The Gold Coast Clay Target Club Newsletter June 2013

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Gold Coast Clay Target Club Newsletter June 2013"

Stanley Woods
5 years ago
Views:

Rarely a week goes by without a competition, coaching session, corporate booking or other event being conducted at the club and we wouldn t be able to offer these services without our team of

1 On Target The Gold Coast Clay Target Club Newsletter June 2013 President s Update Debbie Young I would like to welcome both new and returning members to our 2013 committee and appreciate the time, effort and commitment they put into the running of our club. I also thank all those who continue to help out on an ongoing basis. Rarely a week goes by without a competition, coaching session, corporate booking or other event being conducted at the club and we wouldn t be able to offer these services without our team of volunteers and willing helpers. It s great to see Gold Coast members consistently supporting other clubs and shoots. I am always very proud to see our club shirts and caps around the grounds when visiting other clubs, and our members have an excellent reputation for pitching in and lending a hand where required. Whether collecting at the trophy table, camping out or just enjoying a day away, it s great to have our club so well represented elsewhere. State Honour We couldn t be more proud of long-term club member Bill McCarthy, who received the Queensland Distinguished Service Award at the Hall of Fame ceremony during the State Trap Carnival in Roma last month. Presented by the QCTA, this award acknowledges individuals who have contributed significantly to our sport at club, Zone or State level. We were pleased to submit a very long list of the areas in which Bill has provided services to shooters, members, other clubs and associations, and he continues to contribute selflessly to our sport in many capacities. Congratulations Bill a very deserving recipient of this prestigious award and an inspiring representative of the Gold Coast Club. Vale We were shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Ian Kirkwood who suffered from a brain aneurism and passed away on 10 th June. Ian was a regular at our sporting shoots and we have enjoyed his company over many years. Our sincere sympathy to his family, he will be very sadly missed. Targets The committee faced a most difficult decision last month and after many years has moved to an alternate target supplier. In a bid to remain loyal to our local supplier and switch to more environmentally friendly targets we have spent many months testing and using CTA s bio targets across all disciplines at our club. After experiencing ongoing problems with breakages at our trap competitions, resulting in reduced attendances and complaints from shooters, CTA advised that they will need further time to perfect and test their biodegradable trap targets. As our priority is to present members and visiting shooters with optimum quality clay targets we have introduced Winchester (Vivaz) targets, specifically designed for DTL. To date they have proven to be successful and we have received very positive feedback from those attending our recent competitions. We hope to rebuild numbers over the coming months and wish CTA all the best in ongoing production and testing of their bio trap targets. 1

2 Committee Report The Club Committee meets monthly and discuss a wide variety of matters pertaining to club facilities and business. The following will no doubt be of interest to club members:- Responsible Service of Alcohol. Committee members were recently asked to complete or renew their RSA accreditation to comply with state legislation. Commonwealth Games Our club is very keen for the shotgun events planned for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to be held on our grounds. Executive members continue to work hard to lobby for this to occur. Keeping Members Informed. The committee is committed to keeping members informed on club progress. We hope to get more information out to members using newsletters, and social media. It will take a little while to get everything in place but we are working on it. If you have any contributions or ideas for the newsletter, please contact John Hockings at jhocko@onthenet.com.au. Additional Loan Firearms. The club has recently purchased an U/O.410 shotgun that will be of particular benefit to juniors, ladies and corporate shooters. The committee is also looking to purchase another 12G U/O to replace one that has become beyond economical repair. Corporate Events. Bill McCarthy continues to manage a growing number of corporate days. These are not just a good revenue raiser but also lead to many new members joining our club. If you are interested in a corporate day, please contact Bill McCarthy. Enhancing Club Facilities. As with all organizations, managing facilities is a major task. Recent acquisitions have been new traps for sporting, a new cash register system to manage ammunition, bar and range fee sales. The committee continues to debate the need to air-condition the clubhouse. Clearly there are many competing facility priorities so if you have a strong opinion on this or other facility matter, please make this known to a committee member. Special Coaching Opportunity Michael Diamond will be conducting another DTL coaching session at our club on the weekend of 27 th & 28 th July A similar clinic was held in October last year and those that attended found it to be invaluable. Michael is arguably the best trap shooter in Australia and you will find he is a very attentive coach who is extremely generous with his information and advice. This is a great opportunity to receive one-on-one coaching from Michael and he will keep you very busy on the layouts. If you are interested in finding out more about this opportunity contact Kev Crandon on Bookings will be essential. 2

3 High Achievers and Travellers Tales Roma State Carnival May 2013 A large team of twenty-eight (28) shooters from the Gold Coast made the journey to Roma for the State Titles in May. Our twenty-eight shooters represented 10% of the total nominations. Gold Coast shooters were very obvious around the carnival with their distinctive club shirts and new club hats that had shooters names embroidered on them for the occasion. (There is NO truth in the rumour that some of our senior shooters and those celebrating often forget their names and this is designed to help!) Some outstanding individual performances were recorded at Roma. Jackson Willmann, one of the great success stories of our Junior Program, shot particularly well and will be the State Junior Team Captain to represent Queensland at the National Titles in Wagga in Our whole club congratulates Jackson and his family on this success and we are doing all we can to assist. If you would like to help in any way please contact Bill McCarthy or one of the committee members. Congratulations to Gold Coast CTC members Mike Swale and George Barton who gained selection in the Queensland Open Representative Team to compete at the Wagga Nationals in Congratulations and good shooting to you both from all club members. Some other performances were just average - rumour has it that one of our better shooters was beaten in the double rise event by a very ordinary double rise shooter. The results of his trauma counselling are not yet to hand however they will be made known to all when and if they are made public. In the meantime, we are searching for a "D" grader to give further advice to the disappointed shooter in question. That same shooter went to great lengths to keep secret that a QCTA State "Distinguished Service Award" was to be presented to one of our club members. That was ok, but having the wine police restrict our member's red wine intake was reprehensible. If you have any advice for this well-known, local shooter please give it to him! State Trap Carnival, Roma - May Single Barrel A Grade 1 st Matthew Lawson 57/59 A Grade 2 nd Terry Morony 56/59 Point Score C Grade 2 nd Ashley Gordon 135/150 Overall George Barton 192/192 State Teams Open George Barton & Mike Swale Junior Jackson Willmann Team High Gun Open Mike Swale 168/168 Cunnamulla Annual May Overall High Gun Shane Weeden 260/270 Surat Annual May Point Score Overall Gavin Langridge 177/177 Double Rise Overall Gavin Langridge 28/30 Continental Points AA Grade 1 st Mark Davis 146/150 Toogoolawah May SE Zone Champion of Champions Overall Gavin Langridge 223/225 AA Grade 1 st Shane Weeden 222/225 AA Grade 2 nd Garry Gordon 148/150 3

Cunnamulla Annual Shane Weeden recovered from travelling all night from Sydney and managing to dodge most of the night wildlife on the roads to compete in the Cunnamulla Annual Shoot.

4 Cunnamulla Annual Shane Weeden recovered from travelling all night from Sydney and managing to dodge most of the night wildlife on the roads to compete in the Cunnamulla Annual Shoot. He won the Overall High Gun and Double Rise Championship. Congratulations Shane a great result considering the top shots present at the event. Club Shirts and Hats Members are reminded that club shirts and hats are available from the clubhouse. Shirts are available in a range of sizes and cost $35. Hats are one size fits all and are $15 each. We encourage our members to wear club shirts and hats particularly when travelling. Junior Development Update The GCCTC offered a Junior Development Morning on Saturday 18 May. This is a busy time of year for our juniors with school and other commitments and we received a number of apologies from some of our regulars. Seven juniors and their families joined us for the morning. Some juniors came from recent Corporate Days and Firearm Safety Courses. We were able to separate the juniors into advanced, intermediate and the new shooter groups. With the reduced numbers, they were able to shoot quite a lot of targets and rotate quickly. Every one of them improved markedly through the morning. They really enjoyed their experience and are keen to return for the next one. Great feedback was received from parents. Thanks to coaches Bill McCarthy, Terry Morony, Kevin Crandon and to Scotty Willmann and Tony Mirosch, one of the dads, for their bar-be-cue expertise that all present enjoyed at the end of the morning activities. For any information about our Junior Development Program contact Bill McCarthy or John Hockings. Trap Update Tony O Leary Captain Trap is going from strength to strength with all shooters preparing for our Annual Trap Carnival in August. This weekend is the biggest in the year for our club and attracts many top shots from around the country. More information will be forthcoming in following editions of this newsletter but in particular please try to help at our two working bees and by selling raffle tickets in our major raffle. George Barton, Gold Coast CTC member, State Points Champion for 2013 with sponsor Ken Stevens, Federal Ammunition. 4

Working Bees July 13 & August 3 Campers and visitors will be arriving to attend our annual two-day, August Carnival which is fast approaching. We need help to get the club grounds in top shape.

5 Working Bees July 13 & August 3 Campers and visitors will be arriving to attend our annual two-day, August Carnival which is fast approaching. We need help to get the club grounds in top shape. Please come out and lend a hand, even for an hour or two. July 13 from 7 a.m. to 12 noon. Jobs include repairing refs chairs, line marking, warning signs, firewood for campers, repairs to road and car park. August 3 jobs include mowing, edging, tidy gardens, liming car park, clean & prepare trophies and final preparations. Please bring any equipment you think might be helpful. Free sausage sizzle at noon for all helpers. Committee Member Contact Terry Morony on Monster Annual Shoot Raffle In conjunction with our Annual Two Day Shoot in August we have a Monster Raffle. A number of prizes are on offer for only $2 per ticket. Tickets will be available from the bar at the club or any committee member. A full list of prizes will be on display in the clubhouse. Skeet Update Kent Mansfield Captain Thank you to all the shooters who came along to our two day Skeet Carnival in April. The weather was absolutely perfect with clear skies, warm days and light winds. Saturday started with seven squads with shooters travelling from Rockhampton, Brisbane, Caboolture, Toowoomba, the rest of the S.E.Zone and of course the Gold Coast. It was really great to see so many shooters travel from afar for the shoot. By Sunday we had TEN squads believe it or not! Another great day of shooting and some very good results by the end of the two days. Congratulations to all that were selected for the S.E.Zone Team in Open, Ladies and Veterans and a much-deserved congratulations to Tracey Ashton for re-grade from B to A grade. Well done! I would like to thank all from the committee who manned the office we couldn t have done it without you. Thanks to Kev Jackson for having me running around everywhere loading traps! Only one trap ended up running out of targets! Thanks for keeping things running smoothly Kev. It was a great weekend and I hope we can build skeet numbers up to a good level again. Everyone is welcome to come along and join the fun! Remember, third Sunday of the month! Bill Turner taking aim. Congratulations to Bill on SIXTY years shooting clays! 5

6 Sporting Update Kev Seeney Captain Saturday sporting practice has been going strong of late. In no small measure this is due to the time and effort given to the club by Ron Solari and his band of helpers. The modern five stand system in a semi circle that Ron is using has proven to be a safe and successful one that presents different and varied targets. Monthly shoots have been well attended although a few more squads would always be welcome. A great deal of work goes into preparing the targets for the competition and packing up at the end of the day so the more shooters who attend the better. We thank our great team of helpers including Kev Jackson, Darryl Teelow, Jason Pole, John Hockings, Chris Dowie, Ron Solari and Tony Price. Tony is not a club member or shooter but enjoys helping setting up targets and helping Elva and Ilian in the kitchen. Thank you for your support Tony. Recently one of our good shots and sporting friend, Jim Baird, had to return to England on family matters. We all miss Jim s happy presence and help at our shoots. Over the last few months, we have been able to replace some of our old sporting traps with two brand new Laporte Eight Column 12 Volt machines that throw targets ranging from normal trap to sporting teal or chondels. These two machines were loaned to Toowoomba Clay Target Club to use at the recent Millmerran Shoot on 25 and 26 May. Max Barton from Toowoomba placed them side by side as a pair of springing teal for the weekend. Max was very appreciative of them as they worked perfectly all weekend. We have also purchased two second hand Laporte 240 volt machines in very good condition. All new traps have been put onto trailers like the rest of our sporting traps. Special thanks to Ken Tomkins for his help in getting these traps onto the new trailers. The Gold Coast CTC Sporting Two Day Carnival was competed by twenty-three shooters over the June 1 st and 2 nd weekend. Saturday saw 23 shooters and Sunday 37 shooters greeted with overcast and mild conditions over the weekend with just a short shower to wet all shooters on Sunday afternoon. Shooter numbers were down on previous years possibly due to the shoot being help the weekend after the Millmerrin shoot and other discipline two day shoots in S.E.Q. that same weekend. In future we will endeavour to hold the shoot later in the year to avoid this problem. Don t be fooled though all shooters had a great weekend. In fact one of our shooters Bill McKechnie said that it was the best fun shooting weekend he has had in the last ten years! A great rap from such an experienced and travelled shooter. Some shooters achieved regrades as a result of great shooting over the weekend. Congratulations to Stan Kurkiewicz C to B, Kev Seeney B to A and Noel Lillis Jnr A to AA. Overall results of the weekend were:- Overall Paul Lillis 202/220. AA Aaron Knowles 201/220. A Noel Lillis 181/200. B Kev Seeney (Now A Grade) 160/200. C Ricky Kennedy 150/200. Vet Doug Brenton 176/200. Grade results will appear in CTSN in due course. This shoot ran very smoothly thanks to the great work of the office team led by our President Debbie Young. Thanks Debbie for your support and continued leadership. 6

7 Sporting Captain Kev Seeney, did a great job of setting a range of targets that had shooters smiling and shaking their heads. The five stations included two stations in the bush where trees and weather conditions really came into play. Ed. If you haven t tried sporting you can try five stand every Saturday at practice from 1.00 p.m. Sporting shooters are a friendly bunch and are always happy to help beginners enjoy their discipline. Committee Contacts Debbie Young President Kevin Crandon Vice President Brian Zimmerman Vice President Alan Vacy-Lyle Treasurer Mike Swale Club Captain/Club Delegate Terry Morony Club Vice Captain Tony O Leary Trap Captain Kent Mansfield Skeet Captain Kevin Seeney Sporting Captain/Secretary Bill McCarthy Safety Courses/Corporate Days Kevin Jackson Caretaker Eric Roessler Committee John Hockings Committee Darryl Teelow Committee Natalie Pengelly Committee Craig McVean Committee Chris Larsen Committee Coaching available at Saturday practice sessions or privately by appointment. Safety Courses bookings by appointment. Forthcoming Events State Sporting Carnival Caboolture 29 th & 30 th June 9.00am State ISSF Carnival Brisbane 12 th 14 th July Commonwealth Night S/B C/Ship Gold Coast CTC 9 th August 7.00 pm August Trap Carnival Gold Coast CTC 10 th & 11 th August 8.30 am SE Zone Night Single Barrel C/Ship Gold Coast CTC 4 th September 7.00 pm SE Zone Night Point Score C/Ship Gold Coast CTC 2 nd October 7.00 pm Gold Coast CTC Monthly Program: 1 st Sunday each month Sporting 1 st Wednesday each month Night Trap 2 nd Sunday each month Trap 3 rd Sunday each month Skeet Practice every Saturday pm All disciplines. PLEASE NOTE - NO PRACTICE ON WEEKENDS WITH TWO DAY SHOOTS. Shooting clay targets is a very cleansing experience. It's very relaxing. It takes a lot of concentration. It's also very social, since you're usually shooting with friends. You can talk and forget about almost anything else that's on your mind. Tom Selleck 7

8 8

State Trap Carnival 2018

State Trap Carnival 2018 Townsville Gun Club 5 th 7 th May 2018 Event 2: 25 Pair State Double Rise Championship Sponsored by: Madmac Toy Vault No. of Shooters: 268 No. of Possibles: 1 Club Score C Grade