Nicosia Shooting Club — Est. 1968
From a small circle of pioneering enthusiasts in 1968 to a world-renowned Olympic complex — the story of Cyprus's premier shooting club.
The Nicosia Shooting Club has stood at the centre of Cypriot shooting sport since the very beginning. As a founding member of the Cyprus Shooting Sport Federation, the club helped shape the national structure of the sport from day one. Today, its Olympic complex — named in honour of a national shooting hero — attracts the world's finest athletes.
1968
The Club Is Born
A group of passionate clay target shooters in Nicosia come together to formally establish the Nicosia Shooting Club. The club eventually becomes a founding member of the Cyprus Shooting Sport Federation (CSSF), playing a central role in building the national structure of the sport from its very first days.
1972
Munich Olympics — Lakis Psimolophitis
Club member and national legend Lakis Georgiou Psimolophitis competes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Skeet shooting (representing Greece, as Cyprus was not yet an independent Olympic nation), finishing 8th in the world. His achievement puts Cyprus shooting on the international map — and his name will one day grace the club's Olympic complex.
1974
Cyprus Olympic Committee Founded
The Cyprus Olympic Committee is established on 10 June 1974, paving the way for Cypriot athletes — including shooters — to compete under their own flag at the world's greatest sporting stage.
1979
Cyprus Joins the IOC
Cyprus is officially accepted into the International Olympic Committee. For the shooting community, this opens a new era of international ambition, providing the official framework to pursue Olympic-standard competition at home and abroad.
1980
Cyprus at the Summer Olympics
Cyprus makes its Summer Olympic debut in Moscow. The shooting federation, with the Nicosia Shooting Club at its core, is firmly part of the national sporting movement driving these new ambitions forward.
1983
CSSF Formally Established
The Cyprus Shooting Sport Federation (CSSF) is formally constituted, with the Nicosia Shooting Club among its founding members. The federation provides the governance needed to coordinate national championships, international participation, and the growth of trap, skeet and sporting disciplines across the island.
Mid-1980s
Planning a World-Class Complex
With membership growing and international ambitions clear, the club embarks on an ambitious project: a world-class Olympic shooting complex built from the ground up. The architectural brief is uncompromising — a facility capable of hosting ISSF, ESC and FITASC events. A site 10 km from the city centre, near Latsia off the A1 motorway, is selected.
1989
The Olympic Complex Opens
The club moves to its permanent home: the Nicosia Olympic Shooting Complex, featuring multiple Trap, Skeet and FITASC Sporting layouts. In the same year, Nicosia hosts the III Games of the Small States of Europe — a fitting international debut for the new venue.
1990s
Gaining International Recognition
During the 1990s, the Nicosia Shooting Club established itself on the international sporting calendar by successfully organising a series of ISSF, ESC and FITASC competitions. These events attracted athletes and officials from around the world, earning the club a reputation as one of the leading destinations for clay target shooting in the region and laying the foundation for hosting future European and World Championship events.
1990s
State-of-the-Art Equipment
All ranges are fitted with Nasta and Promatic machines and Progetti electronic phono-pull systems. Alongside a cafeteria, restaurant and a shop — have created a complete venue for competitors and visitors alike.
2000s
Air Rifle Ranges Added
The complex adds both an indoor 10m Air Rifle Range and an outdoor Air Rifle Range, making it one of the most complete shooting facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The club now supports athletes across every major Olympic shooting discipline.
2000s
10 FITASC Sporting / Compak Layouts
The complex continued its expansion, reaching 4 Trap layouts, 4 Skeet layouts, and 10 FITASC Sporting/Compak layouts — one of the largest and most versatile shotgun ranges in the region, capable of running multiple competitions simultaneously. In 2015 the complex is renamed the Lakis Psimolophitis Olympic Shooting Range in memory of one of the leading figures in modern shooting.
August 2022
History of Cyprus Shooting — Book Launch
The two-volume «Ιστορία της Κυπριακής Σκοποβολής» is presented at the Olympic complex in front of national and international federations, athletes and dignitaries. The first book of its kind in the Greek-speaking world, it documents Cyprus shooting from the 1896 Athens Olympics through to Athens 2004 — with the Nicosia Shooting Club at the heart of the story.
2020 & 2022
ISSF World Cup Shotgun — Hosted Twice
The complex hosts the ISSF World Cup Shotgun in both 2020 and 2022, welcoming the world's elite shotgun athletes. Both editions are celebrated as exemplary events, establishing the Lakis Psimolophitis complex as one of the finest World Cup venues on the international circuit.
3–12 May 2025
ISSF World Cup Shotgun — Third Edition
The ISSF Executive Committee awards a third World Cup Shotgun to Cyprus. The event runs 3–12 May 2025 at the Lakis Psimolophitis complex.Three successive World Cups confirm the venue's elite global standing.
Present Day — The Legacy Continues