SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 4 2015 SSAA National 5-Stand Championships NSW shooters shine in Queensland The 2015 National 5-Stand Championships were held at the Toowoomba Clay Target Club in Queensland on 4 and 5 July. Some of Australia's best sporting clay shooters took part including a number of state and national champions going head to head. In total, more than 60 competitors from around NSW, Western Australia, Victoria and a revitalised Queensland who fi elded the majority, took part. These Championships were also the culmination of the selection process to decide who would represent Australia in the two SSAA Australian Shotgun teams to compete in the Trans-Tasman COMPAK Championships in New Zealand later in November. Most competitors had already secured selection points at their 5-Stand State Titles and were looking to shoot well enough for more points to secure a coveted team position. Challenging this elite fi eld were four quite different 5-Stand layouts that presented a variety of conditions over the 200-target event. There were some excellent scores from the 100 targets on Saturday but with the targets changed on Sunday, competitors had to refocus and shoot consistently to fi nish with a competitive score. With a sea of Queensland maroon shooting shirts around the grounds, and just a few days before the decider match for the State of Origin, it was evident the Queenslanders were feeling optimistic. As the fi nal shots were fi red and after several shoot-offs, local shooter Damian Birgan claimed the High Gun with a superb score of 195/200 targets, demonstrating why he is an international and national sporting clays champion.

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