Shooters take aim at medals

More than 100 shooters from across the country hit their mark at the Natal Open Championships last month.

At Ladysmith on May 23 and 24, marksmen and women representing seven provinces took aim, in pursuit of the closest possible score to a total of 500 points.

Among those were members of the Natal Combat Rifles Association (NCRA).

The results from this event are as follows:

X Class (optic sights)

E Botha from NCRA was first with achieved 405 points, ahead of fellow club member A Smythe on 402 and MC van Tonder, representing Northern Cape, also on 402.

A Class (open sights)

R Caine from NCRA was first with an accumulative 383 points, with T Verwey of Gauteng North in second on 372 points, and M Rowe from NCRA in third with 365.

Women

First overall was the Northern Cape’s N Wiid with 399 points, with the other podium positions going to M Mortassagne of NCRA on 330 and C van Schaik from Mpumalanga with 329.

Veterans (45 to 54 years old)

NCRA’s E Botha came first of all contenders in the category with 405 points, ahead of MC van Tonder of Northern Cape on 402 and B Keller on NCRA on 392.

Masters (55 to 64 years old)

A Smythe earned 402 points to take NCRA to position one, while K van Dyk from Gauteng South had 375 points and JJ Strydom from Mpumalanga achieved a total of 357 points.

B Class (shooters with less than two years’ competitive experience)

J Keet from North West was first with 350 points, ahead of fellow provincial contender I van der Merwe on 329 and M Potas of NCRA on 326.

Juniors (under 25 years of age)

T Verway from Gauteng North amassed 372 points to earn first place, ahead of P Mortassagne from NCRA on 329 points and A Vos of Gauteng North on 301.

Each of the class winners also earned the title of Natal Open Champion for this year.

The Natal Closed Champions (for registered KwaZulu-Natal shooters) for this season are E Botha in the X Class (405), R Caine in the A Class (383) and M Potas in the B Class (326).

Both the A and B Inter-Provincial Competitions were won by KZN.

Congratulations to all competitors who earned podium positions in the competition, and good luck for those participating in June 28’s league shoot in Estcourt.