Warning if you considering new shooting boots (for ISSF)

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:59 am

I have borrowed the following notice from facebook.

"Warning to anyone thinking of buying a pair of the new Saur shooting boots - the ones with the flexible sole insert - they do not conform to the new ISSF Rules so will not pass equipment control."

It appears it's their construction that they will fail on in accordance with 7.5.3.2 as soles are not made of the same material throughout.

<edit>
It would appear that this information is not correct and that the boots do comply with the above rule as the entire soles are made of the same material. Sauer have been in contact with the ISSF to confirm this. Apologies for the missinformation

Rob.

Jordan1s · Post by **Jordan1s** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:32 pm

hi there,

could you post a link to the facebook post?

thanks!

-Jordan

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:04 pm

I'm afraid not is was a private personal post from a guy on the technical committee.

Rob.

David Levene · Post by **David Levene** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:08 pm

Jordan1s wrote:could you post a link to the facebook post?

I'm not sure how that would help (is it even possible with a personal FB page).

The quoted rule is self-explanatory.

"The shoe sole must be constructed of the same material that is flexible in the entire forward part of the foot. Athletes may use removeable inner soles or inserts in their shoes, but any inserts must also be flexible in the forward part of the foot."

jhmartin · Post by **jhmartin** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:21 pm

Anyone have a good guess where the "entire forward part" starts?
Maybe at the bend for the testing?????

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:42 am

jhmartin wrote:Anyone have a good guess where the "entire forward part" starts?
Maybe at the bend for the testing?????

Forward part to me is from the middle of the shoe forwards.

Rob.

David Levene · Post by **David Levene** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:15 am

It's not just the "same material" that could cause a problem, it's also "flexible in the entire forward part".

I'm not sure that one flexible strip across the sole would satisfy the last part.

Marcus · Post by **Marcus** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:13 pm

Once again, I see a near perfect example of bad rulemaking. This particular rule was not mentioned in the official Summary of Changes in 2013-2016 ISSF Rules.

Yet there it is. A fair reading of it would seem to disallow the Sauer and several other manufacturers boots. I don't see any official announcement on ISSF under News or in rules ammendments and clarifications.

So where did this rule come from? Who is backtracking?

I think it is a bad rule anyway because it is poorly written. The issue of the "vibration control system" elicited wide respose from the shooting community which resulted in the "clarification" of the rule in the final document. There was no such response for this shoe sole issue.

It seems that David's exhortation to us all in other threads, to wait until the rules are published to find out what is in them was both bad and good advice.

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 3:47 pm

I personally don't see a problem with the rules, the problem was the 'different materials' or not. Sauer have stated their shoes are made of the same component, just that part of it is coloured, hence they don't therefore fall foul of the rule.

Rob.