National shotgun title on the line
Published:Saturday | July 13, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter
Gunfire will puncture the air at the Knolford Polo Ranch in Bog Walk and its surrounding areas today and tomorrow, as the country's top shooters compete against each other in the 2013 Jamaica Skeet Club National Shotgun Championship.
The AC DELCO sponsored event is slated to commence at 10 a.m. on both days with 65 shooters down to participate on Saturday and 72 on Sunday.
A mere ten points separate the top four shooters going into the 200 Bird Sporting Clay main event, which is the final of five clay disciplines.
Two-times defending national champion Shaun Barnes leads with 16 points with 19-year-old Richard Azan Jr, who earlier this year finished as the top junior at the NCB Capital Market Sporting Clay Open, in second place with 23 points.
main event scores
Bruce Duquesnay, who was the overall winner of the NCB Capital Market Sporting Clay Open, has 24 points while former All Jamaica Champion, Geoffrey Ziadie, is fourth on 25 points.
In keeping with what obtains at the World Championships the competitors with the top six scores in 200 Bird Sporting Clay discipline will shoot another 25 birds which will be added to their main event scores. The winner of the round and overall national champion will then be declared.
"I have no expectations; this weekend is just about focus," Barnes told The Gleaner. "As of tomorrow morning (today) 10 o'clock that (focus) is all I intend to do and at the end of the two days we will see the results."
Duquesnay believes that it will be a tall order to overhaul the advantage held by Barnes, despite the deficit not being that much.
"I have to think positive that it can be done, but it is a tall task because Shaun Barnes is a two-time national defending champion," Duquesnay reasoned. "However, 200 birds is a lot of targets, so it is going to be two tough days. At the end of the day it is about who keeps their focus more; I just have to focus on one target a time."