August 13th: Palma Day 1

Well, today was an interesting day to say the least.  The day started with a substitution in shooters prior to the match.  Pat Vamplew was assigned to both coach and shoot, replacing Roger Romses as a shooter.

At 800 yards, in relatively consistent conditions, the majority of the team performed quite well.  We were 8 off after 800, placing us behind GB, Australia and the USA (all 1 off) and the South Africans (6 off).  At 900 yards, conditions become more difficult and we were 31 points off.  A little disappointing but still within shouting distance of the top teams.  At 1000 yards however, we performed quite poorly.  The winds were changing quite quickly (between 3 and 11 minutes left with 2-3 minute changes within seconds being quite common).  The team never reached their potential and by the end of Day 1, we found ourselves in 6th place.

Scores after Day 1:
1.  Great Britain:  3551.403
2.  USA:  3520.358
3.  South Africa:  3512.336
4.  Australia:  3509.367
5.  New Zealand:  3485.357
6.  Canada:  3421.318
7.  West Indies:  3299.212
8.  Germany:  3294.218

One bright spot from today was the performance of Des Vamplew.  Des had the highest score on the range with a fantastic 225.28v

We return to the range tomorrow to pick ourselves up and put in a much improved performance.  Each team member is very much looking forward to doing just that.

Good night.

August 12th: Palma practice day

Just a short report tonight.  Today we had our practice day for the 2-day Palma match.  We enjoyed a successful training session and were able to make our final selections for the Palma.  Team Canada will look as follows:

Captain:  Peter Westlake
Adjutant:  Gary Bowman
Armourer:  Steven Spinney

Central Coach:  Tony Betts
Coaches:  Pat Vamplew
Alain Marion
Mike Wong Shui
Peter Westlake

Plotters:
Mike Lutes
Geoff Woodman
Daniel Chisholm
Cheryl Hearn

Shooters:
Ian Hogg
Bruce Bullock
Gary Bowman
Mirko Teglasi
Bob Pitcairn
Gale Stewart
Gary Bendik
Nicole Rossignol
Paul Tremblay
George Wright
Tom Walters
Shannon Westlake
Roger Romses
Don Pitcairn
Fazal Mohideen
Des Vamplew

The team was announced at our dinner this evening at the 1812 restaurant.  It was an enjoyable evening with great food and even better company.  We are all looking forward to a successful couple of days of team shooting.

August 11th - Completion of the World Individual Long Range Championship

Today, we shot the final two matches of the WILRC.  Conditions again started out somewhat calm but by late morning, when the 1000 yard match was fired, the winds changed quite quickly.  Mirko Teglasi had a fantastic day, winning both the 1000 yard match and the daily aggregate.  In Match 650 (900 yards), Geoff Grenfell of Australia won the match with a 75.14.  Canadians who shot 75 include Mirko, Ian Hogg and Mike Lutes.

As mentioned previously, Mirko won Match 651 (1000 yards) with a 75.8, one of only three 75's shot.  Ian Hogg and Roger Romses shot 73's in challenging conditions.  Mirko was the only person to shoot a 150 in the daily aggregate.

Once these matches were complete, the Top 10 in the overall aggregate qualified to shoot in a 15 round shoot-off to determine the top placings and ultimately, the 2015 World Long Range Champion. Ben Emms of Australia entered the final with a commanding 4 point lead over Jon Underwood.  It should be noted that Ben only dropped 1 point in the Aggregate, a phenomenal performance.  After the final, standings tightened up considerably with Nigel Ball from Great Britain posting an outstanding score of 74 in very difficult conditions.  Ben managed to hold on to the top spot however by finishing with a 70 to give him a total score of 669.77.  Nigel placed second with a 668.75.  Matthew Pozzebon of Australia placed 3rd with a 666.78.  Mirko was the highest placing Canadian, finishing in 13th place.

Tomorrow is the Palma practice day.  The team will go through a final rehearsal before the 2-day Palma match on Thursday and Friday.  The team selection will be finalized tomorrow night.  Details will be published then.

August 10th

Today's program was 15 for score at 900, 1000 and 1000 yards, to replace the match that was rained out yesterday.  Conditions for the first match at 900 yards were fairly calm, which again led to some excellent scores.  The top Canadian was Don Pitcairn with a 75.13.  Other Canadians who shot 75 include Peter Westlake, Gary Bowman, Alix Voorthuyzen, Gary Bendik and Bob Pitcairn.

The first match at 1000 yards saw some increasingly difficult conditions as we shot over the lunch hour.  The decision was made to shoot through the traditional lunch break as there was a forecast of thundershowers later in the afternoon.  There were 27 scores of 75 although no Canadians achieved this feat.  The top Canadian was Tony Betts who shot 74.9.  Mirko Teglasi was close behind with a 74.7.

The final match at 1000 yards brought far more difficult scores.  Winds ranged from 8-9 minutes left to 2-3 minutes right, with very quick changes.  That being said, there were some details that were more manageable.  Only 4 competitors shot 75.  Top Canadians were Cheryl Hearn and Ian Hogg, each shooting 72's.

Tomorrow brings the final 2 matches of the Individual Championship (900 and 1000 yards), followed by the final shoot-off for the top 10 placing competitors.  Details to follow.

August 9th

The intended schedule for todays matches was 15 rounds at 800, 900 and 1000 yards.  Mother Nature had other plans for us however.  

800 and 900 were completed without a hitch.  Conditions were very light at 800 yards, which contributed to 242 possibles.  A large contingent of the Canadian Team took advantage of these conditions and shot 75's, led by Mirko Teglasi who shot 75.13.  14 Canadians shot 75 this morning.  The match was won by Antonio Diconza of the United States with a 75.15.

At the 900 match, conditions were slightly more variable but still very manageable.  119 shooters managed to shoot a 75, led by three scores of 75.13.  Canadians shooting 75's include Gary Bendik, George Wright, Don Pitcairn, Ian Hogg, and Mirko Teglasi.

Shooting got underway at 1000 yards at approximately 3:15pm and the rains came about 45 minutes later.  There was a torrential downpour for about 15 minutes or so, certainly enough to soak just about everyone on the range.  After deliberation, the Match Committee decided to cancel the 1000 yard match and reschedule it until tomorrow.  As a result, the final 800 yard match, scheduled for tomorrow morning will now be cancelled.  The course of fire tomorrow will now be 15 rounds at 900, 1000 and 1000 yards.

August 5th: Day 3 of the US Fullbore Nationals

Day 3 of the US Fullbore Nationals also brought the World Veterans Individual Championship to a close.  The 2015 World Veterans Champion is David Tubb of the USA, shooting a 591.59 (out of a possible 600.120).  Top Canadians were Alain Marion (15th), Bob Best (21st), Bob Pitcairn (37th), Paul Tremblay (38th) and Deen Mohideen (40th).

The US Fullbore National Champion was also crowned of course after a shoot off involving the top 10 competitors at the completion of the Championship.  The final shoot off was 15 shots at 1000 yards, which drew a large crowd of spectators.  Matthew Pozzebon of Australia was leading the field entering the final and finished strong with a 74.5 to claim victory by one point over David Luckman of Great Britain, who fired a 74.6.  Jim Bailey from Australia placed 3rd.  The Top Canadian was Alain Marion, who placed 97th.

Today (August 6th) is the World Veterans and World Under 25 Team Matches.  Both teams were selected last night, after much deliberation, and are eager to compete.  Full results and details will be posted later tonight.

August 8th: Start of the World Long Range Individual Championship

Apologies for the delay in posting this latest update.  The schedule is pretty hectic at a World Championship so I will do my best to update everyone on the past couple of days.

On Thursday, the Veterans and Under 25 World Championship Team Matches were competed.  Each of these matches consisted of 2 convertible sighters and 10 shots for score at 300, 600, 900 and 1000 yards.  In the Veterans match, Team Canada competed very hard and were in second place after the 900 yards.  At 1000 yards, in some challenging conditions, we fell back a little bit to ultimately finish in 3rd place.  The United States won the match with a score of 1919.159.  Great Britain was second with a score of 1907.172.  Canada finished with 1896.120.  Top Canadian score was Bob Best with a 195.20

As for the Under 25 team, while there were some successful moments, the team placed 8th out of 10 entries.  Great Britain placed 1st and 2nd while the United States placed 3rd.  Top Canadian score was Nicolas Beaulne with a 191.19

Friday brought us the America Match.  This is an 8 person match consisting of 2 sighters and 15 to count at 300, 600, 900 and 1000 yards.  After a slow start at 300 yards (sound familiar??), we managed to put in a better performance at 600 and 900, although not good enough to gain ground on the top teams (Great Britain, Australia and South Africa).  The team experienced some technical difficulties at 1000 yards although there were some excellent performances (by Ian Hogg and Mirko Teglasi in particular).  Canada ended up in 5th place out of 10.  The match was won by Great Britain with a fantastic score of 2385.263, followed by Australia, South Africa, USA and Canada.  Top Canadian Score was Ian Hogg with a 298.27.

Friday evening was the Awards Ceremony for the US National Fullbore Championship, the World Veterans Individual Championship, the World Veterans, Under 25 and Under 21 Team Matches and the America Match.  While this was a very lengthy affair, it was nice to recognize all the winners and in particular the Canadian award winners, including the Bronze medal winning Veterans Team, Ian Hogg, Alain Marion and Bob Best.

Saturday brought the Opening Ceremony for the World Long Range Championships.  After the ceremonial flag raising, the competitors enjoyed a performance by the Golden Knights, the US Army Parachuting team.  The lead jumper and MC for the performance was a familiar name to the Fullbore shooting world; Sgt Sherri Gallagher.  The remainder of the morning was open practice at 800, 900 and 1000 yards.  After lunch, the World Individual Championship began with match 643 (2ss & 15 for score at 800 yards).  The relatively benign conditions in conjunction with world class competitors meant there were no less than 171 perfect scores of 75.  The match was won by John Whidden of the USA with a 75.14.  Top Canadians were Bob Pitcairn (75.10), Gary Bendik (75.9), Roger Romses (75.9), Daniel Chisholm, Geoff Woodman, Mirko Teglasi, Tom Walters and Alix Voorthuyzen (all on 75.8), Peter Westlake, Paul Tremblay and Mike Wong Shui (all on 75.7), and Bruce Bullock (75.6).

Lastly, the team attended the Palma Team Dinner.  The NRA put on a very good meal and there was the traditional gift exchange amongst the various Team Captains.

Tomorrow sees Matches 644, 645 and 646 (15 at 800, 900 and 1000 yards).  Details to follow.