Clay Target update
By Jacqueline Irving | Posted: Monday September 23, 2024
The winter Intercollegiate Clay Target season commenced after Easter and ends this weekend with the South Island and National DTL Secondary School Championships and Skeet Championships in Christchurch.
This year we have welcomed new shooters Leo Burgess, James Gare, Zach Hall, Sam McNeish and Al Nicholson to our squad.
Students have practiced at the Dunedin Clay Target Club on a Wednesday afternoon. We have been fortunate to have the expertise of Mr Bill McKinley to coach students. Old boy and former 2021 Clay Target Captain Henry Sim has assisted Bill and been generous with his time and encouragement. We were thrilled to watch, from afar, Henry compete at the World DTL Clay Target Championships in Bywell, England in July.
Highlights beyond our intercollegiate shoots this season are the achievements of Shamus Young and Johnathon King. Shamus secured a world title as a member of the New Zealand Junior Team who successfully won the World Macintosh Trophy against Australia, South Africa, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales in July. Johnathon King was appointed into the South Island Junior Skeet team. He will shoot at the National Skeet Championships in November.
Interschool competitions are a fundamental part of developing our teams. We were sad to lose experienced shooter Jackson Stevens this season due to injury. This did open up opportunities for Tom Collie, James Gare and Charlie Hore all to step up and experience these coveted trips.
Intercollegiate shoots have seen our boys and their families on the road often before 6am on a Sunday and travelling hundreds of kilometers to give students opportunities to compete. Greg King, Johnathon’s father has been our Clay Target BBQ Chef across the last two years with his infamous BBQ and PlaceMakers gazebo for our comfort and enjoyment. A thank you also to Nelson Young and Brendan Stevens who provided gazebos in Dunedin and Balfour. The food provided at events is the stuff of legends and families have always been generous hosting our boys and their supporters much to the envy of other schools.
The Dunedin Intercollegiate Shoot saw James Gare debut and he went on to shoot at Balfour and Galloway competitions. Leo Burgess made his debut in Balfour and recently represented OBHS at the Waimate Intercollegiate.
We keep our shooting squad tight and develop just a few new shooters each year to replace our Year 13 students when they depart. We have been fortunate with the talent and depth of experience of our three Year 13 shooters this year, Shamus Young, Hunter Burgess and Johnathon King who have shot in position, one, two and three respectively. 2025 is looking strong too as existing shooters and new ones continue to grow and develop their skills.
The 2024 Clay Target Squad at Otago Boys' High School included:
Year 9 - James Gare, Sam McNeish, Al Nicholson
Year 10 - Tom Collie, Jack Scurr
Year 11 - Leo Burgess, Zach Hall, Charlie Hore, Dustin Young
Year 12 - Jackson Stevens
Year 13 - Hunter Burgess, Johnathon King, Shamus Young
The roads travelled and clays shot at this season included the following:
TERM TWO
End of Week Two - Sunday, May 12th Southland Intercollegiate Shoot Invercargill.
Start of Week Three - Wednesday, May 15th Interschool Dunedin against Southland Boys' High School.
Week Five - Tuesday, May 28th Interschool Timaru against Timaru Boys' High School.
End of Week Six - Sunday, June 9th Dunedin Intercollegiate Championships.
Start of Week Ten - Monday, 1st - 2nd July Interschool Christchurch against Christchurch Boys' High School.
TERM THREE
Before Week One - Sunday, 21st July Nightcaps Inter-School Scott Shield Competition.
End of Week Three - Sunday, 11th August Balfour Intercollegiate Competition
End of Week Six - Sunday, 1st September Alexander Intercollegiate Taieri Shield at Galloway.
End of Week Eight - Sunday, 15th September Waimate/Oamaru Intercollegiate Competition.
End of Week Ten - Saturday, 28th September South Island DTL Championships.
Sunday, 29th September New Zealand DTL Championships.
Monday, 30th September South Island and New Zealand Skeet Championships Christchurch.
With school exams over, the pressure to compete at a National level is on. We are thrilled that seven of our students have qualified for South Island and New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Christchurch. Shamus, Hunter, Johnathon, Dustin, Tom, Charlie and James are all competing across both days of DTL competition. Johnathon and Dustin will shoot both skeet competitions on Monday. It will be a fine way to end this year’s school season of Clay Target.
