The Asian Games filming location enforces a dress code for photographers and TV cameramen

At the shooting range of the Asian Games, it is not only the athletes who have to observe the rules. Photographers and TV cameramen covering the competition also have a prescribed dress code – and at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, there’s little chance of anyone missing that message.

The dress code has long been part of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) rules, but it is not something that is usually explained so starkly at international competitions or plastered on soft boards around the venue.

However, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) has ensured that there will be no confusion for those accredited photographers and television cameramen who have access to the grounds. The message is simple: they work in the public eye and are expected to maintain a decent professional standard of appearance.

At the picturesque shooting range in the hills, about 70-75 km from central Nagoya, the instruction signs are hard to miss.

“All media covering filming events must adhere to dress code,” reads one poster.

However, there is a slight case of over-enthusiasm in the wording. This rule is primarily aimed at photographers and television cameramen working on the field, but the designation broadly refers to “all media”.

This difference became apparent when a video journalist was recently asked to change from blue jeans to black jeans, which are considered more formal according to the dress code.

There was just one problem: the filming location is deep in the hills, and getting back to Nagoya, transfer and return would mean a journey of around four hours – effectively ending the journalist’s work day before the competition.

The matter subsequently became clear: the restriction on blue jeans applies to photographers and TV cameramen, not journalists.

The poster itself leaves little room for interpretation. It lists prohibited clothing as “Blue jeans (black jeans are allowed), camouflage clothing, very short shorts (shorts must be of appropriate length)”, followed by the warning: “Please adhere to the ISSF dress code at all times.”

The ISSF code is more detailed. For photographers, it limits sleeveless shirts or tank tops, necklines, ragged clothing, pants with patches or holes, gym or jogging shorts, and open-toed shoes such as sandals and flip-flops. Shoes must be completely closed for safety reasons.

There is also a sporting logic behind some of the restrictions.

One sportsman explained that camouflage clothing can create the impression that shooting is associated with hunting, rather than being presented as a sport in its own right. The blue jeans restriction, meanwhile, is less about a sporty aesthetic and more about maintaining a professional look for photographers and TV crews who work prominently in front of viewers and TV cameras.

It may seem like a small detail in the larger machinery of the Asian Games, but the dress code is also a reflection of the Japanese approach to organizing major events: spell everything out, put up signs and leave as little interpretation as possible.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

23 Sep 2026 18:53 IST