The 48th annual Gippsland Interschool Clay Target Shooting Championships were recently hosted by the Sale Field and Game Club.
It was a clear and cool morning as cars and busloads of school students from all over Gippsland arrived full of anticipation.
This year’s event attracted 14 secondary schools ranging from Lilydale to Orbost and Yarram to Maffra.
There were 30 squads of shooters with a total of 145 students participating as the sun warmed the shooters, referees and scorers on the range.
Each squad shot two rounds of 10 targets on two different layouts, with five stands per layout, with no student able to hit all 20 targets.
Lilydale High School and Boronia P12 College were welcomed to the event for the first time, bringing the number of schools who
have sent teams over the years to 28.
It was heartening to note that students from eight different schools were able to earn a place in the four contested events.
The teams’ event were very close, with the Catholic College Sale’s junior boys team leading at half way by four targets, only for Lilydale High to come strongly to win by one target.
Teams from Yarram, Orbost and Nagle College (third) were all within a few targets of the leaders.
In the senior boys event Dylan Naylor (Lilydale High) was the winner from Zaeln Lynch (Nagle College) and Ruben Corbell (Maffra High School).
The senior girls was another close contest, with Brianna Tangey (St Pauls, Traralgon) victorious from Maddi Gilmore (Sale College) and Grace Scott (Maffra Secondary College).
In the junior boys, Myles Witt (Catholic College Sale) prevailed from teammate Sonny Grant, with Owen Roach (Nagle College) third.
Lara Kee (Gippsland Grammar) came out on top in the junior girls, from Dakota Cook (Lavalla College) and Chloe Hughes-gage (Lilydale High).
Field and game members from all over Gippsland helped in many capacities, from transporting students, setting up the range, manning the canteen, refereeing and scoring the squads, recording scores, cleaning toilets, tidying the clubrooms and cleaning up the range after the event.
Without this support, and from teachers in the schools, parents and bus drivers, events such as this could not take place.
Gary Howard OAM was again chief referee for the day, which ran very smoothly, with shoot-offs and presentations all completed well before 2pm.
Sale Field and Game, club president, Michael Brown, awarded the prizes, congratulating all shooters on
their behaviour and their very safe gun handling, also thanking all the
helpers who had given up their day to make this event a great success.
