King's fielded two boys teams and, for the first time in many years, a girls team, at this event.
1st Team: Chester Duffett, Hugo Reeves, Frank Baddeley (Captain), Louis Evans, Jeremy McCallum
2nd Team: Benjamin Carter, Oscar Ferrier, Max Lovrich, Monty Hare, Gus Webster
Girls Team: Hannah Jensen, Maddison McConnell, Philippa Wallace
The opening day was clear, and hot at times, providing the large field of shooters with excellent conditions to perform to the best of their ability. Despite this, scores were not exceptionally high, but competition was nevertheless intense, with several hundred shooters from schools all over New Zealand were competing over the two-day event.
Highlights were as follows:
In the South Island Single Rise, Hugo Reeves was the best of the King’s shooters with 19/20. Chester Duffett and Oscar Ferrier scored 18/20. Boys Captain of Shooting, Frank Baddeley, scored a creditable 59/60 in the Points Score, with Louis Evans scoring 58 and Jeremy McCallum 55. These scores, along with their team mates, contributed to a total of 274/300.
On the day no-one expected that to be competitive, but conditions had obviously affected all teams, and we were later informed that the team had placed 3rd, with the students collecting bronze medals for their efforts.
Single Barrel scores were generally disappointing, with 7s being the order of the day.
Best of the King's competitors on the day was Oscar with a total of 84/90, two points ahead of his captain, Frank.
On Sunday, in the National Championships, conditions were very different, with spells of torrential rain and driving wind. Scores suffered accordingly.
Frank and Oscar both scored 19/20 in the Single Rise, while Frank recorded a very competitive 59/60 in the Points Score. The only other 50+ scores were recorded by Hugo, Jeremy and Monty Hare, who all scored 51/60.
Single barrel scores were better on the Sunday without being exceptional. Most encouraging was Philippa Wallace’s 9/10, while Chester, Frank and Monty all scored 8s.
Leading for the front, Frank qualified for two shoot-offs: the New Zealand Points Score and the North Island Qualification Shoot, but did not come through successfully.
All shooters acquitted themselves well, both in competition and in deportment throughout the events. They were well supported by a large and enthusiastic group of loyal parents who flew to Christchurch for the competition.
Many thanks to Mrs. Jackie Jensen who was the cornerstone of off-field organisation, Mr. Grant McCallum for logistical support and, of course, our coach, Mr. Gavin Paton whose expertise was of great value to the shooters.
John Jackson, Teacher-in-Charge of Clay Target Shooting
Clay Target Shooting Girls Team
