It was great to see so many of our members shooting above their averages this week, with some phenomenal scores recorded.  New PBs were shot by Erin Little 99.7, Casey Israelson 96.4, Anna 96.3, Yiannis Fam 96.3 and Ethan Haigh 86.1.

The best 20-shot score was shot by Evan Little 198.9, followed by David Grain 197.9 and Craig Fair 196.12.  Pratik Tailor scored highest in Master Grade with 100.6.  The competition was very tight in A Grade, with only three points separating all scores – Evan Little scored best with 99.6.  Craig Fair’s 99.5 was an inner ahead of Wiko du Toit’s 99.4 in B Grade.  In C Grade Erin Little led with an extremely impressive 99.7, while Amalamo Simi 97.5 and Iain Mackay 97.2 also shot incredibly well.  And the top five in D Grade this week were Casey Israelson 96.4, Anna 96.3, Yiannis Fam 96.3, Melchior Meares 95.3 and Qiyun Goh 93.5.  Great shooting!

Wellington squeezed in a win against Nelson in Round 2 of the NDC held on Thursday, with five‑point wins in both the composite and junior sections to give the team 7 points against Nelson’s 6 points.  Oscar Robinson again shot extremely well, scoring 196.8, and Mark Riley should be very happy with his 290.10.  Wellington have dropped to 2^nd place in the table, behind Eastern Force who we face in Round 3 on Thursday 8 June.

Three club members travelled to the Poroutawhao range in Levin on Saturday.  Meredith Ackrill recorded an excellent 296.17, and Craig Fair a very respectable 287.12.

Results from Round 1 of the closed champs will be available later this week.  The deadline for the next round is Sunday 11 June.

Triple S targets are now available at the club for all secondary school students.  This competition is very similar to the Wellington closed champs competition, and comprises four rounds, two in each of Terms 2 and 3, with the last round being a 20-shot target.  The deadline for Round 1 is Sunday 11 June.

Good luck to our interclub team members in their matches tomorrow night.

Upcoming events:

·         Tuesday 23 May, Round 2 interclub. C Grade, 7.45pm, 1x10. B Grade, 8.15pm, 1x10. Open Grade, 8.45pm, 1x20.

·         Saturday 27 May, Taranaki Open Champs, Eltham.

·         Sunday 28 May, Hawera Open Champs, Hawera.

·         Tuesday 30 May, 7.30pm, BSRC committee meeting.

·         Wednesday 31 May, Interassociation Open Grade, 8.15pm, 1x20.  Team TBC.

·         Saturday 3 June, Awahuri Club Open Champs, Feilding.

The highlight of the week has to be the Teams of Ten match held in Napier over the weekend.  The hosts, Hawkes Bay, constructed a temporary range for this match in a wool storage facility, resulting in very different and challenging shooting conditions from a standard range.  Scores were considerably lower than in previous years’ matches.  Waikato were the best team on the day, ahead of Manawatu (who have won the event for the past five years), while Wellington came 3^rd out of the 15 teams competing.  Meredith Ackrill shot best for Brooklyn (and 2^nd highest for Wellington) with 392.23.  Congratulations to Craig Fair who won the “top dog” award for the Wellington #2 team, scoring 386.13.  Next year’s match will be hosted by Waikato, possibly in Tauranga in another temporary range.

The Wellington #1 team shot very well in the Interassociation A Grade match on Tuesday.  David Grain was top shot, shooting an extremely good 198.12.  Full results will be available at the end of the season.

Congratulations to William Chen and Aiden D’Souza on new PBs shot at the club yesterday of 90.1 and 85.3 respectively.  A number of shooters scored within an inner of their PB.

The top four D Graders in club shooting this week were Anna 94.3, Qiyun Goh 93.1, Chris Lockery 92.2, and Casey Israelson 92.0.  Oscar Robinson had the best C Grade score of 99.5 followed by Erin Little on 96.4.  In B Grade, Callum Osborne shot best with 99.2 while Mark Riley scored 98.4.  Evan Little recorded the highest score of 99.5 in the top grades, and Dianne Grain’s 199.10 was the best 20-shot score.

It was good to see so many people getting their Round 1 closed champs targets shot this week.  The deadline is next Sunday for those who haven’t yet shot their card.

Congratulations to those who have been selected for our interclub teams to shoot on Tuesday.  Please be at the range at least 20 minutes before your shooting time.

Upcoming events:

·         Thursday 18 May, 7.30pm, NDC Round 2. Open section: David Grain, Dianne Grain.  Composite section: Craig Fair.  Junior section: Wiko du Toit, Summer O’Dwyer.  Emergencies: Oscar Robinson, Mark Riley.

·         Saturday 20 May, Poroutawhao Club Open Champs, Levin.

·         Sunday 21 May, Round 1 closed champs deadline.

·         Tuesday 23 May, Round 2 interclub.  C Grade, 7.45pm, 1x10.  B Grade, 8.15pm, 1x10. Open Grade, 8.45pm, 1x20.

·         Saturday 27 May, Taranaki Open Champs, Eltham.

·         Sunday 28 May, Hawera Open Champs, Hawera.

The club was really buzzing yesterday with 40 members present, most shooting two cards but some managing to squeeze in four.

Shooting only her 8^th card using sling and jacket, Anna recorded a new PB of 94.4.  William Chen’s score of 87.1 was also a new PB for him.  Well done to both of you!

Evan Little’s 199.12 was the highest 20-shot score this week.  In the graded 10-shot competition, Pratik Tailor top-scored in Master Grade with 100.8.  Dianne Grain’s 98.6 was highest in A Grade, while Evan Little was a mere inner behind on 98.5.  Only an inner separated the top two in B Grade as well – Georgia Karantze led with 96.3 followed by Mark Riley on 96.2.  The best three in C Grade were Erin Little 98.5, Oscar Robinson 97.6 and Leilani Fam 95.3.  And the top seven D Graders were Anna 94.4, Matthew Canlas 93.3, Qiyun Goh 92.1, Chris Lockery 91.2, Yiannis Fam 91.1, Connor Smith 91.1 and Rhys Mountain 91.0.

Twelve Brooklyn members entered the Wellington Central Open Champs on Friday and Saturday.  Congratulations to Evan Little on winning A Grade with an extremely good score of 298.11.  Also to other placegetters Erin Little, 3^rd in C Grade 287.13 and Dianne Grain, 4^th in A Grade 295.12.  Mark Riley just missed the prizes, finishing in 5^th place in B Grade with a very commendable 290.12.  Full results are available at: http://www.sporty.co.nz/asset/downloadasset?id=a42b8466-50a3-452a-8246-3483b10004ed

Brooklyn had a bye in all grades in the first round of the interclub competition held last Monday.  B Grade looks to be a very close contest with only three points separating the four teams: winners in Round 1 were Melrose and Wellington Central, each by two points against South Wellington and Aotea.  Wellington Central had a good 19-point win against Melrose in the Open Grade match.  Round 2 is being held on Tuesday 23 May.  Teams will be selected next Monday.

Good luck to everyone travelling to Napier next weekend for the Teams of Ten match.  This is definitely one of the best matches on the shooting calendar, involving 16 teams of 11 shooters from around the North Island.  With everyone shooting 2x20 shot cards, one team member per squad, 22 squads, the match takes over nine hours with the tension building as new scores are added to team totals after each squad.  The event finishes with a prizegiving dinner.  All teams compete for the Rees Scroll, while the six lowest ranked teams from last year’s match also compete for the Jim Hart Trophy.  An event well worth competing in.

Upcoming events:

·      Tuesday 9 May, 8.15pm, Interassociation A Grade, 1x20.  Team #1: David Grain, Dianne Grain, Evan Little.  Emergency: Craig Fair.  On call (but invited to shoot): Mark Riley, Erin Little, Wiko du Toit.

·      Saturday 13 May, 8.00am, Napier, Teams of Ten match, 2x20.  Wellington #1: Pratik Tailor, Evan Little, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Meredith Ackrill, Ross Little.  Wellington #2: Craig Fair, Mark Riley, Erin Little, Wiko du Toit.  Emergency: Amalamo Simi.

·      Thursday 18 May, 7.30pm, NDC Round 2.  Teams TBC.

·      Saturday 20 May, Poroutawho Club Open Champs, Levin.

·      Sunday 21 May, Round 1 closed champs deadline.

·      Tuesday 23 May, Round 2 interclub.  Teams TBC.

It’s great to see the continued improvement from our newer shooters.  PBs recorded this week were as follows: Oscar Robinson 100.4, Casey Israelson 92.1, Gareth Poulter 90.3, Anna 90.2, Tim Harris 89.0, Amy Nathanson 88.3, and Ethan Haigh 86.0.

The top four D Graders this week were Rhys Mountain 93.2, Casey Israelson 92.1, Connor Smith 92.1, and Melchior Meares 91.1, and a further four members recorded a 90 (Gareth Poulter, Anna, Shambhavi Choudhury, and Chris Lockery).  Erin Little was top C Grade shooter with 97.4 followed by Amalamo Simi with 96.6.  The fierce competition in B Grade is showing no signs of diminishing – Wiko du Toit led with 97.5, while Craig Fair and Mark Riley both shot 97.4.  David Grain scored 100.7 to be top shot in the higher grades, followed by Dianne Grain with 98.6.  The best 20-shot scores this week were recorded by Pratik Tailor 198.12 and Meredith Ackrill 197.14.

Wellington were successful in Round 1 of the NDC competition against Southland, scoring wins in both the open and composite sections.  Pratik Tailor shot a phenomenal 300.19 (top shot of all 234 shooters taking part in this competition) giving Wellington a bonus point to take our first round points to 11, top of the Division 2 table.  Congratulations to Oscar Robinson who, in his first NDC competition, scored his first ever 100 – great shooting, Pratik and Oscar!  The next match is against Nelson, another evenly matched team, on 18 May.

Wellington were also successful in their match against Horowhenua on Sunday.  Teams have now been selected for the Teams of Ten match being held in Napier on 13 May.  Congratulations to Pratik Tailor, Evan Little, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Meredith Ackrill and Ross Little on making the #1 team, to Craig Fair, Mark Riley, Erin Little and Wiko du Toit on their selection to the #2 team, and to Amalamo Simi on gaining a spot in the emergencies.  The #1 team will be contesting the Rees Scroll match, while the #2 team will contest both the Rees Scroll match and the Jim Hart trophy match.

Closed champs targets are now available.  Most members will be involved in this competition, held in six rounds, with a deadline every three weeks.  The targets will be on the table near the kitchen – please check you have your own target (names on the back) before it is shot.  The deadline for Round 1 is Sunday 21 May.

If you are keen to shoot in the Wellington Central Open Champs this weekend and are using club equipment, please ensure you contact Dianne with your preferred shooting time so that your equipment is available for you to use.

Upcoming events:

·     Monday 1 May, Round 1 interclub.  Brooklyn have a bye in all grades.

·     Friday 5/Saturday 6 May, Wellington Central Open Champs, Newtown.

·     Tuesday 9 May, 8.15pm, Interassociation A Grade, 1x20.  Teams TBC.

·     Saturday 13 May, 8.00am, Napier, Teams of Ten match, 2x20.  Wellington #1: Pratik Tailor, Evan Little, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Meredith Ackrill, Ross Little.  Wellington #2: Craig Fair, Mark Riley, Erin Little, Wiko du Toit. Emergency: Amalamo Simi.

·     Thursday 18 May, 7.30pm, NDC Round 2.  Teams TBC.

·     Saturday 20 May, Poroutawhao Club Open Champs, Levin.

Firstly many thanks to everyone (I think there were 25 of us!!) who helped with cleaning the range and social area yesterday.  Many hands certainly gets the task done quickly.  We are rostered again for cleaning duties in August.

Welcome to our newest member, Anna.  Anna shot for two weeks on the rest, achieving very high results, and has moved to sling and jacket this week, improving on each card shot.  All our new members have now made the transition to sling and jacket.  There will still be a few tweaks made to equipment over the coming weeks but it’s really pleasing to see how so many are settling into sling and jacket well.

Congratulations to everyone who scored a new PB (personal best) yesterday: Amalamo Simi 193.7, Chris Lockery 94.3, Connor Smith 92.3, Will Palmer 92.1 (first card using the sling!), Casey Israelson 88.1, Anna 88.1 (first day using the sling), Gareth Poulter 84.1, Aiden d’Souza 76.1, and Tim Harris 71.0.  Attempting to improve on your own best score is what we all strive to do each week, so to have nine succeed in one week is great.

The top four D Graders this week were Chris Lockery 94.3, Connor Smith 92.3, Will Palmer 92.1, and Georgia Beatson 90.2, while another five shooters scored 87 or higher.  Amalamo Simi led C Grade with 97.2 followed by Oscar Robinson on 95.4.  The close competition continues in B Grade with Wiko du Toit scoring 96.5, followed by Stephen Thessman and Mark Riley both with 95.4, and Georgia Karantze on 95.1.

The final round of trials for the Teams of Ten match was held on Sunday morning.  There were an incredibly high number of exceptionally good scores shot, of note Brooklyn Club members: Pratik Tailor 199.14 and 199.10, Evan Little 199.12, Dianne Grain 199.9, David Grain 199.7 and Ross Little 197.15 (with a 100.8 on one card), and Amalamo Simi who scored his new PB of 193.07.  Teams will be selected following next Sunday’s match against Horowhenua.

On Thursday the first round of the National District Championship is being held.  Wellington are competing against Southland which should be a fairly even match.

Wellington are hosting a match against Horowhenua on Sunday from 1pm until approximately 4.30pm.  We will attempt to set up our club equipment on the far side of the room as space permits during the afternoon so that our training session can get underway as close to 4.30pm as possible.  Please organise your equipment quietly as it is likely that the representative match has not quite finished.  If you can’t find something, keep looking or ask someone from our club not involved with the representative match to assist you.

Upcoming events:

·     Thursday 27 April, 7.30pm, Round 1 NDC competition.  Open: Evan Little, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Craig Fair, Erin Little.  Composite: Pratik Tailor.  Junior: Summer O'Dwyer, Wiko du Toit.  Emergencies: Oscar Robinson, Georgia Karantze.

·     Saturday 29 April, Masterton Open Champs, Masterton.

·     Sunday 30 April, 1.00pm, Wellington v Horowhenua.  #1 team: Pratik Tailor, Evan Little, David Grain, Dianne Grain, Meredith Ackrill.  #2 team: Summer O'Dwyer, Mark Riley, Erin Little.  Emergencies: Craig Fair, Wiko du Toit, Amalamo Simi.

·     Monday 1 April, Round 1 interclub.  Brooklyn have a bye in all grades.

·     Friday 5/Saturday 6 May, Wellington Central Open Champs, Newtown.

Anna, shooting off the rest, scored a phenomenal 90.1 and 92.3 in her second week of shooting.  The top five D Graders this week were Matthew Canlas 93.3, followed by Amy Nathanson 88.1 and Casey Israelson 87.0 (both first day in sling and jacket!!), William Chen 86.1 and Shambhavi Choudhury 85.0.  Oscar Robinson led C Grade with 97.6, while Erin Little was a mere three inners behind on 97.3.  The close competition continues in B Grade – Callum Osborne top-scored with 96.4, Craig Fair shot 95.4 and Wiko du Toit was an inner lower on 95.3.  Scores were extremely close in the top grades as well with only a point separating the highest three (Dianne Grain 99.5, Meredith Ackrill 99.3 and David Grain 98.5).  David Grain recorded the best 20-shot score of 197.11.

Congratulations to Evan Little on his 4th place in A Grade (292.12) at the Bulls Open Champs held at Palmerston North on Saturday.

It is great to see our new members getting involved with target changing and learning to mark.

The interclub draw is nearing finalisation.  Brooklyn have a bye across all grades in Round 1 on Monday 1 May, so our first match will take place in Round 2 on Tuesday 28 May.  Teams will be selected approximately 10 days prior to a match.  If you do not wish to be considered for selection for interclub matches, please let me know.

Next week we will be undertaking our cleaning duties at 5.45pm.  Please bring buckets and cleaning cloths, mops and vacuum cleaners.  The more people able to help with this task, the quicker it will be completed.

Wellington are hosting a match against Horowhenua on Sunday 30 April from 1pm until approximately 4.30pm.  We will attempt to set up our club equipment on the far side of the room as space permits during the afternoon so that our training session can get underway as close to 4.30pm as possible.

Upcoming events:

·         Saturday 22 April, Rangitikei Open Champs, Marton.

·         Sunday 23 April, 9.30am, Teams of Ten trials, 2x20.

·         Sunday 23 April, 5.45pm, range cleaning.  All members to help.  Bring vacuum cleaners, buckets, mops, cleaning cloths.

·         Thursday 27 April, 7.30pm, Round 1 NDC competition.  Teams TBC.

·         Saturday 29 April, Masterton Open Champs, Masterton.

·         Sunday 30 April, 1.00pm, Wellington v Horowhenua.  Teams TBC.