The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) has emerged top in the shooting range competition at the ongoing 2nd Edition of the Inter-Forces Games in Gulu City, winning both the individual and team gold medals.
The UPDF topped the highly competitive shooting contest, followed by the Uganda Police Force (UPF) in second place and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in third. The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) finished fourth.
What is the Shooting Range Competition?
The shooting range, also known as marksmanship, is considered the mother discipline in all uniformed forces games. Unlike other sports that test physical fitness alone, the shooting range tests a soldier’s core professional skill — the ability to handle, aim, and accurately fire a weapon under pressure.
Competitors are judged on accuracy, precision, breath control, stability, and mental composure while engaging targets at varying distances. It simulates real operational scenarios where split-second accuracy can determine the success of a mission and save lives. It is therefore not just a sport, but a direct measure of operational readiness, discipline, and battlefield competence. That is why dominance on the shooting range is regarded as the ultimate bragging right among sister forces.
Major General Richard Karemire, the Joint Staff for Formal Education, Sports and Culture, commended participants for their exceptional performance, discipline, and teamwork.
Maj Gen Karemire said the Inter-Forces Games provide an important platform for promoting physical fitness, discipline, teamwork, and cooperation among personnel from the different security agencies.
He noted that beyond winning medals, these games build Esprit de Corps — the spirit of the body — which is the deep feeling of pride, unity, loyalty, and mutual devotion that turns a group of individuals in uniform into one unbeatable team. It is this brotherhood that makes forces stand together in difficulty and operate as one during joint operations.
The competitions are continuing in Gulu City, with teams battling for honours across various sporting disciplines including football, netball, volleyball, handball, athletics, and darts.
