Welcome to Ferghus Meighan who joined the club this week.  Ferghus moved to sling and jacket yesterday with very pleasing results.

Thanks to everyone who helped out yesterday with running the club while we hosted Round 3 of the interclub competition.  Having the workload shared between so many people is fantastic, enabling senior shooters to prepare for their own competition and allowing newer shooters to get more involved in the operation of the club.  Your assistance is much appreciated.

Ryan Day recorded a new PB yesterday of 93.1 – well done, while quite a number of other shooters equalled their PB.

Top shots in D Grade were Stephen Thessman 96.4, Cassie Truscott 95.4, Mike Williams 93.3, Ryan Day 93.1, and Ethan Haigh 92.2, and another four D Graders also recorded scores in the 90s.  Casey Israelson’s 96.3 was best in C Grade followed by Inge Little with 95.3.  In B Grade Craig Fair scored highest with 98.4 ahead of Erin Little on 97.3.  Only two inners separated our A Graders – Evan Little 99.4 and David Grain 99.2.  In the 20-shot competition Evan Little scored highest with 198.12 followed by Meredith Ackrill 197.11 and Erin Little 196.09.  Great shooting!

Congratulations to Stephen Thessman on winning D Grade at the Wairarapa Open Champs on Saturday with an impressive 291.9, three points ahead of the next highest shooter.  Bex Gibbs also shot extremely well, scoring 298.17 to be 5^th in Master Grade, and Evan Little’s 293.14 placed him 4^th in A Grade.  It was really good to see so many Brooklyn shooters travel over the hill to compete in these champs.

An excellent result for Brooklyn in Round 3 of the interclub competition, winning both the C Grade and Open Grade matches.  Top shots in each were Inge Little 95.3 and Evan Little 198.12.  At the halfway point, Brooklyn are currently leading C Grade, and are in 2^nd place in Open Grade.  The B Grade competition is more difficult to determine as some clubs have had more matches than others at this stage.  Round 4 is on Tuesday 9 July, where both C Grade and B Grade face Wellington Central, and our Open Grade team have a bye.

A reminder that Round 3 targets for the closed champs competition need to be shot by next Sunday: David Grain, Dianne Grain, Lauchie Grahame, Hamish Guthrey, Ethan Haigh, Daniel Johnson, Maia Lapointe, Seth Smith, Cassie Truscott, Josh Whitehead.

The Wellington Open Champs are being held on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 July.  Brooklyn are rostered to run the champs from 10am until 1pm on Saturday 13 July.  An assistance form is on the front desk – please ensure you fill in your availability (or not) and preferences for tasks and time.  Also please consider competing in the champs to support our association and also to gain some really good competition experience.  Coaching will be available on the Saturday.

Upcoming events:

• Tuesday 25 June, 7.30pm, BSRC Committee meeting.
• Thursday 27 June, 7.30pm, NDC Round 4.
• Saturday 29 June, Wanganui Open Champs.
• Sunday 30 June, deadline for Round 3 closed champs targets.
• Monday 1 July, 8.00pm + 8.40pm, 2x10, Interassociation C Grade.  Team: Hamish Guthrey, Casey Israelson, Stephen Thessman.
• Monday 1 July, 8.15pm, 1x20, Interassociation A Grade.  Team: David Grain.  On call: Dianne Grain.
• Sunday 7 July, deadline for Round 2 Triple S (secondary schools) targets.
• Sunday 7 July, 8.15pm, Interassociation Women.  Team to be named Monday 1 July.
• Tuesday 9 July, Round 4 interclub.  Teams to be named Monday 1 July.
• Friday 12 / Saturday 13, Wellington Open Champs.

New PBs were recorded this week by Finn Ashby, Jack Day and Megan Brodie – well done!

The top five D Graders were Stephen Thessman 98.5, Cassie Truscott 94.3, Finn Ashby 92.3, Josh Whitehead 91.3 and Jack Day 91.3 with another two also recording scores in the low 90s.  Inge Little took the honours in C Grade with 95.2 followed by Chris Lockery on 94.4.  The top score in B Grade was shot by Erin Little 99.5 ahead of Dianne Grain 98.5.  And Evan Little completed the family trifecta by shooting best in A Grade with 98.6 followed by David Grain with 97.3.  Meredith Ackrill’s 100.8 in Master Grade was the top score shot at the club yesterday.  The 20-shot competition was very close this week with Erin Little scoring highest with 196.9 followed by Dianne Grain 195.8 and Craig Fair 195.6.

Closed champs results for Round 2 have been distributed.  Stephen Thessman’s 98.4 moves him into 1^st place in D Grade, followed by Cassie Truscott.  Casey Israelson leads C Grade; Erin Little and Evan Little are in 3^rd position in B Grade and A Grade respectively, while Meredith Ackrill is 2^nd in Master Grade, followed by Bex Gibbs in 3^rd place.  In the junior competition, Casey Israelson is 2^nd, only two inners behind the leader.  Meredith Ackrill holds top spot in the women’s match, and David Grain moves up to 2^nd place in the veterans competition.  The deadline for Round 3 targets is Sunday 30 June.

Three members travelled to Dannevirke to compete in the Southern Hawkes Bay Open Champs on Saturday.  While none received a top three placing, Bex Gibbs scored well with 295.18.

The Interassociation D Grade and B Grade representative matches were shot at the club yesterday.  Thanks to Finn Ashby for stepping into the emergency position, and for shooting so well, scoring second highest in the team.  Top shots in each team were Stephen Thessman 193.6 and Erin Little 196.9.  Full results from all associations will be available in September.  Many thanks to all club members for ensuring the evening ran smoothly – it’s great to see everyone stepping in to organise targets, to mark, and to help out with coaching both on-range and off-range.

A reminder that if you are using a club rifle you need to wipe it with an oily cloth before leaving each evening.  If your rifle is in use by another shooter, please wipe down one of the unused A, B or C rifles instead.

Upcoming events:

• Tuesday 18 June, 7.45pm, Wellington v Christchurch juniors.  Team: Cassie Truscott. On call: Emily Lockery, Josh Whitehead.
• Tuesday 18 June, 8.15pm, Wellington v Christchurch women.  Team: Meredith Ackrill, Bex Gibbs, Erin Little. On call: Dianne Grain.
• Saturday 22 June, Wairarapa Open Champs, Martinborough.
• Sunday 23 June, Interclub Round 3.  7.45pm C Grade v Melrose.  8.45pm Open Grade v Melrose.
• Tuesday 25 June, 7.30pm, BSRC Committee meeting.
• Thursday 27 June, 7.30pm, NDC Round 4. Teams named Monday 24 June.
• Saturday 29 June, Wanganui Open Champs.
• Sunday 30 June, deadline for Round 3 closed champs targets.

A busy night at the club this week with more than 60 cards being completed.  Congratulations to Maia Lapointe, Jaz Hamilton and Daniel Johnson on recording new PBs.

Both Meredith Ackrill and Evan Little recorded the best 20-shot score this week (197.10) followed by Mark Baines with 196.10.  In Master Grade Bex Gibbs shot best with 99.7 and Evan Little’s 99.5 was highest in A Grade ahead of Ross Little with 98.5.  The scores in B Grade were extremely close – however Erin Little shot best with 98.3 followed by Dianne Grain with 97.3.  Casey Israelson led C Grade with 98.4 this week, and the top five D Graders were Stephen Thessman 97.4, Cassie Truscott 94.2, Maia Lapointe 92.4, Josh Whitehead 92.1, and Finn Ashby 91.1 with another three also recording scores in the low 90s.

Eastern Force were too strong on the night in Round 3 of the NDC competition, comprehensively winning each section and gaining the full 13 points for the match.  Congratulations to Evan (x2) and Meredith on their 100s.  Rounds 4 and 5 should be a little more at our level.  We face Taranaki in Round 4 on 27 June, and Canterbury in the final round.

Seven Brooklyn members competed at the Hutt Valley Open Champs over the weekend.  Congratulations to Bex Gibbs on winning the ladies trophy as well as taking 2^nd place in Master Grade with a phenomenal score of 299.22, and shooting in the open final.  Also congratulations to Evan Little on his 3^rd place in A Grade (295.11), and to Dianne Grain on gaining a place in the BCD final.  David Grain recorded his 1^st 100 of the season in this match.

As part of our programme to prepare newer shooters for competitions (and to align with TSNZ rules), coaches will coach from behind the mound rather than next to the shooter from Squad 3 onwards each week.  It is hoped the shooter will take on board what the coaches are saying in Squads 1 and 2, ask questions off-range between squads, then put this into effect on their second card.  Coaches will be able to offer advice after a cluster of shots have been fired rather than for each shot.  Shooters will also start moving to using scopes in the coming weeks for confirmation of shot position.  Understanding likely causes for shot placement should lead to improved results, more self-sufficiency, and a better awareness of the process to produce a good shot.  Off-range coaching will continue as usual.

Upcoming events:

• Friday 14 June, 7.00pm, Club Instructor’s course.
• Saturday 15 June, Southern Hawkes Bay Open Champs, Dannevirke.
• Sunday 16 June, 8.00pm + 8.45pm, Interassociation D Grade.  Team: Stephen Thessman, Cassie Truscott, Josh Whitehead. Emergency: Seth Smith.  On call: Ethan Haigh.
• Sunday 16 June, 8.15pm, Interassociation B Grade.  Team: Erin Little, Dianne Grain. Emergency: Mark Riley. On call: Craig Fair.
• Tuesday 18 June, 7.45pm, Wellington v Christchurch juniors.  Team: Cassie Truscott. On call: Emily Lockery, Josh Whitehead.
• Tuesday 18 June, 8.15pm, Wellington v Christchurch women.  Team: Meredith Ackrill, Bex Gibbs, Erin Little. On call: Dianne Grain.
• Saturday 22 June, Wairarapa Open Champs, Martinborough.
• Sunday 23 June, Interclub Round 3.  7.45pm C Grade v Melrose.  8.45pm Open Grade v Melrose.  Teams to be named 17 June.

Welcome to our newest club member, Jaz Hamilton.  Jaz has been shooting off the rest for a number of weeks and moved into sling and jacket yesterday.  Thanks to the team who helped our newer club members with the transition – many very good results were achieved.

Congratulations to Seth Smith and Ryan Day who recorded new PBs yesterday (96.3 and 91.2 respectively).

The top five in D Grade this week were Seth Smith 96.3, Josh Whitehead 93.2, Maia Lapointe 93.2, Ryan Day 91.2, and Finn Ashby 91.1.  It’s great to see so many D Graders now recording scores in the 90s (C Grade level) with three others scoring in the high 80s.  Inge Little was on fine form in C Grade with 97.7 ahead of Casey Israelson with 96.4.  Mark Riley also had a great night, scoring 99.3 to lead B Grade (and be top shot at the club overall), followed by Dianne Grain with 97.6.  David Grain recorded the best score in A Grade (96.3), and only three inners separated our Master Grade shooters this week – Meredith Ackrill scoring highest with 97.6.  In the 20-shot competition Bex Gibbs’ 198.10 was the top score, ahead of a flurry of 194s recorded by Mark Baines, Erin Little and Mark Riley.

Brooklyn gained 5 points for a win in the C Grade interclub competition on Monday against Wellington Central who were unfortunate to not be able to field a full team but gained 2 bonus points for a 98.  Top shot for Brooklyn was Hamish Guthrey with 94.3.  In the open interclub match, Brooklyn lost by five points to Wellington Central.  Evan Little scored highest with 197.10.  Brooklyn host Round 3 of the interclub competition on Sunday 23 June to be contested between Brooklyn and Melrose in both the Open Grade and C Grade (while all B Grade teams have a bye).

A reminder that the deadline for both Round 2 of the closed champs competition and Round 1 of the Triple S (secondary schools shooting) competition is next Sunday.  It was great to have everyone meet the Round 1 closed champs deadlines – let’s aim for the same for Round 2 as well.

Next Friday is the deadline to book a place on the club instructor’s course being held at the Royal Tiger range on Friday 14 June at 7pm (poster attached).  Please email TSNZ and include your name, phone number, club and choice of location (Wellington).

The club calendar provides a quick reference point for future events – please keep this handy.

Upcoming events:

• Thursday 6 June, 7.30pm, Round 3 NDC.  Open: Meredith Ackrill, Bex Gibbs, Dianne Grain, Mark Riley.  Composite: Erin Little, Evan Little.  Junior: Casey Israelson, Emily Lockery.  Emergencies: David Grain, Mark Baines, Craig Fair.  On call: Stephen Thessman.
• Friday 7 / Saturday 8 June, Hutt Valley Open Champs, Keene Range, Petone.
• Sunday 9 June, Round 1 Triple S Champs (secondary school students) deadline.
• Sunday 9 June, Round 2 Closed Champs deadline.
• Friday 14 June, 7.00pm, Club Instructor’s course.
• Saturday 15 June, Southern Hawkes Bay Open Champs, Dannevirke.
• Sunday 16 June, 8.00pm + 8.45pm, Interassociation D Grade.  Team to be named 10 June.
• Sunday 16 June, 8.15pm, Interassociation B Grade.  Team to be named 10 June.
• Tuesday 18 June, 7.45pm Wellington v Christchurch juniors.  Team to be named 10 June.
• Tuesday 18 June, 8.15pm, Wellington v Christchurch women.  Team to be named 10 June.