Áedán finishes second on Day 1 at Intershoot 2017
This competition started in 1977 so is now in it's 40th year and is one of the biggest 'friendly ' competitions. It is one of the few competitions where achieving beginners can meet and shoot beside world champions from Romania, Brazil, India and China.
Day 1 started with the male members of the Scottish Target Shooting pistol team with Alan Goodall and Andy Ralston the two seniors and Áedán Evans the junior in action. All three men finished in the top half of a very respectable field, including the Rio Olympics silver medalist Filipe Wu.
Alan had a consistent shoot and scored 564. Andy had a difficult start but a string of 98 and 94 pulled his score up to 556. Áedán started strongly and kept this up throughout the whole competition, producing a top British and, in parts, World Ranking performance. His 571 gave him a second place qualifying score for the junior final. He maintained this place in the final, with a score of 233.6 - a GB and Scotland finals record.
Caroline Brownlie and Jess Liddon were our Senior Women with Katie Knowles, Kerstin Dodds and Kyla Dodds our Juniors.
Katie wins third place on Day 2
Caroline started well with a score of 99 which helped her towards a Gold Coast qualifying score of 376 and fifth place going into the final. Jess also qualified for the final, in 7th place with 373. Jess's determination in the final moved her up to fifth place and Caroline finished in sixth.
The results for the juniors were a little under the standards they have set previously with both Kerstin and Kyla finishing with 351 and 332 and Katie finishing with 321.
Day 2 giving athletes a fresh start, Katie had a consistent shoot, scoring 361 and earning a 7th place going into the final. Then she just shot her way past some very good shooters to take third place and the bronze medal. Kerstin and Kyla continued to struggle a little, finishing on 345 and 338.
Caroline had a strong, consistent shoot, qualifying for the final in fifth place with a score of 375 and maintaining this position in the final. Jess fought hard, but the odd shot landing outside the group damaged her score, to finish on 362.
For the senior men, Alan scored 564 putting him 10th and only missing a finals place by two points! Andy didn't settle into this match and was disappointed with his 552.
Once again Áedán produced a stunning performance, which included a string of 99 followed by 98 and ending with a 97. His total of 576 put him first in the qualifiers for the final, is a Gold Coast qualifier, a GB senior MCS and only just below the GB record! Despite being the focus of a lot of attention after that performance, Áedán remained his usual calm self, but a slight slip in concentration in the final with two uncharacteristically low scores meant Áedán slipped from second to fourth place.
Further success for Áedán on Day 3
On to day 3 and Caroline just missed out on a place in the final, her 372 putting her in 9th place and after the x-ring count back rule had to be used. Jess shot consistently, but not to her usual standard and finished with 367. Katie's score of 351, Kerstin's 347 and Kyla's 339 are similarly below what they have been producing in recent months.
Both Alan and Andy were focussed and determined to put in good performances, but couldn't quite match their own high standards with Alan shooting 552 and Andy 544.
Áedán continued his strong run of form, qualifying for the final in first place scoring 567. A slow start for Áedán in the final gave himself a hard task, but he fought back and finished in third place to take another bronze medal.
Overall, it was a good competition for the start of the year with athletes happier with the result than others, but all of our shooters left in a positive state of mind, conducted themselves to the highest standards and are clearer on what needs to be done to push on.
Our thanks to Hugh for his help as team manager and coach, which is very much appreciated, and to Sue for organising the juniors from the development squad! Also our appreciation to Rene and the rest of the organisers of Intershoot for a well run and enjoyable match.
Report compiled by Janis from those supplied by Andy Ralston and Hugh Hunter. Photos supplied by Andy Ralston.