Tourism, Culture and Recreation
February 9, 2009The following is being distributed at the request
of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador:
Provincial Shooting Team Clues Up Preparations for
Canadian Air Gun Grand Prix
Shooters from across the Avalon and at two sites in New Brunswick
competed in an Olympic styled air pistol and air rifle match. For
Newfoundland and Labrador shooters this match was a continuation of the
selection process for the 2010 junior team. As a result of this
competition two of our juniors advanced in the classification system for
air rifle.
With the overall best performance of any competitor, Brenda Greene took
top shot in the women�s event shooting 382 out of 400. Samantha Marsh
was both the top sharpshooter and junior women with a 367. Samantha�s
score now qualifies her for the rank of expert. Amanda Smith of St.
Stephen�s New Brunswick was top junior women�s marksman with her result
of 301. Mount Pearl shooter, Meghan Harris, was second junior women�s
marksman, after putting in a personal best of 280. Finishing the field
was Cheryl Hearn of St. Catherine�s St. Mary�s Bay.
Shooting 560 out of 600, top senior men�s air rifle went to Dave
Woolridge of St. John�s. First expert went to New Brunswick�s Blair
Carson with a 511. Out shooting all the experts, junior sharpshooter,
Ben Taylor took double gold both as a sharpshooter and top junior men�s
air with his score of 543. As with Samantha, Ben�s score now promotes
him to the expert class. Teammate Jason Harnum was second sharpshooter
with 527, a 17 point lead of the nearest New Brunswick shooter. Yves
Boudreau of Sackville, N.B., won the men�s marksman class with an 11
point lead on St. John�s native Dave Taylor. Finally, Jaret Richard, of
New Brunswick, was the competition�s top wheel chair athlete, shooting a
personal best of 511.
Finally, in the men�s air pistol, Tony Smith secured the top honours
with 504 out of 600. Dave Taylor led the field of marksmen class
shooters, taking the gold with a 492, up from last month. Richard Power,
of St. Catherine�s, St. Mary�s Bay, was top in the junior men�s event
with a 472.
In total 10 shooters from our province and eight from New Brunswick took
part. For many on the Newfoundland team this match was a final test
before competing on the Valentine�s weekend in Toronto, at the Canadian
Air Gun Grand Prix. This Grand Prix is an international event open to
all and attracting hundreds of aspiring Olympians from around the world.
The team coach Gary Piercey, commented that this year�s training plan is
on course as most shooters were up from their previous results.
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Media contact:
Dave Woolridge
709-778-0405
dave.woolridge@mi.mun.ca
2009 02 09
2:15 p.m.