Currents of History 3/2019
Dalibor VELOJIĆ
Institute for Serbian Culture Priština, Leposavić
d.velojic@yahoo.com
The Role of the Army in the Development of Shooting Sports in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats,
and Slovenes/Yugoslavia[1]*
Abstract: On the basis of records kept at the Yugoslav Archives, files in the ministry of physical education and sports, military archives, and other reference sources, this paper aims to shed light on the role of the army in the development of shooting sports in Yugoslavia between the two world wars. As a purely military sport, shooting relied on military organizations, with a significant number of officers and soldiers taking part in contests or in management of local shooting clubs. In addition to this, the law stipulated that military commands should exercise authority over these sporting activities.
Key words: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, Army, Shooting, The Ministry of the Army and the Navy, Sports
Summary
The establishment of shooting societies and organizations in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, bearing in mind its military character, meant the active involvement of the ministry of the army and the navy. This involvement included supplying and selling weapons and ammunition to shooting societies, but also the participation of military officers in shooting practice and contests. Military garrisons provided significant assistance to shooting societies by providing shooting ranges, which made practice far easier. The involvement of military personnel, especially district commanders, improved the functioning of the societies to a large extent, particularly in the border areas. The Army shared authority over this sport with the ministry of physical education and sports, as regulated by the law. The attempt of the military minister to exercise absolute control for the sake of easier functioning failed, since this sport entailed cooperation with various civilian societies and organizations, for which other ministries were authorized.
[1]* The paper was written within the project Materijalna i duhovna kultura Kosova i Metohije (No 178028), approved and financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.