Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/581623
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 6 SSAA NSW Bananacoast Championships Records and rain in Coffs Harbour SSAA NSW Coffs Harbour Branch hosted the 2015 Bananacoast Championships held at the Dairyville Range from Saturday 22 to Monday 24 August. The competition was split into three classes with Light Benchrest on Saturday, Heavy Benchrest on Sunday and the Experimental on Monday. Saturday was the busiest day with 45 competitors taking the fi eld shooting over 100 and 200 yards. Murray Hicks shot an incredible .1696, a pending record, to top the 200 yard shoot while Barry Warwick fi nished fi rst over the 100 yard distance with a score of .1854. A special evening meal was served on the fi rst night to more than 40 competitors and volunteers at the range. Resident chef Michael Laidlaw prepared scotch fi llet steak, potatoes, carrots and beans served with a choice of sauces. The Heavy Benchrest event on Sunday had 43 shooters take part over the 100 and 200 yards. Steve Sori topped the 100 yard distance with a score of .1708 and Roger Marshall shot a .2081 over 200 yards. Murray Hicks was an ever-present fi gure and fi nished third in both Heavy Benchrest distances. Combined with his scores from Saturday, the local shooter took out the 2-Gun event with an aggregate score of .2167, ahead of Steve Sori in second on .2234 and Mitchell Tallar on .2381. These top three shooters, alongside Bill Jupp, represented NSW in the State of Origin trophy. The NSW team shot a combined score of .2380 to beat the Queensland team and retain the trophy. The Queensland team of Roger Marshall, Steve Blaine, Russell Gibson and Paul Sullivan shot a combined aggregate of .2600. For Monday's Experimental class, a group of 10 shooters braved the storm and rainy conditions. Finishing on top was Steve Blaine with a score of .2862 followed Barry Edgley .2993, Steve Sori .3226, Mitchell Tallar .3550 and Ean Parsons .3831 to fi nish out the top fi ve. A big thank you must go to all of the volunteers who assisted with the Championships. Especially the target crew who braved the wet and cold on Monday and did a fantastic job over the entire three days. NSW team winning the State of Origin, (left to right) Bill Jupp, Steve Sori, Murray Hicks and Mitchell Tallar