14. Women's Skeet

Event: Women's Skeet
Date: 25th April 2013
Location: Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd, South Essex
Cost: £24.00 (special rate)
Rules:  In Olympic shotgun events, competitors shoot at moving clay targets launched above and in front of them. In Skeet, the shooter rotates between eight shooting positions that are located in a half-circle pattern. Clay pigeons are thrown from two throwing stations, so the angles and direction of the pigeons vary every time. There can also be a 0-5 second delay for the clay to be released.  

   

The Event:

  

 

London 2012 Winner: Kim Rhode, USA.

 

Scores:

Sarah: 0/10

Ellie: 2/10

Comments:  

Sarah: As we moved over to the Skeet course, we were lucky enough to watch one of the other shooters practicing and showing us how it was meant to be done. The speed and accuracy was incredible- you are meant to start with the gun by your hip and only raise it up to your shoulder once you have called "pull". To prevent broken cheek bones, we started with the guns on our shoulder, but still I didn't manage to hit any! I was assured I was 'very close' a few times, but am doubtful of that! The random delay on the clay release adds an extra layer of difficulty to the event. We had a brilliant couple of hours at the club; everyone was so patient with us and Olly's tuition was so clear. As an added bonus, we also had some impressive shoulder and finger bruises from the trigger and gun kick-back! (which strangely doesn't hurt at all when you're actually shooting).         
Ellie: Shooting is it? Right… well, I’ll give you a little bit of background info - when we first got into this challenge, beyond the initial excitement and adrenalin, we started to think about the events that would be the hardest. Sarah and I both agreed that Horses would pose a problem, that Sailing might be tricky. I very much feared the long distance races and Sarah worried about the high dives… but we also highlighted Shooting. This is an area where I, for one, have no knowledge; no past experience to draw on at all. I was mostly struck by the responsibility of the sport and I felt terribly nervous. However, Olly, our tutor, was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and really embraced the spirit of our project. We had started with 30 practice shots, split into 3 groups of 10 and on 3 different runs. Bizarrely, I was quite good at it during the practice. I found disengaging my brain alarmingly straightforward. I think I felt more at ease with the Skeet round than the Trap. Tracking from right to left felt odd but at least I knew where to expect the pigeon from and so I was over the moon with 2 out of 10!

A big thank you  to Olly at Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd. It's not very common for beginners to try either of these disciplines, so we're so grateful that he could make it possible for us, and more importantly safe! For more info on Olly's shooting range: www.claypigeonshoot.co.uk