Note that clickable links to today's ranges, matches and aggregates are provided following the commentary.

Sun 24 Aug 2008

The main part of the CFRC being over, today was dedicated to the final part of the Commonwealth Games Selection Trial.

As I mentioned in yesterday's report, the weather forecast for today was not all that promising. However, a weak front went through earlier than expected giving only a light shower first thing. After that, it stayed warm and humid, but with no rain, cloudy in the morning but turning sunny in the afternoon. With the somewhat unsettled weather the wind was was fresh and changeable all day (the canopy of my 'gazebo' blew away yet again). Perhaps due to the wind but also to the extra tension of this sort of trial, scores were quite variable with even the "stars" taking a tumble or two.

The upshot was a fascinating day's shooting. Several of those eligible did not shoot, perhaps either because they so far behind or simply could not be bothered. In the end 12 fought it out, with the major battle between last night's top five. Jim Paton went into the day with a solid lead of 7 points. In spite of some problems at the last 900 metre range, he was not seriously troubled during the day and won by 6 points. Des Vamplew was two points ahead of the rest of the pack going in, and came out 2nd by one point. Amongst the other three however, the order changed at almost each distance due to conditions and a number of mishaps. Finally, Paul Tremblay finsihed 3rd, Bruce Bullock 4th, and Pat Vamplew was edged out of the final four. Top scorer on the day was Laurie Hearn with a fine 295.28, Paul Tremblay 2nd with 293.32 and Stan Frost 3rd with 292.32.

Final scores: 1. Jim Paton 1924.197, Gold medal; 2. Des Vamplew 1918.209, Silver medal; 3rd Paul Tremblay 1917.196, Bronze medal; 4th Bruce Bullock 1915.187, Bronze Medal.

With a Manager/Coach to be named in the near future, this group will now participate in a training programme leading to a further selection process for India in 2010. The aim is to have three shooters attend the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships in February of that year, after which two will be selected for the Commonwealth Games themselves in October.

So the 2008 Canadian Championships are over. By and large, it was a successful event, with excellent competition. The main disappointment was the relatively small entry. That is something which will require careful analysis in the next little while. The cancellation of the F Class Tournament, due to lack of entries, seemed to dishearten the F Class shooters in general, and their numbers were well down this year, especially in the F(O) Class. However, the F(F) Class did show a welcome increase, with some first-time entrants. Very positive notes were the excellent performances of so many of our younger shooters, and the much broader participation permitted to Cadets and the Cadet Staff. This is a very heartening sign for the future on which we must continue to build. My report in the next issue of the Canadian Marksman will discuss these and other features of the Championships in more detail.

Finally, let me offer my thanks to all the DCRA Office Staff, the Range Staff, Butts Staff, Quartermaster Staff and all others who worked so hard to make the 2008 CFRC a success. This is my last year as the Programme Chairman - I wish my successor well, and I hope he has as much fun and sense of achievement as I think I have had over these last 20 years and more. May we all assist him by turning out in much larger numbers for the 2009 Matches.

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