PHOTOS          FULL RESULTS 

Another year has passed for the Military/Service Discipline, and what a year it has been.  This year had 7 state events that in total attracted numbers in excess of 350.  Saying 2003 has been busy is an understatement.  For this, an extra special thanks MUST go to the helpers, workers and shakers of the discipline.  The 2002/03 State Deputy Chairman Peter Szacsvay tops the list along with ALL the NSW range and branch discipline enthusiasts that pitched in running state sanctioned matches (Armidale, Bathurst, Casino, Mudgee, Tamworth, Sydney).  From all the shooters in NSW, we thank you.

2003 also had many programs implemented either wanted, needed, or required to build the discipline into something that is structured, coherent and fair.  This saw the introduction of published and accepted state ranking system that offered state teams selection criteria, and a state hall of fame.  All this is to reward those who support the discipline with their efforts and attendance.

One of the area’s identified over 2003 that we plan to work on improving during 2004 is shooter understanding of the discipline in general.  There are many of us who seem to think that our discipline is designed, and therefore should be based, on the old 303 rifle.  Although this may well be one of the main reasons why, or how, people are initially introduced to this discipline, the fact is that this discipline is based on ALL firearms that are, or would be, used in the spirit of the services.

The 2003 State Championships for this discipline in many ways were successful, but not without its share of problems.  Organisers were extremely pleased with the attendance and the way key members of the host branch worked together to overcome many obstacles that presented themselves over the course of the weekend.  Being this report should be kept brief, and so much happened over the weekend, only the major happenings of the weekend are highlighted.

Planning the event proved to be a very difficult task.  2003 was the first “complete discipline championships” that included events never run before for firearms such as Pistol (in fact the other half of the discipline), Lever Action, Black Powder, and running for the second year, our Martini Cadet and Carbine events.  To handle this workload, extensive planning was the key.  With only 28 nominations by the close of the nomination period, we were worried that the event would be a “flash in the pan”.  Correspondence between organisers, the state chairman and the disciplines state co-ordinator took place with concerns of covering our costs – which were building based on estimates of attendance in excess of 60.

Cutting costs to host that championships were applied to state medals on offer, catering for Saturday night dinner and target purchases.  Considering state medals for a moment, our discipline requires around 160 medals to cover all matches and events shot during the discipline championships.  Now you don’t have to be a mathematician to work out some of the costs that need to be recovered through attendance.

Before all hope was lost, 1-2 weeks before the championships, nominations came poring in sending the newly revised plans into a spin.  Numbers at this stage were up to around the 60 we were hoping for.  We now had additional funds to purchase extra medals and increase our order with caterers for dinner requirements not to mention the additional shopping bill for bread, sausages and soft drinks etc (5 visits in total over the weekend).  All this, but wait, there is more!  Over the course of the weekend, an additional 20 people signed up on the day.  Again, we had concerns with our planning, but working double time kept the ball rolling – as bumpy as it was.

Friday had around 50 people show up to participate in the Pistol Championships and various supplementary NSW rifle matches. With so many people cross entering in various and differing matches, we took advantage of a well maintained range (thanks to the MRCA and SSAA) running everything side by side.  Shooters had to work in with the activities taking place and if there was a vacant spot – jump in!  The day was fantastic with a little hiccup on the Lever Action component that should be rectified by next year.  We had some fantastic displays of competitive shooting, but more so good sports simply enjoying themselves.  George Papallo and his troops did an incredible job running the pistol championships.  The day just wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of all the volunteers.

Special mention about Friday has to go out to Richard and Ray, plus the other Black Powder shooters who ran a very enjoyable event.  To this day, it’s hard to say who had the most fun – those shooting B/P, or those watching (Guys, warm up is supposed to be a 5min exercise – not 3 hours!  But the laughs, I guess, meant you were enjoying yourself).

Things were looking great for Saturday………

Well who could forget that wind?  Saturday was scheduled for Deliberate 400m and Sniper/Tactical 400m followed by 300m deliberate and Snap.  Weather reports had winds up to 70knots and were at least constantly around the 40knot mark.  These conditions affected the running and enjoyment of the event considerably.  Anything and everything that could happen, did happen and always at the worst time.  We had 3 of our 4x4ft target frames completely snap off and fly through the air like paper plates.  With almost half the remaining 20 timber frames suffering cracking and splitting, organisers had to keep targets down in the pits until the very last minute before the event was to start, minimising the chance of more targets breaking.  After the day dragged out and the wind took its toll on shooter fatigue, it was decided to call a halt to Saturday’s proceedings after the 400m events cancelling the 2 scheduled 300m components – disappointing, but necessary.  Scorers jobs were almost impossible due to the loss of a couple of important score sheets from various details that blew away in the wind (probably landed in Hawaii).  A recall of shooters personal score sheets (an additional scoring method) took place to retrieve the critical 400m scores.  The remainder of the ENTIRE championship weekend, up until the presentation Sunday, was to finalise these scores (thanks Kylie).

Come late afternoon, we moved into the hall for the AGM attended by many wind beaten faces.  With so many of us tired and hungry, the meeting was very informal but still productive.  These meetings are important for the chairman to understand the cross section of opinions with regards to the future of our sport.  A free feed followed the AGM, catered by a popular Chicken outlet that satisfied the shooters hunger, followed with strawberry cheesecake all catered by the SSAA.

Sunday was a new day with a reprieve on the disastrous conditions of Saturday.  As the saying goes, Malabar can provide 4 seasons in one weekend and this weekend was no different.  We completed the Sunday 3 Position and Rapid fire events well within time, 2pm in fact.  With some shooters only shooting one class then leaving, we struggled to find people to work the target gallery and some most appreciated volunteers performed butts duties for 2 or 3 details in a row – guys, this was very much appreciated.

Reflecting back on the weekend, in hindsight, we have highlighted the need to be flexible in our running of events in case conditions such as these present themselves again.  Perhaps the shorter-range matches should have been shot on the Saturday during the wind and left the good conditions on Sunday for the long-range matches.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing, therefore in future, please be prepared for sudden schedule changes to suit conditions.

There is no question that organisers did it tough, likewise all the volunteers due to the blustery conditions of Saturday that put the remaining championships behind the eight ball.  It took just over an hour on Sunday to finalise the weekend scores, after still sorting out Saturday’s problems.  Shooter patience was appreciated, especially those with long distances to travel, but was expected as the scorers were simply doing the job they volunteered to do.

Many of the entrants were travellers for regional NSW and other states.  Victoria and ACT supported the event to great success taking home many of the prized medallions and sponsored plaques.  NSW shooters extend thanks to them all and hope they will continue to support future NSW events.

Beyond the championships itself, the results were the final contribution to deciding the 2003 NSW Rankings for Shooter of the Year and State Teams.  These results join the champs results at the bottom.

To the future and the running of events, shooters must remember that a state championship event is just that.  Competitors are asked, and recommended, not to approach this event as a “club shoot”.  Avoiding shooter frustration is best done by the shooter themselves.  You should ensure all equipment is tried, tested and proven BEFORE the championship matches.  Warm up and sighting periods “on the day” are a privilege from hosts to competitors, and not a requirement.  For this reason, hosts always offer a practice day that competitors may take advantage of if needed.

All in all, the championship was still a very enjoyable event as it should well be.  It had its share of frustration due to weather revealing a few weaknesses, but this is well and truly documented to be fixed for future events.

Further to the AGM that took place Saturday night……..

Peter Szacsvay withdrew his offer to stand as Discipline Chairman Deputy after doing tremendous things for the discipline during his 3-years.  Peter’s input will be surely missed but he vows to stay involved in the discipline.  We will all get to catch up with him at the various matches across NSW in 2004.

Jamie Harris, no stranger to many of us, stood for the Chairman Deputy position and was unanimously successful.  Jamie will be a welcome force to the discipline in helping the chairman organise and coordinate 2004 activities.

David Waters was successfully re-elected as state chairman for 2004.  He will continue to put the same effort into the discipline in 2004 as he did in 2003 hoping that all the same faces from previous events will return next year WITH a lot more new shooters.

There is an old age argument that is frequently raised by many that this discipline “should” be based on the type and class of equipment we use to participate with.  Other shooters believe the discipline is based on the different and exciting courses of fire AND, that ANY type of firearm should be eligible to compete provided it is within the “spirit of the discipline”.  As most would agree, it is very hard to argue with either case.  With this argument in mine, enthusiasts are asked to consider both sides of this case and document their concerns for discussion at the 2004 discipline meeting at Mudgee in March during the CvC.

All shooters are reminded that the 2004 Grand Prix Series for both Pistol and Rifle kick off at Fairlight range on the Australia Day long weekend.   Shooters are also reminded to check, and be aware of, the NSW rule amendments (such as grading, match details etc) to the National rulebook.  All these details are available on the NSW web site.  Also, there is a chance the new national rulebook will be out early 2004.  Due to pre-planning, hosts may still be running events based on the 1999 rulebook and are asked to announce any changes at the event briefing. 

For 2004, the discipline chairman and alternate look forward to working with the range and branch discipline captains to continue to promote the discipline at both their respective range and across NSW.  Their efforts and work has been a key to the discipline building and will continue to be.

Finally, there seems to be some confusion as to how rules from National, State and local/ranges are applied.  For the record, National rules only need be applied when the matches/events being contested are for National team selection.  Likewise, the same goes for state teams events and selection.  If a match or event is shot in accordance with certain rules, then the event must be advertised as such, including recommendation it is advertised on the range complex where the match/event is shot.  Local matches, or supplementary matches, are just that.  They can be anything shooters want to dream up – so get in there an enjoy them.

In closing, before we show the results of the 2003 state championships, the organisers wish to thank the long, long, long list of helpers, volunteers and sponsors.  In no particular order:

-         Roman Copot Builders 0409 397 522 for all the target frames (sorry for the repair bill mate),

-         McFarloans Finance 0414 465 852 for Aggregate trophies of both the state championships and Grand Prix series,

-         Lawrance Ordanance 9212 5673 for the competitor patches,

-         Harris Building Design Services 0421 204 205,

-         Bespoke Leather 02 6767 0251 for the best leather slings and bolt holsters,

-         Bell River Homes (Mudgee) 02 6372 4200,

-         Kubowicz Builders (Mudgee & Dunedoo) 6372 4200,

-         PrerequisiteIT 0400 495 208 who are the proud hosts of our domain at no charge.

A full results list is available from the NSW web site.

NSW Pistol Championships

Class 1 Military
M grd 1^st Dan Yin, 2^nd Peter Richards
B grd 1^st George Papallo, 2^nd Rick Hull
C grd 1^st John Waters, 2^nd Drew Thompson

Class 1 Championship Top Guns
1^st Dan Yin, 2^nd Peter Richards, 3^rd Drew Thompson (J)

Class 2 Service
M grd 1^st Dan Yin, 2^nd Rick Gleeson
A grd 1^st Grant Bayley, 2^nd Kerry Benson
B grd 1^st David Waters, 2^nd Peter Pitchford
C grd 1^st Drew Thompson (J), 2^nd Wayne Cole

Class 2 Championship Top Guns
1^st Dan Yin, 2^nd Rick Gleeson, 3^rd Peter Richards

Black Powder Championships

Class E 3 Position
1^st Rick Hull,  2^nd Barrie Pennings,  3^rd Ray Harrold

Class E Rapid Fire
1^st Richard Losiak,  2^nd Barrie Pennings,  3^rd Ray Harrold

Martini Cadet Championships

1^st Rob Richards, 2^nd Ben Doherty, 3^rd Rob Irving

Lever Action Championships

 
1^st Rob Richards, 2^nd Fred Meyer, 3^rd Norm Frappell

Carbine Championships

1^st David Waters, 2^nd Ben Doherty, 3^rd Aaron Willett

 Modified Rifle Class H

Long Range Deliberate - 1^st Bob Faunt, 2^nd David Waters, 3^rd Rob Irving
3 Position Core – 1^st Bob Faunt, 2^nd David Waters, 3^rd Ben Doherty
Rapid Fire B – 1^st David Waters, 2^nd Dick Bennett, 3^rd Rob Richards
Junior for all above – Rowan Herreros

Class H Championship Top Guns
1^st David Waters, 2^nd Bob Faunt, 3^rd Rob Richards, 4^th Peter Richards, 5^th John Webber, 6^th Gary Willett

Standard Rifle Class A,B,C

Long Range and Rapid Fire
M-grd 1^st Peter Richards, 2^nd John Webber, 3^rd David Waters
A-grd 1^st Frank Gasparini, 2^nd Gary Willett, 3^rd Carlos Herreros
B-grd 1^st John Lewis, 2^nd Ray Harrold, 3^rd Kevin Gill
C-grd 1^st Brad Hedges, 2^nd Bob Harrold, 3^rd Jamie Harris
J 1^st Rowan Herreros, 2^nd Rob Prowse, 3^rd Ross Spittles

3Position Core
M-grd 1^st Rob Richards, 2^nd Aarron Willett, 3^rd Nick Abrahall
A-grd 1^st Fred Meyer, 2^nd George Papallo, 3^rd Frank Gasparini
B-grd 1^st Chris Harrington (J), 2^nd Kevin Gill, 3^rd Ray Harrold
C-grd 1^st Brad Hedges, 2^nd Rob Prowse (J), 3^rd Bob Harrold
J 1^st Rowan Herreros, 2^nd Chris Harrington, 3^rd Rob Prowse

Championship Top Graders
M-grd 1^st Rob Richards, 2^nd Peter Richards, 3^rd Nick Abrahall
A-grd 1^st Frank Gasparini, 2^nd Brian Haynes, 3^rd Fred Meyer
B-grd 1^st Kevin Gill, 2^nd Ray Harrold, 3^rd John Lewis
C-grd 1^st Brad Hedges, 2^nd Bob Harrold, 3^rd Brendon O’Connor
J 1^st Rowan Herreros, 2^nd Rob Richards, 3^rd Chris Harrington

Class A,B,C Championship Top Guns
1^st Rob Richards, 2^nd Peter Richards, 3^rd Nick Abrahall, 4^th Frank Gasparini, 5^th John Webber, 6^th Brian Haynes

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

Nick Abrahall.

NSW SHOOTER OF THE YEAR

David Waters

NSW STATE TEAM

David Waters
 Nick Abrahall
Brian Haynes
Steve Inskip
 (Reserve) Dick Bennett.

* * * End of Report * * *