It's a sport in which men, women and the physically disabled can compete head to head, without any disadvantage, yet it is no longer welcome at the University of Toronto because it doesn't fall under the "educational values" of the institution, said staff.The rifle range, located in the basement of Hart House will be shut down Sept. 30, after 88 years of operation.
"One of the questions we ask when we allocate resources (like space) is 'does this fit into our educational values?'" said vice-president of strategic communications Rob Steiner. "Does a firing range fall under that mandate? Maybe it did 80 years ago."
When Hart House had an internal review, earlier this year, as it does every five years, the issue of the continuance of the rifle range was debated again. Steiner said the move to close the range wasn't punitive. "In 1994, we passed a firearm policy that forbade firearms with the exception of campus police officers and military," Steiner said. "The firing range was the only exception to that policy."
That exception ends just shortly after school starts.
However, the range is home to competitors in both rifle and pistol shooting, who have represented Canada on the national and international stage, like Cindy Luk.
Luk joined the Hart House Rifle Club in 1997 and is now a coach. She has competed in four World Cups and two World Championships in rifle shooting and is tired of being lumped into the same category as the gun-toting thugs causing bloodshed on city streets. She believes that the range is being closed because of incidences like the shootings at Virginia Tech and Dawson's College in Montreal that have cast negative dispersions on guns and gun owners.
"I tell people it's disrespectful," she said. "It's difficult for me to be labelled like that."
She said that stereotypes have always haunted the sport, and club members have often been called "yahoos" or "rednecks," but she can't accept that the club should be shut down because of public perception.
"University is where we are supposed to debate the really hard topics," she said. "I'm surprised that U of T has taken this stance."
Luk doesn't buy it.
The members of the club undergo a three hour safety course, and when on the range can be penalized for not obeying the safety rules. The penalties range from having to retake the safety course, to being banned from the club.
"We have one range officer for every two shooters," said Luk. There are six positions to shoot from on the range, only those being supervised by a range officer can be occupied.
"If we only have two range officers on site, then only four of those positions can be used."
Located in the sub-basement of Hart House, many people are unaware of the range's existence. In 2002, $20,000 was spent upgrading security and surveillance systems at the club.
The range had been closed for one year, prior to the upgrading, due to concerns about accountability. The existing club executive and range officials were replaced, and revisions were made to procedures manuals.
While the club could continue to exist if it found another firing range, the likelihood of that happening would be slim, explained Luk.
"It's access to the facilities," said Luk. "This is a central location."
Nonetheless, Steiner argued that many athletes, like rowers, have to leave the campus to practice their sport.
"They can still have their club and advocate for guns," said Steiner. "But if they want to fire a gun, they will have to do it elsewhere."
Meanwhile two of the gun club members have recently brought home medals from the Pan-Am Games, and will be heading for the Olympics.
"We congratulate them on that," said Steiner.