Tourism, Culture and Recreation
May 6, 2008The following is being
distributed at the request of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador:
Newfoundland and Labrador Shooters
Compete in Germany
Over the past weekend Brenda Greene and Dave Woolridge
shot three rifle events each at the 2nd annual International Shooting
Competition of Hannover in Germany. At this competition 480 aspiring and
respective national team shooters from 21 countries came together to
compete in 13 Olympic shooting events. Both Brenda and Dave are members
of the High Performance Marksmanship Training Group, which trains at
Memorial University�s School of Human Kinetics and Recreation.
Brenda, of St. Joseph�s - St Mary�s Bay, shot the junior women�s 50
metre 3 X 20, 50 metre prone and 10 metre air rifle events. The 50 metre
events are shot with .22 calibre rifles and the 10 metre event is shot
using a .177 calibre air rifle.
On Friday, Brenda shot 377/400 in her air rifle match, placing her 41st
out of 48 competitors. In the face of very stiff competition and
equipment malfunction she was still able to better her own provincial
record of 376. On Saturday she shot 579/600 in junior women�s prone
securing a 30th place finish out of 42 shooters. Brenda finished on
Sunday shooting the 3 X 20 event, placing 39th amongst 41 competitors
with 544 out of 600. Brenda was successful in achieving personal bests
in all three events.
Dave, of St. John�s, shot the men�s 50 metre 3 X 40, 50 metre prone and
10 metre air rifle events. On Friday, Dave started out with a 1065 in
the 3 X 40 event, finishing 54th out of 55 shooters. Things went better
Saturday morning, as Dave shot a personal best in 50 metre prone at
577/600, placing him 91st out of 99 shooters. Closing off the weekend,
Dave shot 571/600 in the air rifle event placing him 58th in a field of
66.
Both shooters agreed that by Saturday they had settled down a lot from
the previous day and were better able to stay focused. Dave reflected
about how the most trivial differences, such as the angle of his head in
prone changing by just a few degrees resulted in dramatic changes in
score. Sunday brought further improvements as Dave returned to his usual
form in air rifle and Brenda had a good start in the 3-P event.
�The level of competition, combined with the number of competitors and
spectators alike, is much greater here than in my past experiences.�
noted Brenda, after her opening day of competition.
�These matches are a great thing for us. If you look not at the score
but instead at the experience, it makes us sharper when we get back to
the much smaller, but certainly more important, Canadian nationals. Less
than a handful of Canadian shooting athletes gain this experience every
year and it is such experience that may make all the difference in
winning a spot of the national shooting team,� says Dave.
This match was very much a learning experience for both athletes but
more so for Brenda. Though experienced as an international competitor
from the Canadian Air Gun Grand Prix, DCRA Canadian Fullbore Rifle
Championships and NRA Imperial Meeting at Bisley, England, this was her
first time competing with the shooters bound for the 2008 and 2012
Olympics. Brenda commented on how the atmosphere was slightly more
relaxed in her previous competitions and that they often consisted of
many relays spread over several days. Here, however, you can see that
those at the top were on a razor�s edge and that there would only be one
chance to prove one�s self. Dave has competed at several world cups and
one world championships but despite this he is always looking to learn
new tactics from his competitors as he advances his athletic skills.
�Competing in Europe among some of the world�s best shooters is an
invaluable milestone for both Brenda and Dave on the road to the
Canadian National Team Trials later this year,� says Gary Piercey, a
rifle coach with the High Performance Marksmanship Training Group. �They
will gain a significant tactical advantage from this experience, which
is why these events were added to their training schedules early this
year.�
Advancing to competitions at this level would not be possible without
the support of local businesses such as Power Vac, Penney Mazda and
Complete Gunsmithing. These companies know the cost and value of helping
athletes reach for the top and are behind these athletes in their
efforts to be named to the Canadian National shooting team.
As of Wednesday, Greene and Woolridge will be in Plzen in the Czech
Republic competing in the same three events at the 39th Grand Prix of
Liberation. Both athletes are optimistic of even better performances
there.
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Media contact:
Gary Piercey
754-6177
garypiercey@gmail.com
2008 05 06 12:30 p.m.