Everyone shot shoulder-to-shoulder on Sunday which makes the job of coach and range officer easier, as they scan across all the shooters.  It’s also good practice for interclub and open championship competitions.  

Please remember that the far right-hand mounds (7/8 and 15/16) are reserved for left-handed shooters, so please check with Zahra, Eli, Meredith and Dave before using those mounds.  

This week we took the opportunity for newer shooters to observe Bex getting into position and shooting.  Bex demonstrated checking elbow position and sling tension.  Once in position, Bex hardly moves at all - something we can all aspire to.  While shooting, Bex also demonstrated that she checks her natural point of aim for each shot.

Club shooting:

Congratulations for excellent club night shooting to:

• Kaitlyn and Ryan for shooting PBs, 94.3 and 92.0 respectively
• Alex and Zahra for PBs this year of 97.6 and 95.3 respectively
• David for three 100s, including 199.11 on a 20-shot, top scoring in the 20-shot series for the week
• Mark B for top scoring in the 10-shot series with 100.7

Interclub Round 1:

Well done to everyone who shot in the first round of the interclub competition.  Brooklyn won the Open Grade competition against Wellington Central with a lead of 10 points.  However, Wellington Central put up stiff competition in the other grades, beating our C Grade Team (Eli, Ethan, Leo, Mikey, Marek) by just 3 points, and the B Grade team (Alex, Filly, Finn, Jaz, Eli) by 6 points. 

Closed Champs due Sunday:

Round 1 card of the Closed Champs competition must be completed on Sunday.

Hutt Valley Open Champs 6 June:

The Hutt Valley Central Open Championships is happening on Saturday 6 June, at the Keene Range, Halford Place in Petone.  We don’t have details yet, will circulate as soon as we have them, but expect it to start at 10am and the cost to be about $30.  This is a great opportunity to compete in an open champs competition close to home and I encourage you all to consider participating.  

If you are interested in participating, and you use club gear, please advise me, so we can organise gear and coaching.

Brooklyn on cleaning duty:

Our club is on cleaning duty for the month of June.  We will do a deep clean of the clubrooms and range on Sunday 28 June.  In between, we need to monitor and remove rubbish and top up paper towels, toilet paper and liquid soap.  Please do keep an eye out and replace as needed - senior members can point you to where supplies are kept.

Upcoming events:

• Sunday 31:  Club night
  • 4pm for all students and first year shooters
  • 6pm for senior members and those who cannot make the 4pm session
  • Week 2 of Series 2 of the club competition
• Sunday 31 May: Closed Champs Round 1 due
• Saturday 6 June: Hutt Valley Open,  Petone 

In club chat between squads 2 and 3 we discussed:

• breathing routine: it’s important to maintain normal, even breathing between shots, and only hold for a couple of seconds before taking the shot.  
• squadding: from next week squad sheets will require squadding either all top mounds or all bottom mounds.  Please squad shoulder-to-shoulder (no gap between).  This assists coaches, who are scanning across shooters.  This is the way in which you will be shooting in competitions such as interclub.

Coaching will be from behind the mounds from next week.  Coaches will call your name (loudly) and advise adjustments twice.  Please do tell coach to repeat if you haven’t heard or unsure.

One-on-one coaching is also available if you are having issues - please don’t hesitate to ask Bex, Mark or Craig in the first instance for help.

Club shooting:

Congratulations for excellent club night shooting to:

• Marek for an outstanding 100.3 - a PB for his SSS Champs card!
• Kaitlyn also shot a PB, with an excellent 94.1
• In B Grade, Jaz shot an excellent 98.2
• David top scored for the evening with 100.7, just pipping Mark B who shot 100.6

SSS Champs due Sunday:

Round 1 card for the Secondary School Shooting Champs must be completed by Sunday.

WSRA jackets and sweatshirts:

Wellington Smallbore Rifle Association is arranging soft-shell jackets and crew-neck sweatshirts in black with the WSRA logo for sale at about $80 each (final price dependent on orders).  Please advise Association Secretary Rob Taylor at wsra.exec.sec@gmail.com if you would like to order one.

Stephen has previously explored a club hoodie, also in black with the BSRC logo.  We don’t have current prices, but reach out to Stephen san.thessman@gmail.com if you are interested, so we know whether or not to progress this.

Upcoming events:

• Tuesday 19 May: Interclub Round 1 (be there 30mins before)
  • 7:30pm: Eli, Ethan, Leo, Mikey, Marek (emergency), Kaitlyn (on-call)
  • 8pm: Alex, Filly, Finn, Jaz, Eli (emergency)
  • 8:30pm: Bex, Mark B, Meredith, Ross, Stephen (emergency), Evan L (on-call)
• Sunday 24 May:  Club night - week 1 of series 2 of the club competition
  • 4pm for all students and first year shooters
  • 6pm for senior members and those who cannot make the 4pm session
• Sunday 31 May: Closed Champs Round 1 due
• Saturday 6 June: Hutt Valley Open @ Petone 

In club chat between squads 2 and 3 three we discussed:

• natural point of aim: explained here onWikipedia
• follow through: hold after taking the shot and watch where the rifle settles
• position on the mound

Do check in with the coaches if anything needs explaining, or if you need help.

This Sunday we have a couple of visitors coming to try out shooting, so the squads around 6:30 and 7pm will be a little slower.

Club shooting

Congratulations for excellent club night shooting to:

• Ethan and Thomas for outstanding shooting of 97.2 and 94.0 respectively - well done to both on a new personal best (PB) 
• Trevor, Kaitlyn and Ryan for great shooting of 91.2, 90.2 and 90.1 respectively

Club, SSS and Closed Champ Competitions

This week and next are break weeks in the club competition.  This is a good opportunity to shoot ahead in the club competition if you want to.  

It is also a good opportunity to complete a Secondary Schools Shooting (SSS) competition card (for secondary school students), or Closed Champs card (for those entered).  Find your target (check the name on the back of the target) by Evan’s desk at the front of the club rooms.

Due dates:

• 24 May: SSS Round 1 due
• 4 June: Closed Champ Round 1 due

Teams of Ten Winners

Wellington Association won the Teams of Ten competition!  Congratulations to Bex, Mark B, Meredith, Ross and Stephen, who were in the winning team, beating Horowhenua by 23 points.  David, Evan, Gerry, Inge, Jaz and Rob were in the number two team, competing in the second division of the competition.  Sadly, we were beaten by Wairarapa, with a margin of only four points (of a possible 4000 across the ten team members).

Congratulations also to Bex who was the top shooter of the competition, with an outstanding 400.22.

Upcoming events

• Saturday 16 May: Poroutawhao Open Champs, Levin - see poster circulated last week
• Sunday 17 May:  Club night & Visitor night
  • 4pm for all students and first year shooters
  • 6pm for visitors (two are booked in)
  • 6pm for senior members and those who cannot make the 4pm session
• Tuesday 19 May, 7:30pm: Interclub Competition Round 1, Royal Tiger Range - teams to be selected

It was great to see so many at shooting on Sunday - we had a busy afternoon session.  

When squadding in, please select alternate mounds (the numbered mounds, not the greyed out ones) on the squad sheet, so we have room for coaches alongside.

Please also remember that mounds 7/8 and 15/16 are reserved for left-handed shooters.

Wellington Central Open Competition

Congratulations to Rob for 1st place in C Grade in the Wellington Central Open Competition.  Well done to all those who competed. 

Excellent shooting

Congratulations for excellent club night shooting to:

• Ethan and Trevor for outstanding shooting of 95.4 and 95.0 respectively - well done to both on a new personal best (PB) 
• Meredith on top-scoring for the evening in the ten-shot series, with 100.8
• Evan on top-scoring for the evening in the twenty-shot series, with 197.11

Upcoming events

• Saturday 9 May: Teams of Ten/Rees Scroll (North Island) competition - selected teams including Bex, David, Evan, Gerry, Inge, Jaz, Mark B, Meredith, Rob, Ross and Stephen.
• Sunday 10 May:  Club night: 
  • 4pm for all students and first year shooters
  • 6pm for senior members and those who cannot make the 4pm session
• Thursday 14 May, 7:30pm: National Districts Championship (NDC) Round 2, Royal Tiger Range - teams to be selected
• Saturday 16 May: Poroutawhao Open Champs, Levin
• Sunday 17 May: Club night plus visitor session from 6pm
• Tuesday 19 May, 7:30pm: Interclub Competition Round 1, Royal Tiger Range - teams to be selected