Sport
13 September, 2022
Inter-school shoot brings out the big guns
Saturday 3rd September saw 25 students from six local high schools compete in a 50m, fifty shot target shoot at the Laurie Bowe Rifle Range at Leyburn.
Schools compete in a 50m, fifty shot target shoot at the Laurie Bowe Rifle Range at Leyburn.
Schools in attendance were Faith Lutheran College Plainlands (FLC), St. Mary’s College Toowoomba (SMC) Scots PGC College Warwick, Warwick State High School (WSHS), Allora State School and host school, Clifton State High School (CSHS).
The weather wasn’t anything to write home about, with over an inch and a half falling the night before, but it wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of twenty five high school students who travelled from across the Downs and from below the range to test their accuracy with a .22 rimfire rifle at the Clifton Benchrest Shooting Club.
The team that won the trophy on a total point score was a mixed school team made up of Ryan Staines (F.L.C), Hank and Cody Zammit (both Scots PGC), Mac Williams and Toby Hilton (both CSHS).
There was also a perpetual shield on the day, awarded for the highest individual combined score from the two rounds and that went to local year 12 student Malaika Valerio on 370.4 points (CSHS).
Malaika was one of the students who came through the shooting program when she was in year 9 and she was competitive right from the start.
Ryan Staines (FLC) was only one point behind Malaika on 369.4 and Mack Morris (SMC) and Toby Hilton (CSHS) were both ever so close behind to take out equal 3rd place, each scoring well on 369.3.
Leyburn local Dan Kirby (WSHS) also deserves a mention coming from nowhere in the second
round to shoot an impressive 192.5 which was the highest card of the day.
Organiser and CSHS teacher Brendon Thorpe said the shoot was a great success.
“We have access to such a fantastic facility, it’s even undercover in case of bad weather and we have the human resources, the committee members, who are willing to volunteer and coach the juniors coming through, it just doesn’t add up to not take them up on their offer,” Mr Thorpe said.
“When you work at a school in the bush and you teach bush kids, you need to tap into the skills and interests that they have and put energy into where they are keen to spend their time.”
Mr Thorpe said he would like to thank the township of Clifton and the wider community for their support with getting the Inter-school shoot off the ground.
“Clifton has a proud history in Benchrest shooting with ex-student and local legend Laurie Bowe (who the range is named after) leaving school and going on to shoot for the Australian team, on more than one occasion in the Olympics ‘a while before I was born’ he tells me.
“We’ve had a few good footballers, but I don’t know of any other Olympians that went through Clifton State High School,” he said.
CSHS has a weekly shooting program on offer for students on the right behaviour level.
Students select the fee-paying elective for sport of a Friday afternoon.
Students are initially put through their weapons licence safety course over a period of four weeks by a qualified instructor who resides in the community and then students visit the range weekly for roughly 16 weeks a year on a Friday afternoon, shooting 50m targets.
Mr Thorpe said he would like to extend a special thank you to the qualified volunteers who gave up their Saturday to make the event happen, Range Officer Chris ‘Browny’ Brown, Treasurer Mrs. Margaret Sullivan and chief scorer Ash ‘Browny’ Brown.
“I’d like to also thank the families that donated food and morning tea items, the people that gave their time behind the scenes in the lead up to the event, contributing in a big way,” he said.
“Principal Lou Oberholzer supported the Inter-school shoot from the get go and I know for a fact that without his support and approval we would have never got it off the ground in the first place.”
Mr Thorpe said both the Clifton Benchrest Shooting club and the Clifton community would now like to see CSHS host the Inter-school shoot as an annual event.
