Our Columba trap shooting team competed in a 3-day Bodkin Shield competition, held from the 19th to the 21st of August, with the Friday being hosted in Moa Creek, Saturday in Alexandra, and Sunday at the Wanaka Gun Club.

The Bodkin Shield is widely known right throughout the country and many shooters throughout New Zealand come down to Central Otago to compete in it. Columba and John McGlashan were the only High Schools competing and were up against shooters with a lot more experience than themselves, people that had been shooting for years, and some who had even represented New Zealand in this sport. Kate Wilson and Laura Moore were up for the challenge! This was the biggest shoot that they have attended and the longest, as they had only attended singular-day shoots up to this point. Three days of shooting was a learning experience for the girls, but some admirable results show that the girls did a tremendous job and represented their school very well. With an average of 180 shooters over the weekend, the girls were two of only four women who were competing in the Bodkin.

Laura had a good shoot overall averaging a 75% shooting rate; Saturday in Alexandra was the better day out of the two days that she shot. On Friday, Laura shot 44/60 and on Saturday she shot 47/60. It was a great shooting weekend for Laura overall.

Kate consistently shot well throughout the weekend, averaging an 89% shoot rate and even managing to gain her first possible (20/20) on Saturday. Kate shot 53/60 on Friday, 56/60 on Saturday, and 52/60 on Sunday. Kate was asked by John McGlashan to shoot alongside their boys in the team event on Saturday. With Kate put in as the sixth shooter, it meant that everyone was watching by the time she got to shoot and she was very nervous; nevertheless, she managed to shoot 13/15. The girls were approached by many experienced shooters, who were very pleased to see young blood out giving the sport a go, especially young women, with not many women being in the trap shooting community. 

Kate and Laura looked very smart, representing Columba by wearing their school uniform alongside their Columba-branded shooting vest. The girls shot very well, particularly considering that they had never shot before at these clubs. John Fooks (the coach) was very pleased with the girls' shooting and is looking forward to the upcoming intercollegiate to see if these great results will continue.

If you are interested in giving Trap Shooting a go (training once a week) please contact Trapshooting Captain, Miss Kate Wilson.