FIDASC - Federazione italiana Discipline con armi sportive e Cinofilia
 

 

Although it has just passed its quarter-century mark, Fidasc, the Italian Federation of Sporting Arms and Dog Breeding Disciplines, is one of the youngest federations of CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee) and has exclusive jurisdiction over two “parent disciplines,” shooting and dog breeding, which, however, include a vast array of “specialties” that are often profoundly different from one another.
The acronym, which initially included the word ‘caccia’ (hunting), was modified by replacing the final ‘c’ with ‘cinofilia’ (dog breeding), eloquently testifying to the genesis of the Federation, which was founded at the end of the second millennium as a ‘sporting offshoot’ of the Italian hunting world.
In fact, it was during those years that Federcaccia was expelled from the National Olympic Committee on the grounds that hunting was not considered a competitive sport and therefore could not be included among the sports federations recognized by CONI.
It was after this decision that the recognized hunting associations, united within UNAVI, sought to provide a timely and unequivocal response to that part of the hunting world that had been deprived of the opportunity to practice, with national and international recognition, their sporting passion, which, as already mentioned, had nothing in common with hunting except the tools (including dogs), so much so that no animals were killed.
Much progress has been made since the beginning of 2000, and today Fidasc, which is one of the most important federations in the world, can boast an international medal collection of absolute prestige.
These twenty-six years have been characterized by a steady growth in membership, practicing athletes (many of whom are girls and boys), affiliated sports associations, and, above all, sporting activities.
Today, in fact, Fidasc has exclusive competence over numerous specialties which, for the discipline of shooting, range from clay pigeon shooting (a specialty of English Sporting) to ball shooting, rifle shooting, hunting archery, Field Target, paintball, and airsoft. Finally, the world of dog breeding (both for hunting and sport) is even broader, with a long list of specialties, listed and described in detail on the official website, including sled dog sports, in which Fidasc's “Azzurri” are at the top of the world championships in various types of competitions.