YOG / Oceania/ CSF
November 7th 2017
The Oceania Shooting Federation (OSF) competition in Brisbane took on a whole new life this year (2017),
as it was combined with the Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF) test event and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Qualifying event. This meant much larger entry numbers than usual, and shooters attending from a much wider range of countries. Instead coming from mainly Australia and NZ, this event also drew world class entries from Singapore, Wales, Scotland, Jersey, Guernsey, England, India, Northern Ireland, Gibralter, South Africa, the Isle of Man, and Norfolk Island. This new level of competition certainly made for an interesting event.
Many thanks to our Australian hosts who managed such a well-run event at the upgraded Jim Smith range in the Brisbane International Shooting Centre. Thank you also to our NZ Team Manager, Garth Keighley, who did a fantastic job supporting everyone, especially those on their first overseas shooting trip. And TSNZ would also like to extend a huge thank you to the NZ shooters who attended and to their families who supported them - this was the biggest contingent we have sent to an Oceania event for quite some time, and as the event is largely self-funded it relies upon our shooters being keen enough to make it a financial priority. We look forward to you sharing your experiences with your fellow shooters, and hope you encourage them all to get involved for the next Oceania event.
The daily reports below were posted during the event, so are in reverse chronological order.
6 November
The last event in the 10-day YOG/Oceania/Commonwealth Shooting Fed event in Brisbane was the Men's 3P event. WIth 40 shots in each of the Kneeling, Prone and Standing positions shot within 2 hours 45 minutes, this is another gruelling event, especially when shot in hot conditions. Well done to the NZ A-Team who won the Oceania Silver medal, and to Owen Bennett for winning the Silver Individual Oceania medal and for making it through to the CSF Final.
5 November
Sunday was Women's 3P Match Day. Shooting this event in the heat of Brisbane is very demanding, with 20 shots in each of the Kneeling, Prone and Standing positions shot within 1 hour 45 minutes, so well done to everyone who still had the energy to put into this. Congratulations to the Oceania Team for their Silver medal, and to Sally Johnston who took out the Bronze in the Individual competition.
4 November
The Women's Prone match saw some tricky conditions, with changeable winds along with mirage. Well done to Sally Johnston, with a Gold Medal in the Oceania match (and only pipped to the Bronze in the Commonwealth match on countback), plus a Commonwealth Games MQS of 616.7. The NZ A-Team took out the Silver in the Oceania match, and the B-Team won the Bronze. While the C-Team was out of the medals, they did come in ahead of Australia's B-Team. Note that Womens matches are decided on the equivalent of the Mens Qualification match, with no Finals being held.
3rd November
No competition today for rifle shooters at the Jim Smith range in Brisbane, only practice and PET (Pre Event Training). So here are a few pics of some of our shooters over the past few days instead. Tomorrow is the Women's 50m Prone match, then PET for 3P.
2nd November
Today's Men's 50m Prone match was a test of patience and nerves - the temperature was much more pleasant but this was offset by the squirrelly (new word of the day, meaning unpredictable or jumpy) winds. Well done to Ryan Taylor who made it through to the Commonwealth Final, and then won the Silver medal in the Oceania Final. The NZ A-Team also won Silver in the Oceania Competition.
1st November
Day 2 saw the Women's Air Rifle Match. Our 3 teams had some amazing competition in the match, with the top qualifier setting a Commonwealth record, and another Oceania record set in the Final of the Oceania match. The NZ A-Team took out the Bronze Oceania medal, and it was good to see some shooters in the B/C teams who were very happy with their own performances. The day was rounded out with PET for the Men's 50m and open training on the 50m range.
31st October
The first day of competition at the Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF) / Oceania Shooting Federation (OSF) event saw the Men's Air Rifle competition. Temperatures were not quite as bad as yesterday, but it was still a strain in the Air Rifle range to cope with the heat. The Teams event Gold Medal was taken out by Australia, with their team setting an Oceania record and Dane Sampson setting an Oceania and World record score in his Final, and the NZ A-Team won the Bronze.
PET (Pre Event Training) for the Womens Air Rifle followed, with their competition to be held the next day.
30th October
Brisbane is treating us all to 35 degree temperatures and almost daily thunderstorms - even the locals are commenting on it, so it's not just us Kiwis who are finding it unusual. Everyone has now landed and Garth is doing a great job of keeping us all informed and chasing up paperwork where needed.
The Youth Olympic Games Qualifying event was over the weekend, and our 3 shooters did well providing competition to the Australian shooters. They're shooting again in the Oceania event, so they'll be able to use that experience on their performances there too.
