see our athletes and the sport of Shooting located at such an iconic venue at the very centre and heart of the London Games. We are extremely impressed with the design, plans and arrangements for the venue. It will provide a splendid stage upon which to showcase our athletes and sport to the world. We thank London 2012 for such innovation and detailed planning.'

The Pistol and Rifle competitions will be held across three ranges - a Finals range, 25m range and a combined 10m and 50m range. Three outdoor ranges will host the Olympic Shotgun competitions, which will then be transformed to stage Paralympic Archery.

It is estimated that more than 104,000 spectators will watch the competitions during the Games – equating to around 4,000 people every day.

Immediately after the Games, the venue will be dismantled as quickly as possible and the site returned to its original condition, after which it will be handed back to the Ministry of Defence.

London 2012 is working with the Government and other partners to identify opportunities where elements of the venue and sports equipment could be reused after the Games.

Ranges will include:

Finals range: This building will be used for the finals of all of the Rifle and Pistol events.
25m Range: This partially enclosed range will be used for the qualifying rounds of the 25m Pistol and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol events.
10m/50m Range: This partially enclosed range will be used for the qualifying rounds of the 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol events, and 50m Rifle and 50m Pistol events.
Shotgun Ranges: All three open air ranges will be used for qualifying for the Shotgun Skeet, Trap and Double Trap competitions, with the centre range being used for the finals.
Shooting, Paralympic Shooting and Paralympic Archery:

Shooting: In Pistol and Rifle events, competitors fire at a target from a set distance within an enclosed range. In Shotgun events, athletes fire at a moving clay target at varying distances.
Paralympic Archery: Sport is split into Standing and Wheelchair events. Athletes fire at a target from a 70m distance within an outdoor range.
Dates: The Shooting competition is scheduled for 28 July to 6 August 2012 when the venue will be open to spectators. Paralympic Shooting and Paralympic Archery competition is scheduled to take place from 30 August to 6 September 2012
Construction process:

The foundations of the venue will soon start to be laid. Removable steel piles will be driven into the ground, with reused pipeline incorporated to reduce the need for new materials. The result is that the buildings will touch the ground much more lightly than if the venue was conventionally built.
The structures that make up the range buildings include the spectator’s enclosure and the field of play enclosure.

Spectator’s enclosures: These lightweight tented structures have vibrantly coloured openings to breakup the façade and provide natural ventilation, light and a tension to the external skin. The enclosures’ main structures, which are rented and can be demounted after the Games, are made from steel trusses, with secondary steelwork creating the openings by providing support for the fabric cladding to be tensioned across.

Field of play enclosures: These are constructed using a steelwork column structure clad with plywood.

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