The Wellington and Hutt Valley Secondary Schools Smallbore Rifle Championships concluded on Sunday 23 August, with two highly competitive rounds contested across consecutive weekends at the Keene Range in Petone and the Royal Tiger Range in Newtown.  The annual competition brought together some of the region’s most accurate young marksmen and women, showcasing the remarkable concentration, discipline and technical skill required to excel in one of school sport’s most demanding disciplines.

For the second consecutive year, Heretaunga College claimed the coveted Barlow Fisk Cup for Top School, finishing with an impressive aggregate score of 1140.42.  The winning team of Alexandra Christie, Annie Lam, Avneet Bussan, Isaac Junc and River Buhler once again demonstrated the depth of talent within the Heretaunga programme, narrowly holding off a determined St Oran’s College side that finished runner-up with 1125.37.

Particularly noteworthy was the performance of St Oran’s College, who fielded a full team for the first time and immediately made their presence felt, securing second place overall.  Their achievement highlights the continued growth of smallbore shooting across the region and suggests an exciting future for the competition.

In the individual standings, Queen Margaret College’s Pippa Taylor produced another outstanding display, winning the Collegiate Cup as Top Individual Shooter with a superb aggregate score of 399.27 out of a possible 400.40.  Taylor has established herself as one of New Zealand’s leading young shooters, having represented at national level and achieved significant success in both domestic and international competitions during the past year.

 

Pippa Taylor in action earlier this year

 

Runner-up honours in the individual competition were shared by Hester du Plessis of Aotea College and Pippa Taylor, who each recorded aggregate scores of 393.24 and 399.27 respectively for the major individual trophies awarded during the championships.

Several athletes delivered exceptional performances for their schools across the two rounds.  Heretaunga College’s Alexandra Christie was again her school’s leading shooter, continuing the strong form that has seen her feature prominently in both regional and national secondary school competitions.  Defending national schools champion Isaac Junc also played a major role in Heretaunga’s success, further underlining his status as one of the country’s premier secondary school shooters.

The top shooter awards for each official school team went to Alexandra Christie (Heretaunga College), Alex McKenzie (Wellington College), Asher Thomas (Newlands College), Cara Yu (St Oran’s College), Filly Cornejo (Samuel Marsden Collegiate School), and Pippa Taylor (Queen Margaret College).

The championships also served as an important lead-in event for the annual Triangular Match between Wellington, Hutt Valley and Manawatū secondary school representatives.  Following the conclusion of the local championships, selected shooters will return to the Royal Tiger Range on Sunday 30 August to represent their regions in one of the traditional highlights of the secondary school shooting calendar.

As another successful season comes to a close, congratulations go to every competitor, coach, volunteer and range official who contributed to the event.  Their commitment continues to provide young athletes with opportunities to develop precision, patience and resilience while competing in a sport with a proud history in the Wellington region.