Fans following the 2026 shooting season have until November 5 at 23:59 UTC to take part in the opening round of the ISSF People’s Choice awards. The federation confirmed the deadline in its November 2 voting update, with a second public phase scheduled for November 9–18.
Two awards are decided by the public
The fan ballot covers People’s Choice Men and People’s Choice Women. Those categories sit alongside six discipline awards covering men and women in rifle, pistol and shotgun. According to ISSF, those six awards use an internal process managed by its Athletes’ Committee. A public-voting headline therefore should not be read as an invitation to choose every award recipient.
The opening public field includes eligible athletes in the top 100 of the World Rankings who competed during the season and earned ranking points. Phase 1 determines which athletes advance to the final public ballot; it does not announce the winners.
Keep the award ballot separate from the election
There is another ISSF ballot in the news this week: the Athletes Committee election for the 2026–2030 term. The federation’s separate election notice identifies that process as a vote for eligible participating adult athletes, rather than a fan award. Following one voting link does not establish eligibility for the other.
Where to check before voting
Use the voting link in the official awards announcement and check its current instructions. The first deadline is expressed in UTC, so readers should convert that time to their own location before leaving participation until the last evening. Return to the federation’s announcement for any subsequent changes and for the final-stage shortlist.
For readers following the championship alongside the awards, our Shooting Sports coverage provides competition context. The Behind the Trigger section explores the people involved in the sport.
Source announcement: November 2, 2026. Verified November 2, 2026. This report does not announce award winners.
Archive context: Nancy Johnson celebrates her women’s air rifle gold at Sydney 2000. This is not a photograph of the 2026 ISSF Awards or an identification of a 2026 nominee. Photo: DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert A. Whitehead, U.S. Air Force. (Released) / Wikimedia Commons; Public domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nancy_Johnson_(sport_shooter)_3.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Sources checked November 2, 2026.
Sources & further reading
Original source publication: 2026-11-02.
Sources reviewed 2026-11-02.
Prepared for Gunfire Magazine with AI assistance from the linked source material and the publication’s editorial brief. This piece does not claim original interviews, on-site reporting or hands-on product testing.