Section 4 - ISSF Eligibility and Sponsorship Rules
4.1.0		Eligibility of Shooters
4.1.1		The ISSF Eligibility Rules specify the conditions under which shooters are eligible to participate in ISSF Championships (see ISSF General Regulations). These Eligibility Rules must be applied strictly in all ISSF Championships.
4.1.2		The ISSF recognizes Rule 41, Rule 42 and Rule 53 of the Olympic Charter and the Bye-Laws to these Rules as basic documents for the ISSF Eligibility Rules.
4.1.3		To be eligible to participate in ISSF supervised Championships, a shooter must be entered in the Championship in accordance with Article 3.6 of the ISSF General Regulations by his/her National Federation. Shooters entered by a National Federation must:
4.1.3.1		be selected to participate in accordance with procedures established by the shooter's National Federation, except that shooters entered in the Olympic Games also must comply with the "Special Regulations for the Participation in the Shooting Sport Events of the Olympic Games" (Article 3.12.3.1, Annex "Q", ISSF General Regulations);
4.1.3.2		be national of the country they represent in accordance with Rule 42 of the Olympic Charter, the Bye-Law to this Rule, and the ISSF General Regulations;
4.1.3.3		not have been guilty of improper or unsportsmanlike conduct, particularly through the use of doping or violence;
4.1.3.4		not have violated ISSF rules for sponsorship or advertising as specified in Article 4.2 of these Rules.
4.1.4		Shooters who compete in ISSF Championships may accept, directly or indirectly, money payments or other prizes as awards or as an inducement to take part in a competition, except that no shooter's participation in the Olympic Games may be conditional on any financial consideration (Bye-Law to Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter).
4.1.5		A shooter who knowingly takes part in a competition vetoed by the ISSF may be excluded from ISSF Championships for a prescribed period by the Executive Committee.
4.1.6		A National Federation that enters a shooter in an ISSF Championship who is excluded from competition in accordance with ISSF Anti-Doping Regulations or other ISSF Rules shall lose all its privileges except the right to be represented at the next General Assembly.
4.2.0		Sponsorships and Advertising
4.2.1		A sponsorship is any contract-based support of a shooter or organization provided to the shooter in the form of money, goods or services.
4.2.2		These rules apply to all official parts of ISSF supervised Championships events (training and competition, opening, closing and award ceremonies).
4.2.3		A National Federation may enter into a contract with a commercial firm or organization for sponsorships, the provision of equipment or advertising.
4.2.4		An individual shooter may enter into a contract for an individual sponsorship with a commercial firm or an organization.
4.2.5		Sponsorship contracts may authorize the pictures, names or athletic performances of shooters to appear in the advertisements of contracting commercial firms.
4.2.6		Payments to individual shooters under such contracts may be made either to the shooter or the National Federation.
4.2.7		Sponsor markings on signs, banners, posters or other material may be displayed on shooter's clothing and equipment on the ranges and on other facilities at ISSF Championships, if such sponsor markings are in accordance with these Regulations.
4.2.7.1		During the Olympic Games, no advertising with signs, banners, posters or other means is permitted unless such advertising is authorized by the IOC Rules, in particular by IOC Charter Rule 61 and its Bye-Laws. For the Olympic Games, sponsor markings are not permitted and shall be removed or covered.
4.2.7.2		Advertising on the ranges may not be placed in the target areas in such a way that it interferes with the sight pictures of the shooters.
4.3.0		Commercial Markings on Shooters' Clothing and Equipment
4.3.1		A trademark is a distinctive name, symbol, motto, or design that legally identifies a company or its products and services, in order to distinguish them from those offered by others.
4.3.2		A commercial marking is any visible occurrence of a trademark or an advertising sign on an item of an equipment or clothing used during the competition. There are two types of commercial marking:
4.3.2.1		Manufacturer Identification
		A manufacturer identification is a display of the manufacturer name or of a trademark on a product made by the manufacturer (trademark owner) with the aim to identify the product and/or its origin;
4.3.2.2		Sponsor Marking
		A sponsor marking is any advertising sign on a product different from manufacturer identification.
4.3.3		General Rules for Manufacturer Identification
4.3.3.1		At ISSF Championships, any manufacturer identification on all items of shooters' equipment must be the same as those on the same product sold to the public. Trademarks and company names must only be those of the product manufacturer and must only be used once per article. Additional technical specifications about the size, form and place of trademark signs, company names and individual letters on items of shooters' equipment may be decided by the ISSF Executive Committee upon the recommendation of the Eligibility Committee.
4.3.3.2		The manufacturer identification must not appear more than once per item of clothing and equipment. Gun parts are considered to be items of equipment.
4.3.4		General Rules for Sponsor Markings
4.3.4.1		Equipment or goods supplied to a national team must, with reference to manufacturer identification, conform to the specifications in Article 4.3.2 of these Rules.
4.3.4.2		Sponsor markings on bare skin are not allowed.
4.3.5		During training and competition all items which have the sole purpose of displaying a sponsor marking and/or which are not used in connection with the competition are not allowed.
4.3.6		No pictures or portraits of shooters wearing clothing with commercial markings in contravention those specified in these rules may be used in advertising.
4.3.7		Measuring Manufacturer Identification
4.3.7.1		Manufacturer identification may be divided into the following categories:
4.3.7.1.1		the manufacturer name; or
4.3.7.1.2		the manufacturer logo; or
4.3.7.1.3		a combination of the manufacturer name and the manufacturer logo.
4.3.7.2		Manufacturer identification will be measured as follows:
4.3.7.2.1		Regular Shapes. Where the manufacturer identification appears as a rectangle or a square, the mathematical rules used to calculate the surface area of the shape will be applied.
4.3.7.2.2		Irregular Shapes. Where the manufacturer identification is an irregular shape, a rectangle will be traced around the entire area of the identification and the mathematical rules used to calculate the surface area of the rectangle shall be applied.
4.3.7.2.3		Combined Shapes. Where the manufacturer identification combines the manufacturer name with the manufacturer logo, a rectangle will be traced around the entire area of the identification and the mathematical rules used to calculate the surface area of the rectangle shall be applied.
4.4.0		Special Rules for Commercial Markings used on Shooters’ Equipment and Clothing
4.4.1		Guns
4.4.1.1		Manufacturer Identification. All guns conforming to the competition rules of the ISSF are permitted. The manufacturer identification must be the same as the identification on commercially available arms and may appear only once per gun part and may not exceed 10% of the surface area. However, there shall be no manufacturer's identification greater than 60cm^2.
4.4.1.2		Sponsor Markings. Guns may have one commercial sponsor marking. The marking may appear on both sides of the gun.
4.4.2		Gun Cases (Tool cases, shooting bags, suitcases or cloth bags and other items of shooting equipment such as rifle sling, kneeling roll, belt, telescope stands etc. (this includes the organizer's shooting mats)).
4.4.2.1		Manufacturer Identification. The manufacturer identification must be the same as the identification on commercially available items and may appear only once per item and may not exceed 10% of the surface area. However, there shall be no manufacturer's identification greater than 60cm^2.
4.4.2.2		Sponsor Markings. No restrictions apply.
4.4.3		Shooting Shoes
4.4.3.1		Manufacturer identification. One manufacturer identification per shooting shoe with a maximum of 6 cm² is permitted.
4.4.3.2		Sponsor Markings. Shooting shoes may carry one commercial sponsor marking. The marking, which must be identical, may appear on both shooting shoes.
4.4.4		Gloves
4.4.4.1		Manufacturer Identification. One manufacturer identification per glove with a maximum of 6 cm² is permitted.
4.4.4.2		Sponsor Markings. There may be one commercial sponsor marking per glove.
4.4.5		Headgear
4.4.5.1		The front and/or back of the headgear may only be used for the national or national federation emblem, the emblem of the ISSF or the emblem of a competition organizer but without a sponsor marking.
4.4.5.2		Manufacturer Identification. Headgear may carry one manufacturer identification with a maximum size of 6 cm² but not on the front or the back.
4.4.5.3		Sponsor Markings. There may be one commercial sponsor marking on each side of the headgear but not on the front or the back.
4.4.6		Shooting Glasses or Eyewear and Side Blinders
4.4.6.1		Manufacturer Identification. Glasses and Side Blinders may carry one manufacturer identification with a maximum size of 6 cm².
4.4.6.2		Sponsor Markings. There may be one commercial sponsor marking, but only on both sides of the frames of glasses or both Side Blinders.
4.4.6.3		Front Blinders. No manufacturer identification nor Sponsor Markings are permitted.
4.4.7		Ear Protection
4.4.7.1		Manufacturer Identification. Ear Protection may carry one manufacturer identification with a maximum size of 6 cm².
4.4.7.2		Sponsor Markings. There may be one commercial sponsor marking, but only on each side of the ear protector.
4.4.8		Competition Clothing. Competition clothing includes all clothing worn by the shooter during his/her performance in competition or in training.
4.4.8.1		Manufacturer Identification. Articles of clothing may carry one manufacturer identification per item. The manufacturer identification may not exceed 20cm².
4.4.8.2		Sponsor Markings. The clothing worn by a shooter is divided into areas identified in Table 1. The restrictions given in the Table must be followed. This rule applies to any type of competition clothing.
4.4.8.2.1		Regulations for Sponsor Markings on Competition Clothing: Table 1
	Area		Maximum number of sponsor markings	Other restrictions
	Shoulder area (upper third of the torso); front side		2	One marking is reserved for ISSF (left shoulder for right hand shooter and vice-versa)
	Shoulder area (upper third of the torso); back side		1
	Middle torso (middle third of the torso); front side		1	One-half reserved for the national federation emblem
	Middle torso (middle third of the torso); back side		0	Reserved for the Bib (Start) Numbers
	Hip area (lower third of the torso); front side		1
	Hip area (lower third of the torso); back side		0
	Sleeves		1	The same identical marking may appear on both sleeves
	Trouser legs		1	The same identical marking may appear on both legs
4.4.9		Dress Uniform. A dress uniform includes all clothing worn by the shooter and the members of the team during all official parts of the Championships, where protocol requires a display of the emblem, name or abbreviation of the national federation on the clothing.
4.4.9.1		Manufacturer Identification. The manufacturer identification shall not exceed 20cm².
4.4.9.2		Sponsor Markings. Official dress uniforms may not carry any commercial advertising, but they may carry the name or trademark of up to three sponsors of a National Federation.
4.4.10		Casual Clothing includes all clothing worn by the shooter under other circumstances listed in Article 4.4.8 and 4.4.9 in these Rules. No advertising restrictions apply to this kind of clothing.
4.5.0		Sponsor Markings - ISSF and Organizing Committee Sponsors
4.5.1		In accordance with Article 3.12.3.11, Annex "B" of the ISSF General Regulations, the ISSF reserves the right to control sponsor signs at the main entrance of ISSF Championship ranges, official scoreboards, and official score monitors, target frames and Bib (Start) Numbers for sponsors contracted by the ISSF.
4.5.2		Bib (Start) Numbers
		Bib (Start) Numbers may include the commercial marking of ISSF Championship sponsors, provided all competitors use numbers marked similarly. Not more than 150cm² or a maximum of 25% of the Bib (Start) Numbers area may be dedicated to the general sponsor marking. However, Bib (Start) Numbers must be worn by all shooters, on their backs and above the waist, at all times while participating in all training and competition. If the Bib (Start) Number is not displayed the shooter may not compete/continue. The Bib (Start) Numbers must display the name, initials and the nation of the shooter. The IOC abbreviation of the nation must be used. The minimum height of the letters should be as big as possible but should not be less than 20 mm.
4.5.2.1		For Shotgun the IOC abbreviation of the nation of the shooter and his name and first initial in Latin letters must be displayed (IOC abbreviation at the top) at the back of the shoulder area of his outer shooter garment.
4.5.3		Signs and Banners
		ISSF Championship organizing committees may recognize general and other sponsors with appropriate signs and banners displayed at the range and other areas controlled by the organizing committee during an ISSF Championship or with advertising in the official program and other publications associated with the ISSF Championship.
4.6.0		Controls and Sanctions
4.6.1		The National Federations, together with the ISSF, are responsible for enforcing the ISSF Eligibility and Sponsorship Rules.
4.6.2		The Competition Juries are responsible for enforcing, within the competition areas, ISSF rules concerning advertising on equipment and clothing.
4.6.3		In case of violation, the Jury must issue an oral warning or a written warning. A shooter not complying with the rules must not be permitted to start or to continue in the competition.
4.6.4		Decisions by the Competition Juries concerning infringement of these rules may be appealed to the Jury of Appeal whose decision is final.
4.6.5		If an advertiser exploits the use of the name, title, or individual picture of a shooter in connection with any advertisement, endorsement or sale of goods without the approval or the knowledge of the shooter, the shooter may give "power of attorney" to his/her National Federation or to the ISSF to enable them, if necessary, to take legal action against the advertiser in question. If the shooter concerned fails to do so, the ISSF shall judge the situation as if the shooter had given full permission to the advertiser.
4.7.0		Approval
		These Eligibility Rules were amended and approved by the Executive Committee of the ISSF on 22^nd October 1999 and amended on 8^th September 2003. They replace previous editions of the "ISSF Eligibility Rules" and become effective immediately.
Annex