What’s the excuse going to be this time?

News that tickets for shooting events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games were heavily oversubscribed is encouraging, not the least because it maintains a pattern which predates even the London Olympics, which were hugely successful for shooting sports; a trend which sees shooting sports enthusiasts turn out in big numbers when top class competition is on offer.

Come next year’s games and this support will be reflected in the wider population, many of whom will look on enviously at those lucky enough to be there at the Carnoustie venue in person. And looking on enviously will probably be all they can do, because if the BBC TV coverage afforded to shooting in the past is anything to go by, what will be seen of shooting next year will be more or less non-existent.

In 2002, the last time the Games were held in the UK (in Manchester) the BBC pronounced itself unable to broadcast any coverage of the shooting from Bisley due to “technical and logistical challenges” – this despite the presence of a fully equipped media centre at Bisley. There was much murmuring that this was because shooting was out of step with the prevailing new Labour sentiments current at the BBC of the time. New Labour may be gone, but we very doubt whether much else has changed.