It was very busy at the club yesterday with 35 members present, as well as 11 visitors, shooting a total of 99 cards.  Thanks to all our helpers for ensuring the afternoon and evening sessions ran smoothly.

The top five D Graders this week were Anna 97.2, William Chen 93.1, Amy Nathanson 92.2,  Qiyun Goh 92.1, and Rhys Mountain 91.1.  It was great to see all 10 C Grade members shooting yesterday – top shots were Erin Little 99.7, Oscar Robinson 98.5, Amalamo Simi 96.4, Inge Little 96.2 and Iain Mackay 96.2.  In B Grade Callum Osborne continued his excellent shooting from last week, this week scoring 99.6; Mark Riley and Craig Fair were next best with 97.3 and 97.1 respectively.  Evan Little achieved the top score in the higher grades of 99.6 followed by Dianne Grain on 98.5.  And in the 20-shot competition Pratik Tailor’s 199.14 was highest.

Our C Grade team were successful in a very close competition against Wellington Central in Round 5 of the interclub competition, with only a point between the two teams.  Anna top-scored for Brooklyn with 96.4.  Unfortunately our open team suffered a very rare loss in this round, finishing three points behind Wellington Central who also gained bonus points for a 200.  Pratik Tailor scored best for Brooklyn with 199.14.  With one round to go, Brooklyn leads the C Grade competition with 12 points to Wellington Central’s 5 points.  Melrose lead the B Grade competition with 15 points, ahead of Wellington Central and Brooklyn on 10 points, South Wellington 5 points, and Aotea 0 points.  The Open Grade competition looks like it’s going to be a close call with Wellington Central having finished with 17 points, Brooklyn have 12 points and Melrose 0 points – the final match is between Brooklyn and Melrose on Wednesday 16 August.

Round 4 closed champs results are now available.  Meredith Ackrill remains in 2^nd place in Master Grade.  Evan Little’s 100.6 increases his lead over Dianne Grain in A Grade, and moves him into 1^st place overall.  Callum Osborne’s score of 100.6 (new PB) bumps him up three places in B Grade to sit two points ahead, while Craig Fair drops to 3^rd place.  Erin Little and Oscar Robinson continue to battle it out in C Grade (currently 1^st and 2^nd respectively).  Anna returns to the top of D Grade, and Qiyun Goh moves up to 3^rd place.  Erin Little, Callum Osborne and Oscar Robinson are well ahead in the junior section, and in the women’s competition Meredith Ackrill has closed the gap to be only a point behind Erin Little.  The deadline for Round 5 targets is Sunday 13 August.

The interassociation women’s match was shot on Wednesday night.  While the team score was lower than in previous years, Meredith Ackrill was top shot with 197.11 followed by Dianne Grain a point behind.  Full results will be available in September.

The National Indoor Champs are being held on Sunday 6 August.  These champs are shot at a number of venues throughout New Zealand, with scores emailed to the organisers.  Wellington Association are one of the hosts for the champs, and will run the event from 1pm until 4.30pm, with doors opening at approximately 12.30pm.  This year will see the introduction of medals in addition to the usual excellent prize money.

The club is on cleaning duties in August, which will be undertaken at 5.45pm on Sunday 20 August.

Upcoming events:

·      Tuesday 1 August, 8pm, 2x10, Interassociation Junior match.  Team: Summer O’Dwyer, Erin Little, Oscar Robinson.  Emergency: Matthew Canlas.  On call: Georgia Karantze, Jack MacCormick.

·      Saturday 5 August, 2pm, 2x10, Triangular B Grade, Junior and Women’s matches, against Hutt Valley and Wairarapa.  Teams TBC.

·      Sunday 6 August, 1pm, National Indoor Champs.

·      Sunday 6 August, Round 3 Triple S deadline.

·      Monday 7 August, 8pm, 1x10 and 1x20, Titipounamu A Grade match.  Team TBC.

·      Thursday 10 August, 7.30pm, NDC semi-finals.  Team TBC.

·      Saturday 12 August, Horowhenua Open Champs, Poroutawhao Range, Levin.

·      Sunday 13 August, 2pm, Round 1 intercollegiate match, Keene Range, Petone.  Team TBC.

Congratulations to Callum Osborne on scoring a new PB this week of 100.4 – his first ever 100, well done!  And fantastic to have Summer O’Dwyer back on form with her first 100 of the season (100.7).  Evan Little also scored a 100.

It’s great to see the continual climb in scores as the season progresses.  The top six D Graders this week were Anna 96.4, Qiyun Goh 96.3, Matthew Canlas 95.6, Jack MacCormick 93.0, Connor Smith 92.3 and Casey Israelson 92.0.  In C Grade the competition was very close – top shot was Erin Little with 96.5, followed an inner behind by Hamish Guthrey and Inge Little; Greg Mason and Luisa Kristen also shot well with 95.2 and 94.4 respectively.  Callum Osborne’s 100.4 was best in B Grade, ahead of Craig Fair with a 97.3.  And in the top grades Summer O’Dwyer’s 100.7 was highest, followed by Evan Little’s 100.5 and Dianne Grain’s 99.5.  Only inners separated the top three in the 20-shot competition this week with Meredith Ackrill and Evan Little both scoring 196.11 while David Grain scored 196.7.

Wellington had a very good win against Marlborough in the final of the round robin part of the NDC competition on Thursday night, with wins in each of the three sections.  Pratik Tailor was top shot with 299.20; Evan Little was only a point behind on 298.14.  Oscar Robinson’s 193.10 was best in the junior section.  All three gained mentions in the national summary report.  The 13 points gained from the win move Wellington to 2^nd position in the table, behind Eastern Force.  In what looks like a very close contest, Wellington will face Southland in the semis on 10 August.

A number of club members travelled to Palmerston North on Saturday for the Manawatu Open Champs.  While none gained a top three placing, Evan Little recorded a great score of 297.13.

Nominations are sought for the following upcoming August representative matches (by emailing Neil Kinsey):

• Tuesday 1 August, 8pm, Interassociation Juniors, 2x10.
• Saturday 5 August, 2pm, Triangular B Grade between Hutt Valley, Wairarapa and Wellington, 2x10.
• Saturday 5 August, 2pm, Triangular Women’s match, 2x10.
• Saturday 5 August, 2pm, Triangular Junior match, 2x10.
• Monday 7 August, 8pm, Titipounamu match for A Grade and below, 1x10, 1x20.
• Thursday 10 August, 7.30pm, Round 5 NDC.  Involves shooters from all grades, 1x10 and 1x20 (open and composite sections) or 2x10 (junior section).
• Tuesday 22 August, 8pm, Teams of Five for B Grade and below, 2x20.
• Saturday 26 August, 2pm at Keene Range Petone, Triangular Open match, 1x10, 1x20.

The National Indoor Champs are being held on Sunday 6 August.  These champs are shot at a number of venues throughout New Zealand, with scores emailed to the organisers.  Wellington Association are one of the hosts for the champs, and will run the event from 1pm until 4.30pm, with doors opening at approximately 12.30pm.  This year will see the introduction of medals in addition to the usual excellent prize money.

Upcoming events:

• July, TSNZ Challenge for secondary schools.  Wellington College #1: Oscar Robinson, Wiko du Toit, Amalamo Simi.  Wellington College #2: Casey Israelson, Matthew Canlas, Jack MacCormick.  Marsden #1: Georgia Karantze, Luisa Kristen, Qiyun Goh.  Marsden #2: Leilani Fam, Amy Nathanson, Georgia Beatson.
• Wednesday 26 July, Interassociation Women’s match, 8.15pm, 1x20.  Team: Meredith Ackrill, Dianne Grain.  Emergency: Erin Little.
• Sunday 30 July, Round 5 interclub, C Grade and Open Grade.
• Tuesday 1 August, 8pm, 2x10, Interassociation Junior match.  Team TBC.
• Saturday 5 August, 2pm, 2x10, Triangular B Grade, Junior and Women’s matches, against Hutt Valley and Wairarapa.  Teams TBC.
• Sunday 6 August, 1pm, National Indoor Champs.
• Sunday 6 August, Round 3 Triple S deadline.

Sunday became Funday at the club yesterday with two chokky fish competitions: pairs best shot award went to Oscar Robinson and Aiden d’Souza, two inners ahead of Anna and Will Palmer; and a 90-second shoot which most managed to finish, and many scored very well.  Thanks for all the great ideas for more fun shoots in our gap weeks.

Ethan Haigh and Will Palmer both recorded new PBs this week (93.1 and 92.3 respectively).

Many took the opportunity in the gap week to set up new equipment or to tweak current settings.  Thanks to our senior members for their help with this.  The top five in D Grade this week were Anna 97.2, Matthew Canlas 93.2, Amy Nathanson 93.1, Will Palmer 92.3, and Richard Palmer 90.0.  Oscar Robinson headed up C Grade with 98.5 followed by Inge Little using her new rifle with 95.4, and Iain Mackay on 95.2.  The best score in B Grade was shot by Mark Riley 96.3 ahead of Craig Fair with 95.4.  And Meredith Ackrill shot best in the higher grades with 98.2.  The 20-shot competition was very tight with only a point separating the top three (Dianne Grain  196.8, Meredith Ackrill and Mark Riley both with 195.8).

Congratulations to Meredith Ackrill on being selected for both the North Island Open team and the North Island Women’s team to compete against the South Island in mid-August.

Results from Round 2 of the Triple S competition for secondary school students are now available.  Oscar Robinson has a one-point lead overall and in C Grade with 197.10, Georgia Karantze is in 3^rd position in B Grade with 190.5, and Matthew Canlas moves up to 5^th position in D Grade with 186.5.  In the teams competition Wellington College are in 4^th place while Samuel Marsden have slipped a few places to 7^th.  The deadline for Round 3 targets is Sunday 6 August.

A huge thank you to the 23 members who assisted with running the Wellington Open Champs on Saturday.  Being involved definitely helps get to know fellow members better and creates a great sense of camaraderie, something our club prides itself on.  It was also fantastic to see our club members being presented with a number of prizes and trophies, as follows:

• Ethan Haigh – 1^st Tyro Grade 179.1
• Amy Nathanson – 2^nd Tyro Grade 173.2
• Anna – 3^rd in D Grade 283.6 and won Simon Grant Memorial Trophy for Top Wellington D Grade shooter
• Erin Little – 3^rd in C Grade 289.11 and won Simon Grant Memorial Trophy for Top Wellington C Grade shooter
• Oscar Robinson – 4^th in C Grade 288.9
• Evan Little – 4^th in A Grade 295.16 and won Simon Grant Memorial Trophy for Top Wellington A Grade shooter
• Pratik Tailor – 1^st in Master Grade 300.23, won Simon Grant Memorial Trophy for Top Wellington Master Grade shooter, and awarded WSRA pocket for a 300 shot at Wellington Open Champs.

We are hosting Round 5 of the interclub competition on Sunday 30 July, which involves C Grade and Open Grade, both against Wellington Central (all B Grade teams have a bye in this round).  Teams will be named next Monday.

Upcoming events:

• July, TSNZ Challenge for secondary schools.  Wellington College #1: Oscar Robinson, Wiko du Toit, Amalamo Simi.  Wellington College #2: Casey Israelson, Matthew Canlas, Jack MacCormick.  Marsden #1: Georgia Karantze, Luisa Kristen, Qiyun Goh.  Marsden #2: Leilani Fam, Amy Nathanson, Georgia Beatson.
• Thursday 20 July, 7.30pm, Round 5 NDC.  Open team: David Grain, Dianne Grain, Evan Little, Mark Riley.  Composite team: Pratik Tailor.  Junior team: Erin Little, Summer O’Dwyer, Oscar Robinson.  Emergency: Craig Fair.
• Saturday 22 July, Manawatu Open Champs.
• Sunday 23 July, Round 4 closed champs deadline.
• Wednesday 26 July, Interassociation Women’s match, 8.15pm, 1x20.  Team: Meredith Ackrill, Dianne Grain.  Emergency: Erin Little.
• Sunday 30 July, Round 5 interclub, C Grade and Open Grade.

Anna has done it again – another new PB, an incredible 99.6.  It’s hard to believe Anna started shooting only three months ago with scores like that.  Well done, Anna, and great coaching Mark Riley!  Congratulations also to Amy Nathanson for her new PB of 93.1.

New shooter, Damian Zelas shot exceptionally well off the rest, scoring 89.0 and 91.2.  Our top five D Graders this week were Anna 99.6, Casey Israelson 95.3, Qiyun Goh 94.3, Matthew Canlas 94.2 and Amy Nathanson 93.1.  Oscar Robinson had the best C Grade score of 99.5, followed by Amalamo Simi with 93.1.  In B Grade Callum Osborne shot highest with 97.3 ahead of Mark Riley on 95.1.  And in the higher grades Pratik Tailor continued his excellent shooting with not one but two 100.8s, and a 20-shot score of 200.16!!! ahead of David Grain’s 197.7.  Of note here is that Pratik set a new club record back in 2011 of 300.23 using the old-form targets, then equalled that in 2012 on the new-form targets that we currently use today, so his score last night of 100.8 and 200.16 has beaten the previous club record by an inner – well done!

Congratulations to our B Grade interclub team on their 12-point win against South Wellington on Thursday.  All B Grade teams have a bye in Round 5.  Brooklyn will face Wellington Central in the final round on 16 August, with both teams currently 2^nd on the table with 10 points (behind Melrose with 15 points).  Top Brooklyn shooter in Round 4 was Erin Little with 97.2.

Results from Round 3 of the Wellington Closed Champs competition are now available.  At the halfway stage, C Grader Erin Little holds onto her overall lead with 296.13 – keep up the fantastic shooting, Erin!  In Master Grade Meredith Ackrill scored well with 99.6 to close the gap slightly, while Evan Little’s 99.5 increased his lead in A Grade to four points ahead of Dianne Grain.  Craig Fair holds onto 2^nd position in B Grade, and Callum Osborne scored well in Round 3 with 98.5 to move up five places to 3^rd position.  Erin Little and Oscar Robinson both scored 97s to considerably increase their lead in C Grade.  The D Grade competition remains very tight with only one point separating the top four which includes Anna, Melchior Meares and Qiyun Goh.  Erin Little, Oscar Robinson and Callum Osborne have a good lead in the junior competition, and the top three in the women’s competition are currently Erin Little, Meredith Ackrill and Dianne Grain.  The deadline for Round 4 targets is 23 July.

Thanks to the large number of club members offering assistance for the Wellington Open Champs on Saturday.  A roster of tasks will be emailed in the next day or two.  Inge Little has kindly offered to run the kitchen during the event, with assistance from rostered clubs.  We are still seeking home baking – please advise Inge urgently if you are able to supply a batch of scones, date loaf, or muffins, etc.  And please remember to let me know if you intend shooting and are using club equipment.  Coaching will be available for all club members from 11am onwards.  This is a really good opportunity to have a go at an open champs, while at the same time supporting our own association.

It was great to see the social side of shooting in full force yesterday with lots of laughter, banter and generally getting to know each other better.  At the committee meeting last week it was decided to have a fun event in the gap weeks between series.  Next week’s afternoon session will see shooters paired up evenly from the ranking list.  Their first cards of the day will be marked, then the paired teams will together work out their joint score from the best shot of each pair of diagrams.  Chocolate fish prizes so come along and join in the fun – all club members welcome.  And if you’ve got an idea for a fun event, let us know.

Upcoming events:

·       July, TSNZ Challenge for secondary schools.  Wellington College #1: Oscar Robinson, Wiko du Toit, Amalamo Simi.  Wellington College #2: Casey Israelson, Matthew Canlas, Jack MacCormick.  Marsden #1: Georgia Karantze, Luisa Kristen, Qiyun Goh.  Marsden #2: Leilani Fam, Amy Nathanson, Georgia Beatson.

·       Tuesday 11 July, 8.15pm, 1x20, Interassociation B Grade.  Team #2: Craig Fair, Mark Riley.  Emergency: Erin Little.

·       Friday 14 / Saturday 15 July, Wellington Open Champs.

·       Thursday 20 July, 7.30pm, Round 5 NDC.  Team TBC.

·       Saturday 22 July, Manawatu Open Champs.

·       Sunday 23 July, Round 4 closed champs deadline.

Pratik Tailor had a great night, scoring 497.36 out of a possible 500.50.  His 20-shot score of 199.14 was best in the club, followed by Meredith Ackrill with 197.10.  Pratik also had the best Master Grade score of 100.8, while Evan Little was three inners lower, recording the best A Grade score of 100.5.  In B Grade, Callum Osborne shot best with 97.5 ahead of Craig Fair on 96.5.  Only inners separated the top two in C Grade (Oscar Robinson 97.5 and Erin Little 97.3).  And the best four in D Grade this week all recorded new PBs: Anna 98.7, Melchior Meares 97.3, Richard Palmer 96.4, and Amy Nathanson 93.0, followed by Will Palmer on 92.0 – only an inner below his PB.  Very impressive shooting!

Wellington were successful against Wanganui in Round 4 of the NDC competition on Thursday, winning both the composite and junior sections.  Top shot overall was Pratik Tailor with a phenomenal 299.25 and Erin Little was 2^nd highest junior with 194.13.  Mark Riley also had a great night, finishing 2^nd highest in the open section with 290.9.  The final round, before semi-finals, is on Thursday 20 July.

Meredith Ackrill again shot well, recording a 297.14 at the Wanganui Open Champs on Saturday.  This event completed the qualifying matches for North and South Island teams which should be selected within the next two weeks.

Nominations are sought for the following upcoming July representative matches:

• Tuesday 11 July, 8.15pm, Interassociation B Grade, 1x20 shot, 2x5 person teams.  Deadline for nominations: Tuesday 4 July.
• Thursday 20 July, 7.30pm, Round 5 NDC.  Involves shooters from all grades, 1x10 and 1x20 (open and composite sections) or 2x10 (junior section).
• Wednesday 26 July, 8.15pm, Interassociation Women, 1x20 shot, 1x5 person team.

The Wellington Open Champs are being held on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 July. This is highly recommended for all members to participate in, both to gain competition experience and to support our own association.

Our club is rostered to run the champs between 11am and 2pm.  Thanks to those who have indicated their preferences for assisting.  Each club is also asked to provide home baking suitable for sale.

Upcoming events:

• July, TSNZ Challenge for secondary schools.  Wellington College #1: Oscar Robinson, Wiko du Toit, Amalamo Simi.  Wellington College #2: Casey Israelson, Matthew Canlas, Jack MacCormick.  Marsden #1: Georgia Karantze, Luisa Kristen, Qiyun Goh.  Marsden #2: Leilani Fam, Amy Nathanson, Georgia Beatson.
• Tuesday 4 July, 7.30pm, BSRC committee meeting.
• Thursday 6 July, Round 4 interclub.  C Grade: have a bye.  B Grade, 8.15pm, 1x10.  Open Grade: have a bye.
• Sunday 9 July, deadline for Round 2 Triple S champs.
• Tuesday 11 July, 8.15pm, 1x20, Interassociation B Grade.  Teams TBC.
• Friday 14 / Saturday 15 July, Wellington Open Champs.

Congratulations to Chris Lockery, Emily Lockery and Anna on their new PBs of 94.5, 88.1 and 97.2 respectively.

The top six D Graders this week were Anna 97.2, Qiyun Goh 95.4, Chris Lockery 94.5, Matthew Canlas 94.2, Yiannis Fam 93.2 and Casey Israelson 93.0. Erin Little top-scored in C Grade with 95.5, followed by Iain Mackay with 94.3.  Only inners separated the two best scores in B Grade – Craig Fair 96.5 and Mark Riley 96.2.  And in the higher grades Meredith Ackrill was top shot with 99.4.  Meredith also had the best 20-shot score of 197.13, five inners ahead of David Grain with 197.8.

The C Grade interassociation team scored well on Monday, achieving their best score for a number of years.  Top shot was Erin Little with 194.8.  Brooklyn was well represented in the D Grade interassociation match held last night, with six of the seven team members being selected from our club.  For most team members this was their first representative match which can be quite daunting.  Therefore it was really pleasing to see the team scores climb in the second round, an increase of 9 points over the first round.  Top shot was Anna with a very impressive 191.3.  Associations have until the end of August to shoot this match – full results will be available in September.

Two members travelled to Martinborough for the Wairarapa Champs on Saturday.  While neither were placegetters, Meredith Ackrill scored well with 297.17.

Two teams of three shooters from both Marsden and Wellington College have been entered in the TSNZ Challenge, a secondary schools competition.  Teams will be named later this week, and targets need to be shot in July on club days.

Round 4 of the interclub competition is being held on Thursday 6 July.

Upcoming events:

·         Thursday 29 June, 7.30pm, Round 4 NDC.  Open section: Craig Fair, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Evan Little, Mark Riley.  Composite section: Pratik Tailor.  Junior section: Oscar Robinson, Erin Little, Summer O’Dwyer.

·         Saturday 1 July, Wanganui Open Champs, Wanganui.

·         July, TSNZ Challenge for secondary schools.

·         Sunday 2 July, deadline for Round 3 closed champs.

·         Tuesday 4 July, 7.30pm, BSRC committee meeting.

·         Thursday 6 July, Round 4 interclub.  Teams to be named Saturday 1 July.

·         Sunday 9 July, deadline for Round 2 Triple S champs.