URSTBf

What URSTBf does

URSTBf (Union Royale des Sociétés de Tir de Belgique - Aile francophone) is a Belgian ASBL (non-profit association) founded on 1978-03-12 that operates as the sole ADEPS- and Communauté Française-recognized shooting sports federation for French-speaking Belgium. It serves over 20,000 individual members and over 100 affiliated clubs spread across the provinces of Brabant Wallon, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg, Namur, and the Brussels-Capital Region, providing structured governance for Olympic, sporting, and recreational shooting disciplines across four weapon categories (handguns, rifled shoulder weapons, smoothbore shoulder weapons, and historical black powder weapons).

The federation's core offerings consist of the Licence de Tir Sportive (LTS) provisional and definitive shooting licenses, the Ecole de Tir Sportif pour Jeunes (ETSJ) youth shooting school program (admitting children from age 8), theoretical and practical shooting examinations, a Handisport program run with the Ligue Handisport Francophone, and an annual competition portfolio including the Belgian Open Air championship. Supporting products include the quarterly TiRS magazine, a club directory and finder, and representation of members at national and international federations (ISSF, MLAIC, ESC), notably through a Brisbane 2032 elite talent development project. The technology footprint is a standard WordPress website (urstbf.org) using Zendesk for CRM, WooCommerce for online shop functionality, Google reCAPTCHA for form security, and Jetpack; there is no proprietary technology stack or mobile application.

Revenue is generated primarily through annual affiliation fees (€35/year, including the membership card, RC insurance, and TiRS magazine subscription) and shooting license fees (€15/year), supplemented by competition fees, magazine advertising, training/examination fees, and partnership contributions from ADEPS and related sports organizations. As a non-profit, the federation is not equity-funded, has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed financial statements; pricing is publicly listed on the federation website.

Name

URSTBf

Legal name

URSTBF ASBL

Website

https://urstbf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

URSTBf is a Belgian non-profit shooting sports federation recognized by ADEPS, serving over 20,000 members through more than 100 affiliated clubs across Wallonia and Brussels-Capital with licensing, training, competitions, and youth programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Federation Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Amateur Sport Governing Bodies & Federations (National/Regional) (MPAKACAD), Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• Shooting sports federation
• Competitive shooting disciplines
• Firearms licensing services
• Youth shooting training
• Sporting club network

Headquarters

HQ city

Thuin

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

URSTBf is a non-profit French-speaking Belgian shooting sports federation that provides official membership affiliation, shooting licenses (provisional and definitive), youth shooting schools, theoretical and practical examinations, competition organization across Olympic and recreational shooting disciplines, and para-shooting support. It governs a network of more than 100 affiliated clubs and 20,000+ members across Wallonia and Brussels-Capital Region, and is the sole federation recognized by Adeps and the Communauté Française for bullet and clay shooting disciplines.

Product overview

URSTBf (Union Royale des Sociétés de Tir de Belgique - Aile francophone) is a non-profit sports federation for shooting sports in French-speaking Belgium, active since March 12, 1978. The organization offers a unified portfolio of shooting sports services including shooting licenses (Licence de Tir Sportive - LTS) for provisional and definitive status, youth shooting schools (ETSJ) for children from age 8, and competitive shooting disciplines. The federation operates across four recognized weapon categories (handguns, rifled shoulder weapons, smoothbore shoulder weapons, and black powder weapons) through an affiliated club network of over 100 clubs serving more than 20,000 members. Key offerings include training and examination services for licensing, competition organization (Belgian Open Air, championships), and disability shooting support (Handisport). The federation publishes a quarterly magazine (TiRS) and maintains partnerships with ADEPS, Ligue Handisport Francophone, and SportQuantum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Affiliation to URSTBf Annual membership affiliation to the federation priced at 35€ per year, including official membership card, RC (civil liability) insurance coverage, and quarterly TiRS magazine subscription for individual shooters.
• Licence de Tir Sportive (LTS) Official shooting license (provisional or definitive) priced at 15€ per year, including shooting license card and shooting logbook, required for practicing shooting sports across four weapon categories: handguns (AP), rifled shoulder weapons (AECR), smoothbore shoulder weapons (AECL), and black powder weapons (APN).
• Ecole de Tir Sportif pour Jeunes (ETSJ) Youth shooting school program welcoming children from age 8 for air shooting, taught by certified ADEPS instructors, part of the federation's youth talent development pipeline.
• Handisport (Para-Shooting) Program Shooting sports support program for shooters with disabilities, delivered through adapted facilities in collaboration with the Ligue Handisport Francophone, providing accessibility accommodations and classification services.
• Shooting Examinations and Tests (Epreuves de Tir) Theoretical and practical shooting examinations required for obtaining shooting licenses and Model 4 weapon authorizations. The practical exam under Model 4 is free for affiliated members.
• Belgian Open Air (BOA) Championship National shooting sports championship and Belgian Open Air competition organized annually for youth and competitive shooters, including provincial and regional competitions across recognized disciplines.
• Revue TiRS (Quarterly Magazine) Quarterly federation magazine delivered to all affiliated members, containing sports news, competition results, federation announcements, and classified ads.
• Affiliated Club Network Membership Network of over 100 affiliated shooting clubs across Walloon provinces (Brabant Wallon, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg, Namur) and Brussels-Capital Region, serving over 20,000 members with local access to ranges, training, and competitions.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Ligue Handisport Francophone: The French-speaking Belgian federation for disability sports, which is a direct operational partner of URSTBf for para-shooting services. Comparable in governance model but covers a much broader sport portfolio beyond shooting.

Broad incumbents

• British Shooting: The national governing body for target shooting in the UK. Comparable in mandate (Olympic and recreational shooting governance, licensing, training programs) and operates under similar ISSF affiliation structure.
• Deutscher Schützenbund (DSB): The German national shooting federation, one of the largest shooting federations in Europe with ~1.4M members. Comparable organizational structure (NGB for shooting sports, ISSF affiliate, broad discipline portfolio) but operates at much greater scale.

Others

• ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation: The international governing body for Olympic shooting sports. URSTBf is a direct ISSF affiliate and represents its members at international ISSF competitions — making it the relevant apex body for the federation's Olympic discipline activities.
• MLAIC - Muzzle Loaders Associations International Confederation: The international federation for historical/black powder shooting sports. URSTBf's "Tir aux Armes Anciennes" discipline operates under MLAIC governance, making this the relevant governing counterpart for that segment.
• European Shooting Confederation (ESC): The continental confederation for shooting sports in Europe. URSTBf explicitly references ESC in its international representation activities, making this the relevant regional governing counterpart.

Direct peers

• Royal Belgian Shooting Sport Federation (RBSSF): The umbrella national shooting federation of Belgium; URSTBf explicitly references RBSSF calendars and operates as its French-speaking wing, making it the most structurally comparable peer.
• Fédération Française de Tir (FFTir): The national shooting federation of France, recognized by the French Ministry of Sports. Operates an analogous licensing, training, and competition model across Olympic and recreational disciplines — directly comparable in mandate, structure, and member services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urstbf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about URSTBf