Premium rural shooting club of Clube de Tiro Vale das Pedras in a natural area in Ota (Lisbon Region), permanent partner of FITASC.

International Sports Status and Calendar

The Vale das Pedras Shooting Club holds an exceptional status in the international sports arena, confirmed by the accreditation of the International Federation of Hunting Sporting Shotgun Shooting (FITASC). Its infrastructure is scaled to host the most prestigious and largest-scale competitions, requiring compliance with rigorous international standards for organization and safety.

Competitions Held at the Stand:

  • European Championships: The club successfully hosted the European Championship of FITASC Sporting in 2012, which proves its ability to meet the high technical and organizational requirements for infrastructure, field dimensions, and logistics for serving international delegations.

  • Beretta World Cup Final: The complex was chosen to host the Beretta World Cup Final in the Sporting discipline, scheduled for July 2026. This decision demonstrates the club's long-term strategic importance for the international sports calendar and its continuous investment in modernization.

  • Portuguese Grand Prix: The regular holding of stages of the FITASC Sporting Grand Prix (notably in 2011 and 2012) provides athletes with a stable opportunity to accumulate points in the ranking.

  • National Tournaments: The club is a fundamental stage for Portuguese internal competitions in all represented disciplines, including Olympic Trench, Universal Trench, Compak Sporting, and Helice Field.

Introduction to the Vale das Pedras Shooting Club

The Vale das Pedras Shooting Club is a reference shooting complex in Portugal, founded on May 6, 1996, by the initiative of brothers Luís and João Archer, hunting and shooting enthusiasts. The complex is located in a picturesque natural area in Ota, just 40 km northeast of Lisbon, providing convenient logistics for international guests while maintaining a rural leisure atmosphere and ideal conditions for concentration. Over more than two decades, the club has expanded significantly and today features 12 specialized shooting fields, covering both Olympic and hunting disciplines. Thanks to this infrastructure, Vale das Pedras is a permanent host of international events, including the 2026 World Cup Final, underscoring its status as one of the leading sports shooting centers in Europe.

Geographical Location and Unique Concept

What this place is, where it is located, who it is suitable for

The Vale das Pedras Shooting Club is located in the rural area of Ota, in the municipality of Alenquer, in Portugal's Central Region. This area traditionally belongs to the Tagus River region, known for its agricultural traditions, particularly viticulture. The club offers an ideal combination of strategic accessibility and natural isolation. The distance to Lisbon is about 40 km, making it easily accessible for international guests arriving via LIS Airport. The journey via the A1 and A10 highways takes approximately 45 minutes.5

The complex is intended for various customer segments:

  1. Professional Shooters: Athletes competing in FITASC and ISSF disciplines, who require training on fields that meet worldwide standards.

  2. Hunters: Those seeking the most realistic clay shooting practice possible, mimicking hunting flight in natural conditions.

  3. Corporate Clients: Companies organizing team buildings and high-level events, thanks to the comprehensive social infrastructure.

  4. Family Leisure: Due to the presence of a restaurant and leisure areas, the club is suitable for families with amateur shooters or sports enthusiasts.

The main competitive advantage (USP) of Vale das Pedras is its unique natural field for Hunting Sporting (Hunting Courses / FITASC Sporting). The club is set in a mountainous area in the middle of a dense pine forest. Unlike flat and standardized Trap fields, the terrain here is used to create extremely complex and unpredictable target trajectories. The forest massif provides natural obstacles, sharp variations in lighting, and high-altitude points for target launches, making training as close as possible to real hunting conditions. This natural integration is invaluable for elite shooter preparation.

Stand Infrastructure and Specialization

The club is a large-scale shooting complex with 12 specialized shooting fields. This number of fields allows for the simultaneous holding of large-scale international competitions, as well as maintaining high capacity for individual training.

Fields/Disciplines (Quantity):

The 12 club fields allow practice of the full spectrum of classic and hunting disciplines:

  • Olympic and Trench (Trap) Disciplines:

    • Olympic Trench (ISSF Trench): Fields equipped according to ISSF international standards.

    • Universal Trench (Universal Trench): Fields adapted to FITASC/UT rules, allowing greater variability in flights.

    • Trap: Additional trench fields.

  • Hunting Disciplines (FITASC Sporting):

    • Compak Sporting: Specialized fields for shooting from 5 positions, with targets simulating hunting in a restricted area.

    • Hunting Courses (Sporting / FITASC Sporting): Fields arranged in the pine forest, utilizing natural terrain.

  • Specialized Disciplines:

    • Helice Field (Helices ZZ): Field for shooting at rotating plastic targets, simulating pigeon flight.

    • Archery: Area for archery, expanding precision sports options.

    • Paintball: Area for active leisure and team building.

Equipment/Automation:

To ensure the high standards of international competitions (especially in Olympic Trench and FITASC Sporting), the club uses high-performance industrial automatic launch machines. Although specific brands (e.g., Promatic, Laporte) are not mentioned in open sources, the need to host European Championships requires the presence of:

  • Reliable launch machines with high capacity.

  • Remote control systems that allow the operator to quickly change the target launch sequence.

  • Complex target counting and scoring systems (similar to Claymate), ensuring tournament transparency.

Infrastructure (Social and Services):

The social infrastructure of Vale das Pedras is designed to support extended stays and complete leisure:

  • Club House and Dining: A fully functional restaurant and bar 1 serving shooters and guests, especially during major events.

  • Specialized Shop: A hunting goods store (hunting goods shop) 4 providing shooters with necessary equipment, accessories, and ammunition.

  • Leisure Areas: A large green area available for walks and relaxation, as well as a playground (playground).

  • Parking: Presence of adequate parking infrastructure, essential for accommodating a large number of cars and sports team transport.

Additional:

The complex's capacity to host international Sporting competitions implies the presence of advanced infrastructure elements. This includes elevated platforms that are mobile or fixed in the Sporting fields, allowing the creation of target trajectories at complex and varied angles, simulating diverse hunting.

Terrain, Target Flight Complexity, and Climate

The key factor determining the sporting value of Vale das Pedras is its natural environment. The club is located in a mountainous area integrated into a dense pine forest, 40 km from Lisbon.

Stand Terrain and Target Flight Complexity:

  • Landscape: The natural and uneven terrain of the pine forest forms the basis for the FITASC Sporting discipline. It allows tournament organizers to reproduce unique and complex target flight scenarios, requiring adaptability and a high level of instant decision-making from the athlete.

  • Complexity: The terrain creates dynamic conditions for shooting:

    • Camouflage and Light: The forest area creates intense play of shadows and light that visually camouflages the clays against the tree background, making their identification and distance assessment difficult.

    • High Launch: The use of natural hill elevations allows launching targets at a significant upward or downward angle, simulating extremely fast, high, or sharply falling objects. Such trajectories are impossible to create on standard flat fields. This ensures maximum training realism for hunters and increases technical demands for professional athletes.

Climate:

The Alenquer region, where Ota is located, is characterized by a mild Mediterranean climate with notable Atlantic influence.

  • Conditions: Summers are hot but moderated by sea breezes. Winters are mild, with a minimum number of unsuitable days for shooting (snow, severe frosts).

  • Impact on Shooting: Portugal's stable and mild climate minimizes interruptions in the calendar due to extreme weather conditions. This is a significant advantage for international teams seeking ideal training camp conditions during the off-season.

Training and Instruction

Vale das Pedras maintains an active training program that meets the needs of both beginners and elite athletes.

Formats:

Training is organized according to the individual needs of shooters:

  • Individual Lessons (Shooting Lessons): Personalized coaching, focused on in-depth analysis and correction of technique specific to each discipline.

  • Group Training: Organization of sessions for teams, clubs, or beginner groups, often used for corporate events or shooting schools.

Levels:

  • Beginners: Training starts with the fundamentals of safe weapon handling, basic postures, aiming, and practice shooting on the simplest lines (e.g., Trap or Compak Sporting). The club offers instructor services, confirmed by the dedicated contact email for lessons (geral@jpinstructor.com).6

  • Athletes (Professional Level): Programs for preparation for international competitions, including work on complex Sporting fields, simulation of tournament conditions, and tactical preparation.

Coach/Owner Titles/Records:

The club was founded by brothers Luís and João Archer, passionate about hunting and shooting. João Archer, as the club owner (Shooting Club Owner), maintains high organizational standards, which has allowed the club to gain and retain FITASC's trust. His personal involvement, including providing a personal mobile contact, is an indirect but strong indicator of a commitment to the highest quality of service and deep experience in managing an international-level sports complex.

Events and Competitions

Thanks to its large-scale infrastructure, Vale das Pedras maintains a dense and diverse calendar.

Regularity/Scale:

The club regularly holds national ranking tournaments and international events. The club's capacity to host European Championships (2012) and the upcoming World Cup Final (2026) attests to its high organizational capacity. This implies established protocols for:

  • Accommodating a large number of shooters and spectators.

  • Resolving issues related to the import and temporary storage of firearms for participants from non-EU countries.

  • Collaboration with the Portuguese Hunting Shotgun Shooting Federation (FPTAC).

Options (Corporate Events, Team Building, Banquet):

The complete infrastructure (restaurant, bar, Club House, paintball and Archery areas 1) allows for a wide range of non-sporting events:

  • Corporate Events and Team Building: Combination of shooting instruction with other activities (e.g., paintball), promoting team cohesion.

  • Banquet Services: The restaurant and Club House provide ideal conditions for gala dinners, award ceremonies, or private celebrations.

Target User Segments

The Vale das Pedras Shooting Club meets the needs of several main groups:

  1. Professional Athletes and Olympic Hopes: The club is an ideal training base due to the presence of Olympic Trench and Universal Trench fields, as well as experience in holding competitions under FITASC auspices.

  2. International Teams: The convenient logistics (40 km from Lisbon) and mild climate make it attractive for winter and off-season training camps.

  3. Elite Hunters: The unique pine forest terrain provides unparalleled Hunting Courses practice, as close as possible to real hunting conditions.

  4. Families and Beginners: The availability of training programs, instructor services, and leisure areas (playground, green zones) allows the club to function as a comprehensive family leisure complex.

Competitive Advantages

The Vale das Pedras Club positions itself in the market through a combination of infrastructure, location, and status:

  • International Event Caliber: The confirmed status as host of a European Championship and the World Cup Final (2026) gives the complex the highest level of trust in the sports community.

  • Exceptional Sports Capacity: A total of 12 fields ensures high capacity and disciplinary flexibility, allowing simultaneous training of different groups.

  • Unique Forest Terrain (FITASC): Integrating the shooting field into a pine forest provides incomparable complexity in target flights, crucial for preparation for international Sporting competitions.

  • Logistical Attractiveness: The convenient location just 40 km from Lisbon's international airport ensures easy and quick access for participants from around the world.

  • Service Comprehensiveness: The presence of a full set of social infrastructure (restaurant, bar, shop) makes stays comfortable and self-sufficient.

  • Organizational Experience: Experience in working with international federations (FITASC) and the local federation (FPTAC) ensures high standards of safety and event execution.

Services and Prices

Although the exact prices of the Vale das Pedras Shooting Club's services are not publicly presented, based on its sports profile and infrastructure, the main essential offerings for shooters can be identified:

  • Target (Clay): Payment for shooting clays, usually in packages (e.g., 25 targets).

  • Weapon Rental: Provision of sporting shotguns for use on the shooting field, especially for beginners or foreign guests.

  • Instructor/Coach: Services of certified instructors (Shooting Lessons), including individual and group formats.6

  • Ammunition: Sale of high-quality shooting ammunition through the hunting goods store.

  • Membership: Various club membership formats, offering benefits and discounts for regular visitors.

  • Event Organization: Full planning and execution services for private or corporate tournaments.

Logistics and Accommodation: Alenquer Region

Description of the area or region where the stand is located

The Vale das Pedras Shooting Club is located in Ota, part of the Alenquer municipality. This area is characterized by the transition from Lisbon's urban agglomeration to Portugal's inland agricultural lands. The Alenquer region, part of the historic Estremadura province, is known for its vineyards and high-quality wine production (Lisboa Regional Wine). Thanks to the gentle hills and pine forests, the area provides excellent air quality and a sense of isolation, crucial for complete sports rest. This tranquil landscape ideally contrasts with the high level of sports activity at the stand.

Nearest Hotels

For accommodating international delegations and guests, the club collaborates with establishments located in easily accessible transport proximity, confirming the developed logistics for hosting major competitions 1:

HOTEL LEZÍRIA PARQUE - Large hotel complex - ~20 min by car
QUINTA DO COVANCO - Rural Tourism - ~10 min by car
Dolce by Wyndham CampoReal Lisboa - Hotel-resort - Average distance (high comfort)
Casa do Alfaro / Quinta do Porto Nogueira - Private residences / Agrotourism - Near Ota, Alenquer

Contact Information

Address and Hours

City: Ota, Alenquer
Address: Vale das Pedras 160, Portugal

Operating Hours:

Tue–Sun - 09:00-19:00
Mon - Closed

To plan training and visits to the shooting field, it is recommended to contact the administration in advance, as operations generally require schedule coordination due to the dense competition calendar.

Contacts: