The Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge began with a bang of a shotgun at 9:45 am recently at the picturesque Murphy Hill in St Ann overlooking the town of Ocho Rios.

It was not a typical day as the whole day was cold and cloudy with a little breeze and temperatures in the sixties. Normally one can experience the full gamut of weather conditions in a single day at Murphy Hill, sometimes to the annoyance of the shooters who prefer stable conditions to compete in.

The weather did not hinder defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster from being repeat winners in the Driftwood Gun Club-organised shoot for the first time. Both of them distanced themselves from the competition by posting scores that set them apart. Simpson was the only shooter to score in the nineties while McMaster was the only female to score in the eighties. Simpson scored 92 while McMaster scored 81 on a very challenging course under adverse conditions.

Simpson had a perfect start on Station Nine by picking off all six birds on offer. His good fortune continued for the next 24 birds before dropping one on Station 14. In total he picked off 92 targets out of a total of 100 from 17 stations on the looped course which moved from the flat to steep hilly terrain.

He was happy with his performance. “It feels good. It took everything I had today. I really put out everything today and at the end of it I am always happy to come out with a favourable score. I know what I am up against. I know the talent that’s here [and] yes, it can also have a negative effect in that you are trying not to be beat and that’s actually what comes with the territory. Fortunately, I was able to zone that out and just keep what was in front of me. I can feel them right behind me but I am not looking back.”

He welcomed the cold weather. “I enjoy this weather, actually it wasn’t too cold for me. This was comfortable for me, I like it. I am always appreciative for a win. I don’t take anything for granted. Yes, I work hard at my game; however, I know I have to bring it to win it.”

Three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, who tied with Simpson last year on 96 but lost by virtue of ‘long run’ tie-breaker, did not have a good day on the course this time around. He shot 84.

A Class shooter Geoffrey Ziadie copped the runner-up spot after posting 89 in the morning session.

Simpson and McMaster competed in the afternoon session which got under way at 1:30. The day was broken into two sessions as part of the COVID-19 protocols to reduce the number of shooters on the course at any one time.

Fourteen-year-old top shooter McMaster also had a perfect start on Station 12 though she lost two birds on the next station. Her scorecard showed several stations where she cleaned up all the targets. Her score of 81 was very good as no female had posted a score in the eighties for some time. She promised more scores like that in the future after saying that she could have done better after giving up some easy birds.

“Honestly,I am very proud of my score and I knew it could have been higher but I am very proud of myself. I have never felt so proud of myself and accomplished, especially after a tournament. Honestly, the course was really good and I enjoyed even the difficult targets and stations that I might have not shot as well at. I enjoyed knowing that I need to go practise this to come back again and shoot a better course.

“I hate shooting in the cold and when it’s kind of overcast because honestly it kind of start messing with you when you are cold. It kind of distracts you away from what you are trying to do, which is shoot and get a good score, but once you just embrace it and focus on what matters most then you should be fine and I was,” said McMaster.

Among the shooters who did well on the day were Nicklous Stewart, who was promoted to D Class and Rory Wilson, who was promoted to E Class, after winning their class twice.

The top three shooters in the various classes are: A Class — Bobby Chung 88, Shaun Barnes 87 and Damian Moe 86; B Class — Jeffrey Panton 85, Craig Davis 83 and Mark Benjamin 77; C Class — Damian Sawyers 83, Brandon Laing 82 and Paul Burke 81; D Class — Anthony Desnoes 81, Aliana McMaster 81 and Justin Samuda 81 – they were separated by ‘long run’; E Class — Nicklous Stewart 80, Noah Vaughn 70 and Neil McKenzie 69; Hunters or Beginners — Rory Wilson 74, Tara Brown 71 and Kashka Jones 69; Ladies — Aliana McMaster 81, Tara Brown 71 and Renee Rickhi 71 (long run); Juniors — Aliana McMaster 81, Zaniel Knight 74 and Noah Vaughn 70; and Sub Juniors — Lori Anne Harris 58 and Cameron Lee 29.

Ian McKay, president of the Driftwood Gun Club, was pleased with how everything went. “I am overjoyed. We faced a lot of challenges again this year with the COVID protocols, and so forth, and little bit of inclement weather yesterday and it held up and I think all participants had a wonderful time.”

He paid tribute to late David East, who was an avid shooter and member of the gun club. He passed in 2020. The venue at Murphy Hill is owned by the East family who has committed to hosting the event on an annual basis.

McKay said that the competition is the main fund-raiser for the Driftwood Gun Club, and that part-proceeds will go towards various charities in South St Elizabeth like Breds Foundation and early childhood institutions. He said that support from the title sponsor Proven made it easier for the club to achieve its objective.

Miguel Walker, assistant vice-president at Proven Wealth, who was on hand to experience the day with the over 100 shooters who turned up at Murphy Hill, said: “We sponsor this event for two reasons. The first being in honour of David East and the team at Driftwood and the second for the business development opportunity that an event like this offers to Proven Wealth Limited.”

He also said that the camaraderie among the competitors and the fact that the sport is growing made it a good fit for Proven to sponsor.