Bendigo preferred host for Shooting competition in Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games

Shooting Australia has confirmed the City of Greater Bendigo as its preferred host for the Shooting competition component as part of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games will run from 17th-29th March 2026 and will see competitive sports spread across four regional hubs - in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland.

Other sports that have already been allocated to the Bendigo hub include Lawn Bowls, Netball, Squash and Weightlifting.

Shooting Australia Chief Executive Adam Sachs has travelled to Bendigo to visit two of the three sites considered most suitable to host a Commonwealth Games Shooting competition in 2026.

Sachs visited the Wellsford Rifle Range, (host of the full-bore Rifle competition at the 2006 Commonwealth Games), and the Exhibition and Event Centre at the Bendigo Showgrounds, (the proposed venue for Air Rifle and Air Pistol in 2026). Shotgun events would be conducted at the Victorian State Range in the nearby regional town of Echuca.

As Shooting Australia continues to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in the development of a proposal for Shooting’s inclusion in the 2026 Commonwealth Games Sachs advised “we have been overwhelmed by the strong interest and support that Shooting’s proposal for inclusion in 2026 has received from our sport’s international federations, national and state Shooting organisations, local clubs and the City of Greater Bendigo.”

The Director of Commonwealth Games for the City of Greater Bendigo, Andrew Cooney, met with Sachs during his visit and said “(The) City of Greater Bendigo is excited to be a host city for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games. Shooting has a proud tradition of involvement in the Games and a strong presence of participation across our region. We have a number of suitable facilities that regularly host high standard competitions and would be ideal for Games athletes, spectators and officials. We are aware of Shooting Australia’s Shoot for the Games 2026 campaign and would welcome the opportunity to host the sport.’

Shooting’s proposal aligns strongly with both the CGF’s and Victorian Government’s assessment criteria for a ‘Phase 2’ intake of additional sports and provides opportunities for each of Shooting’s traditional Commonwealth Games disciplines to be contested, albeit with reduced numbers of athletes and events compared with previous Games.

Sachs added “we are aiming for equal medal opportunities for male and female athletes and in a Games first for any sport, we are proposing that in some disciplines, Para-Shooting athletes will shoot alongside their able-bodied teammates for the same medals in a fully-integrated Team event.”

The International Sooting Sport Federation will submit its Expression of Interest to the CGF by 19th August. The CGF and Victorian Government are due to confirm which ‘Phase 2’ sports will be added to the competition program for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games by October.

Image: Wellsford Rifle Range, Bendigo. Credit Shooting Australia