A quieter day at the club yesterday which provided a good opportunity to get in some extra practice and fill in gaps on the scoreboard. “Best on the rest” this week was Tom Davies with 82.2. Scores were extremely close in D Grade with Ethan Haigh on 91.2 finishing an inner ahead of Seth Smith (first time in sling) with 91.1. Inge Little scored well in C Grade with 97.4, and the B Grade battle continued with Erin Little taking top honours with 99.2 ahead of Dianne Grain with 98.6. The higher grades saw another close contest with Evan Little scoring best with 96.4, an inner ahead of Ross Little on 96.3. Top shot in the 20-shot competition was Evan Little with 198.14 followed by Dianne Grain with 196.07.
Some of our club members travelled to Marton for the Rangitikei Champs on Friday and Saturday. These champs use electronic targets rather than paper targets, quite likely the way of the future for our sport, so well worth making the journey and giving it a go. Full results are not available as yet, but congratulations to Evan Little on scoring a 100.9 on his first card.
Thanks to everyone for prompt payment of membership fees. The forms and fees will be forwarded to TSNZ and WSRA today. The club comprises 32 members this year with a good spread across the grades, ages and genders.
As part of our continual improvement regarding safety practices and processes, range officers will check all safety flags are inserted into rifle breaches before the red light is turned on at the end of a squad. This will delay changing targets by a few minutes but prevents access to the range before a rifle is deemed safe. The committee welcomes any other suggestions members may have.
The club has a Feinwerkbau rifle available for rent to any member holding, or on the pathway to obtaining, a firearms licence. The rental agreement runs until 31 March 2020 with rights of renewal after this time. A proportion of the rental fee shall be used as a contribution towards purchasing the rifle if the member wishes to buy it at a later stage. The benefits to the renter are numerous, to name a few:
· the rifle is the preferred make and model used by many up and coming shooters
· it has many parts that can be adjusted to get a better fit between rifle and shooter
· exclusive use of the rifle during the year.
On the first day of each month, the WSRA selector will email to all members a list of upcoming representative matches for that month. It is up to each member to notify the WSRA selector of any matches they are not available for prior to the “opt-out deadline”. Teams will then be selected the following day from all remaining members. A shooter who does not wish to be involved in any matches throughout the season can simply notify the selector at any point that they wish to opt out of all matches.
Alan Gibbs from Nelson has kindly offered to provide funding for five years to assist shooters who may otherwise not be able to compete in indoor events. There is a maximum of $1000 available every year for five years. Applications close on 6 May and need to be accompanied by a letter of support from the club. If you are interested in applying, please advise the committee by 30 April that you wish to apply and give a reason(s) as to why you believe the club should support your application.
Upcoming events:
- Saturday 27 April, Masterton Open Champs.
- Sunday 28 April, 2pm, Wellington v Horowhenua, 2x20. Team: Meredith Ackrill, Evan Little. Emergencies: Mark Riley, Stephen Thessman.
- Sunday 28 April, 6.30pm, club competition.
- Tuesday 30 April, deadline for advising committee if you are interested in making an application to The Gibbs Fund.
- Thursday 2 May, 7.30pm, Round 1 NDC competition. Team to be named Monday 29 April.
- Wednesday 8 May, Round 1 interclub, B Grade vs Melrose (C Grade and Open Grade have byes). Team to be named Monday 29 April.
- Saturday 11 May, 8.30am, Team of Ten, Masterton. Team to be named Monday 29 April.