With lower numbers this week due to school holidays, Easter and the first free week on the club scoreboard, coaches were able to give one-on-one instruction to our new shooters, many of whom achieved a new PB. Top shooter in the college training squad was Elena Torres with 87.1 followed by Matthew Canlas on 83.3. Neakiry Kivi continues to show a natural talent for this sport, shooting 94.2 and 94.3 to be top D Grade shooter this week. Jialin Sae-Jiw scored an impressive 97.3 in C Grade, her highest score this season. The B Grade battle continues with all four shooters recording either a 96 or 97, top shot being Mark Riley 97.4 followed by Maor Ben-Shahar 97.3. David Grain scored highest in A Grade with 99.5, while Michael Grain shot well in Master Grade, scoring 99.7 and 100.7. Three 100.8s were shot as part of 20-shot cards this week (Michael Grain 198.13, David Grain 198.12 and Meredith Ackrill 197.10).

Ross Little achieved the highest score (295.15) out of the six Brooklyn shooters who travelled to the Rangitikei Champs in Marton on Saturday. Final results are not yet known but this score had placed Ross 3rd in A Grade with about eight squads to go. Jess Fair also shot well (292.14) which included her first 100 of the season (100.6).

At the final Teams of Ten trials on Sunday morning, four of the top five scores were shot by Brooklyn members (Michael Grain 396.24; David Grain 394.23; Evan Little 392.17; Ross Little 391.19) with the other three Brooklyn shooters present also scoring well to all finish in the top 10 on the day.

This week Wellington representative shooting matches commence with Round 1 of the National District Champs (NDC) match against Nelson on Thursday, and the Wellington v Horowhenua match on Sunday. If you are interested in having a go at representative shooting but have not yet completed a nomination form, please let me know. There is no cost for these matches and it's a great opportunity to get some competition experience as well as earning badges and date bars.

It's really pleasing to see the large number of Brooklyn shooters (26) entering the Wellington closed champs competition this year. Targets should be available in the next week or so. The deadline for the first round is Sunday 25 May, with each subsequent deadline at three-week intervals. Please ensure you meet the deadline to avoid receiving a zero score.

The Wellington Central Club Open Champs is being held at the Royal Tiger Range on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 May. It would be great to see as many Brooklyn shooters as possible compete in this event, and support a fellow Wellington club. If you have nominated for a North Island team on your TSNZ form (which many Brooklyn members have), to be eligible for selection you need to compete in at least four open champs before the end of June.

A reminder that the club will open at 7pm next Sunday due to many members being involved with the Wellington v Horowhenua match in Levin during the afternoon.

Upcoming events:

  • Thursday 24 April, 7.30 pm, Round 1 NDC. Open team: Meredith Ackrill, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Michael Grain, Evan Little, Pratik Tailor. Composite team: Sergey Kladnitski. Junior team: Jess Fair, Ross Little. Emergency: Craig Fair. On call: Callum Osborne.
  • Saturday 26 April, Masterton Open Champs.
  • Sunday 27 April, 1.00 pm, Poroutawhao Range, Levin, Wellington v Horowhenua. #1 team: Michael Grain, Evan Little, Pratik Tailor, Meredith Ackrill, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Ross Little, Jess Fair. #2 team: Craig Fair. On call: Luisa Kristen.
  • Friday 2 May / Saturday 3 May, Wellington Central Open Champs.
  • Tuesday 6 May, Round 1 interclub competition. Teams to be named Monday 28 April. Please advise if you are NOT available.