Instead of the usual shoulder to shoulder competitions that run from October to February, culminating in the national finals, British Shooting organised a postal style event whereby entrants shoot their targets and send in photos to be scored.
Lockerbie Academy once again managed to enter four individual athletes, including one junior team.
In the first round, students had to shoot a series of four targets, each with five shots at a distance of ten metres. This is no different to previous years, except it was done in their own time, at home.
In the junior age group (P6-S1), Lockerbie had a team of three competing. Special mention must go to Tara Kane (Eastriggs Primary) and Jack Edgar (Lochmaben Primary) for stepping up and entering under the Lockerbie Academy banner to ensure a team could be entered. The final athlete to make up the team was Iona Yule (S1) who was competing in this series for the first time.
From seven teams entered across the country, they earned a silver medal, missing out on gold by just eight points -out of 600- and duly qualifying for the national finals, which will again be a postal entry with a deadline at the end of April.
Both Jack, pictured, and Tara also qualified as individuals. Tara was the winner of the Scottish region with a score of 178/200, this ranked her fourth female in the UK and sixth overall in the junior category. Not far behind was Jack on 176 which earned him second place in Scotland, fourth male in the UK and 11th overall. Meanwhile, Iona did herself credit, shooting 157/200, coming fourth in Scotland and 24th female in the UK.
Last year Kiera Graham (S2) shone when she won silver at the Scottish championships. This year she was in the intermediate age category (S2 and S3) and was against a very tough field that included members of both the Scottish and English National squads. Kiera performed well, posting a score of 160 which earned her third in Scotland and 28th in the UK.
Coach Kirsty Boardman said: “All of these performances are made extra special when you consider that the athletes have minimal to no formal training this year due to covid restrictions.
“I’m really looking forward to what the next few years will bring for these talented young athletes.
“Credit should be given to them for their dedication under changing circumstances, and their participation in this event will prepare them well for when we can return to shoulder to shoulder competitions.”
