DCRA Team to Barbados 2013 - Captains Report
It was with great pleasure that I accepted the DCRA’s kind offer to
captain a team of Target Rifle shooters to visit Barbados in May 2013 to
compete in the West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championships, an annual
event, and an ICFRA Australia Match.
Mr. Paul Archer from Ontario ably assisted my captaincy in the role of
Adjutant to the team. His local knowledge proved invaluable and his hard
work and thoughtful attention to detail resulted in a very well organized
and smooth tour experience. I am sure the whole team will join me in
thanking Paul for his efforts.
The team comprised:
Ric Melling, Captain Paul Archer, Adjutant
Alpar Katona Paul Dudzinski
John Chapman Murray Sloane
Gord Hulbert Tom Maynard
Gian Garro Stefan Isaacs
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Before describing the events of the tour I would like to record our thanks
to those who made our participation possible. At risk of omission, our
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thanks go to Des, Jim, Kathy and the DCRA team, Paul Bawden for the
team shirts and hats (the hats were a great idea), the ORA, ICRFA, the
BRA and of course the officers and staff of the Barbados Defense Force.
Thanks also to Stefan for maintaining the team Facebook page.
The tour commenced on May 8th with ten Canadian shooters and a
handful of family members meeting at Pearson airport from quite distant
locations in the Prairies, British Columbia, Ontario, the USA and Hong
Kong. We travelled to Barbados directly where William Murrell, the ‘man
who made it happen’ from the Barbados Rifle Association met us and
completed all formalities with great efficiency, taking us to our hotel by
mid afternoon. Our two rental vehicles arrived soon after and a short
foray to the local supermarket enabled us to stock up on provisions to
take advantage of the self-catering facilities at the hotel.
The next day we went to Paragon Range to assemble equipment and get
zeros at 3 distances with only the Australian team and our hosts for
company.
For the technically minded, the ammunition we used was HPS from the
UK, loaded soft for the ambient temperature and using the Sierra 2155
bullet. ICFRA targets were used throughout. We enjoyed a second day of
practice at which almost all competitors from Australia, Great Britain, The
Channel Islands and of course the West Indian countries; Antigua,
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad, had gathered. The clubhouse
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was for sure a busy place. This was followed by a Meet & Greet at the
Barbados Garrison hosted by the Commander in Chief of the Barbados
Defense Force, a gracious host and a strong supporter of both the Cadet
movement in Barbados and the Barbados Rifle Association.
We held a team meeting each evening in one of the hotel rooms and
discussed the pertinent facts of the day and our team strategy for the
coming days. By the close of day two we had all come to the inevitable
conclusion that the pace of the event would not be the same as the crisp
’to the minute’ arrangements we normally experience in Canada.
Information was provided on a just-in-time basis and the clock hands
travelled at a variety of speeds. This was not a problem. One learns the
questions to ask and to adjust one’s expectations then all is well with the
world.
Day 3 represented the start of the West Indies Championship individual
event. After an opening ceremony and the firing of the traditional first
shot by ‘The Colonel’, shooting got under way in earnest.
In order to fit 136 participants into a 16 target range the event had been
organized to allow for two distances per day, a 2+10 and a 2+15 with
each competitor shooting either in the morning or in the afternoon and
allowing for a half day of relaxation on each of the four days of individual
competition. By the end of the first day of competition Canada had three
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shooters listed on the ‘first page’ of scores, led by Al Katona and Paul
Dudzinski. This was a good showing when you consider that both GB and
the Australians were fielding sizeable teams of ‘heavy hitters’ with the GB
team having been touring the Caribbean for three countries prior to
Barbados and were thus quite acclimatized to the heat (a little warmer
than the several feet of snow some team members left behind in
Winnipeg). We were also up against the ‘best of the West Indies’ on their
home turf. So three names on the first page was a pretty good start for
our small team of enthusiastic Canadians! We maintained that standing.
The four days of individual competitions went by only too quickly, with the
expected domination of the lists by some very familiar British names. The
best of the West Indies were from Guyana, with the Canadians mixing it
in among the local countries. It certainly proved a fertile learning ground
for all the team, most particularly those who had not toured before. High
heat, high humidity, vivid light levels and sunburn galore made acquiring,
maintaining and concentrating upon a good sight picture quite a
challenge.
As a team we had decided to savor the challenge and not focus needlessly
on scores. If we mastered the conditions, each of the team members
were capable of achievement and indeed each of us managed creditable
scores at various times, but we were being realistic about the quality of
our opposition who had come to Barbados to lift the Australia Match
crown. Our daily team meetings focused upon the more experienced
members coaching the team through the challenges we all faced in a
constructive and collaborative way. Careful applications of ‘coaching oil’
were administered to the team as a whole.
The West Indies Championships Team Matches, one day at long range
and then a second at short range, were keenly shot on what were our 7th
and 8th consecutive days on the range. The format was teams of eight for
both days, with Paul Dudzinski and John Chapman volunteering to coach
our remaining eight participants. No need for anyone to stress over
whether they had ‘made the team’ because we needed all hands on deck
for shooting, scoring, register keeping, running errands, sight checking,
rehydration and everything else the team has to do. We did prevail over a
couple of the West Indian country teams, but alas not all of them. Our
position relative to the Old Country and the Aussies was as expected.
Remember, we were focused on participation, not numbers, so if you
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want the scores, you will have to refer to the NRA UK website. They were
really focusing on avoiding the dreaded ICFRA 4 ring!
With the West Indies Championships over we elected to skip the one-day
practice session on the Friday and instead opted for a relaxing tour of the
island. This proved to be the right decision as some of our performances
were dwindling day by day due no doubt to the exhaustion and
dehydration. We had elected one of the team to keep a very careful watch
on his, if not everyone else’s electrolyte levels. Very important when
consuming, and losing several pints of water a day. Man cannot live by
water alone. It needs some additives. Being Barbados, the commonest
additive was sugar.
So come the day of the Australia Match and Team Canada was on the
range ‘looking our best’.
Our team of 17 contained the same 10 names each 1.7 times. That was a
workload that was guaranteed to cost us some points. Tom Maynard and
the Captain joined Paul and John in the coaching chairs but despite our
best efforts we could not keep up with the team employing dedicated
coaches, plotters, central coach, a Doctor and an Armourer. We were far
from competitive in every respect but we did achieve what we set out to
achieve. Canada was represented, stayed the course and indeed posted a
number of Highest Possible Scores at long range on the day. Tom
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Maynard’s 50.7 at 900 yards was the best on the range. Well done Tom
on the gun and John in the chair.
We were ‘pipped’ in the Australia Match by a couple of points into 4th
place behind the West Indies team. That said, it was a good match, in
excellent conditions, with a fair wind and an absolute ‘stair-rodding’ of
rain half way through the 1,000-yard stage that we followed upon restart
with a plumb V bull.
The Prize Presentations were held at the Barbados Museum on the
evening of the last day. There were a lot of prizes to present, Barbados
having preserved their West Indies closed prizes and effectively
duplicated the prize table to allow for ‘open prizes’ as well. As is
customary in the West Indies, each team gives mementos to the other
teams and Canada focused its contributions on the West Indies teams.
How can one summarize a report on the 2013 DCRA tour to the West
Indies? Excellent camaraderie, Good humor, First class team spirit, Best
efforts by all, Great hospitality, Excellent shooting, First class
sportsmanship, Great people! Canada needed to be there not only to
continue a long standing friendship between our country and the various
West Indian shooters and to advertise shooting in Canada, but to support
the efforts of these smaller National Associations to keep the sport of Full
Bore Target Shooting alive internationally. Canada was there! We played
our part as a team and every man on the team played their part to the
full and in the best of spirits and I would like to thank every one of them
for being such a wonderful team and such great ambassadors for Canada
and the DCRA. Team Canada, you did yourselves proud!
Ric Melling
Captain.