SISS clay target championships
By Jacqueline Irving | Posted: Thursday July 27, 2023
The Dunedin Clay Target Club hosted the 2023 South Island Secondary School Clay Target Championships on July 1st.
Due to plummeting temperatures and the forecasted snow the competition was amended to shoot Skeet and Down The Line simultaneously to avoid running out of daylight and to get ahead of the weather. Our seven students were split across three different squads, which meant we had someone competing at all times across the day. Our boys were fortunate in being able to spend Friday evening in the Hostel and not have to travel far for a South Island competition for once.
We were pleased to have gazebos from Greg King and Nelson Young to reduce some of the wind chill with a day that did not get above 3 degrees. Our traditional BBQ kept the boys and families well feed and warm. Thank you to Greg King and Kris Dickinson for co-ordinating this. It was great to have all families present to encourage and keep the boys warm. Some parents even had hot water bottles to warm the ammunition. If our Hostel parents didn't have snow when they left home to attend, they certainly had to negotiate it travelling home late in the day when it was marginal for some.
Former OBHS Clay Target Captains and brothers Henry Sim 2020- 2021 and Nic Sim 2022 returned to support the running of this competition out of respect to our coach and their mentor Mr Bill McKinley. Henry has his Ranger’s License and Nic was marshalling. Their mother, Maree Whitely, was the official photographer for the event. More photos can be seen on The Dunedin Clay Target Club facebook page.
Otago Boys' High School students Shamus Young, Johnathon King, Charlie Scurr, Hunter Burgess, Jackson Stevens, Dustin Young and Charlie Hore represented our school well. New shooter Charlie Hore shot a personal best.
Outstanding results were secured for two of our boys. Dustin Young was 2nd in Junior Single Barrel and 3rd in Junior Skeet. Johnathon King was 3rd in Senior Skeet.
Since the South Island's our boys continue to practice and last Sunday Shamus Young, Johnathon King and Jackson Stevens travelled to Nightcaps to shoot. We were unable to secure the Scott Shield as we have previously done, as we needed a team of five with Points Score to do so. A couple of our boys were ironically sitting their Gun License test on Sunday in Dunedin. Club competitions on Sunday across Otago and Southland continue this term. The next intercollegiate competition takes place in Balfour on Sunday, 13th August.
Our ongoing appreciation to Mr Bill McKinley who continues to coach our boys each Wednesday and prepares our ammunition for competitions. Also, a big shout out to the families who travel far and wide to support their own sons and adopt others for our weekend events.
Image Gallery
