Dave Baskin

Dave Baskin teaching

2007

Dave Baskin was one of the original trailblazers and innovators of shooting sports for the disabled. He coached the U.S. Wheelchair Shooting Team for thirteen years, leading them to an outstanding record of 253 medals, seven world and sixteen Pan-American records in international competition. This record established him as the most successful coach of disabled marksmen in U.S. shooting sports history. Dave then left USA Shooting to head the National Rifle Association’s Disabled Shooting Services from 1994 to 2007.

During that time, Dave created the Beeman Grand Cup series. The series of 10-meter air gun competitions were comprised of 133 events in 27 different cities, located in 16 states and two Canadian provinces. The Grand Prix was developed “to display and reward the achievements of disabled marksmen,” according to Dave.

During his stint at the NRA, Dave developed the Rehabilitative Shooting Program, which applied a precision air rifle as a tool for physical therapists to utilize in the rehabilitation of their post-injury in-patients. The unit provided healthcare professionals with a unique method of improving their patients’ refined motor control skills, trunk balance, concentration proficiency, breath control, and self-esteem. The first unit was installed in September 1994 at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama. International recognition for the groundbreaking unit came in September 2000, when one was placed in service at the National Rehabilitation Hospital of Ireland in Dublin.

Dave was the first American elected to serve as Chairman of Shooting Sports for the International Paralympic Committee (1996–2000), which is the world governing body of sport for the disabled. As both Chairman and Chief Technical Delegate, he presided over some of the largest disabled marksmanship events ever conducted, including the 1998 World Championships in Santander, Spain, and the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

No individual did more to promote the shooting sports for the disabled than Dave Baskin.