News

We started the year off to a great start seeing how the devasting bush fires on the east coast can bring out the best in people.  Thanks to one of our members Todd Barrett who gathered together a small group of people to put on a fund raiser to assist our local volunteer fire brigade.  The event was held at the Wanneroo club and a huge thank you to the club and other helpers for making this event happen.  Todd designed and carved the wooden fire flame trophy himself and it was won by Merv Holben.  We raised over $3,000 and the shoot was extremely well supported. All monies raised went directly to the Wanneroo Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.

With the bulk of the fire bans in WA over and the autumnweather a lot cooler, our 2020 shooting season started with our 1^st State Qualifier at the Harvey Clay Target club Sunday 15^th March. 

Great turnout with 74 shooters  attending. Plus, we have a lot of new shooters come along which was great to see and it really was a brilliant day for shooting sporting clays.  Apparently every day is a good day for shooting!   We put our risk management in place and prepared for being responsible citizens due to the COVID-19. Plenty of hand sanitizer and even a raffle for some of that rare Aussie gold, 4 rolls of toilet paper!  

Our State Qualifiers are 100 targets and shooters travel 6 hours from Geraldton to take part and thanks to these shooters and their families who make such a huge trek and especially one of our awesome mums’ who drives her son from Geraldton to attend.  Thank you Tania for bringing Tristan to Harvey.  Tristan is another talented junior from Echidna Park and we all wonder what they put in the water up North because they have produced some good juniors!  Thanks to everyone who also spent some long hours on the road who travelled from Moora, Lancelin, Perth and Augusta and it was great to see so many families as well.  

We got started by 9am with 13 squads and our first group of shooters were all done and dusted by 1.30pm, which is really excellent for those who travelled so far away and needed to hit the road.  

This was our first shoot with our new logo for the medals and HG sash which looked impressive. It is with great please our first State Qualifier High Gun winner was the peoples champion, none other than Rhys Howard aka Boodg or as he is affectionately known as Boodgweed! Check his cap out in the picture looking rather dapper.  

Boodg was the outright winner with a score of 92/100 runner up was Ben Sgro 89/100.  Only one 25 break badge and that was won by Pat Taylor who came 3^rd AA Grade. 

We used the SCA Live Scores program and everything ran smoothly plus we got to teach and show off some of the great features that make setting up a club shoot so easy these days. People were very impressed when books were lost or left at home how we could view their shooting history and even check on what grade they are.  The SCA Live Scores program is a credit to John MacKenzie and over here in the West we are doing everything we can to encourage all clubs to use it.   You can check out the full list of scores on the SCA live score web site as well.

With the presentations completed our State President Vern Godfrey had the pleasure of presenting the 2019 Member of the Year award to Sue Green and he sincerely thanked Sue for her commitment and dedication to our sport as a volunteerover many years. 

Thank you to our new State Target Director Clayton Dennis and to Ryan McPherson and others  for all the work that goes into setting targets hugely appreciated.  The feedback was so positive and it was great to so many happy shooters especially the newbies looking forward to doing this all again. The amazing ladies in the kitchen and also my favorite Barista Craig Ellis who really does make the best coffees, complete with my love heart on the top and Jo and Michelle for giving me a hand to get the shoot ready to go.  The help from so many people is what makes the event and a huge thank you to every one of the 74 shooters for coming along because without you there is no shoot.  Sure, hope you were all entertained and shall see you at the next State shoot.

WA members especially, remember that Wanneroo is hosting the SCA English Sporting Nationals in May, and you need to register via the SCA web site asap, so please take advantage of having a Nationals in our home State and hopefully one of our WA members will take the title for 2020.    

Sue Green

State Secretary Sporting Clays WA

Quarter 4edition Written by Carrie Paulsen

Howdy Shooters,

I can’t believe that I am already writing the final newsletter for 2018! As the shooting seasons comes to a close and we begin to wind down for the year, so many things are happening in the shooting world, we have quite a lot to cover in this edition of Shooters Of Today.

Firstly I would like to congratulate our 2018 Champion – Rhys Howard, Rhys shot a total of 496.56%. Tony Trainor was runner up with a total of 488.36%. Well done to both shooters, a great result!

We were lucky enough to score an EXCLUSIVE interview with the world famous, naked ranga – Bruce! Read on for his hilarious stories.

Also coming up is a look into our 2018 State Team and their performance at the Nationals, held in Laang, Victoria. We also touch on the recent Gebben Miles Coaching event, held by Pegasus, and as usual, we have the usual jokes, updates from clubs and Hunting & Habitat and amazing recipes to try.

The 2018 WAFGA AGM will be held on the 16th January 2019 at DSR in Leederville. All positions will be vacant and members are urged to attend this meeting. If you are keen to get onboard the 2019 State Committee, then nominate through your club delegates and attend the meeting on the night. The Committee is always looking for new volunteers to help drive the sport throughout the year.

I am also on the hunt for more ground pictures to use as the newsletter banner. If you would like to see your pictures included, please email to [email protected]

Wishing all of the WAFGA family a very safe and Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you all around the traps in 2019.

Best Wishes – Carrie Paulsen.

Quarter 3 edition Written by Carrie Paulsen

Dear Shooters,

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the State Newsletter for 2018. We are coming up to the important 2- Day State Championships THIS WEEKEND at Wanneroo. Who will be crowned our 2018 Champion? (my bet is on Boodgey), Top 10 and State Team? Wanneroo will be putting on a great weekend with camping available at the grounds for those travelling down. Read on for the advertisement.

The State Committee, will unfortunately be on the hunt for a new State Secretary in 2019. After years of dedication and hard work, Sue Green has decided not to volunteer for this position in 2019. If you are interested in nominating for this position or would like any further information, please contact Sue Green or Vern Godfrey for further details. [email protected]

Also included in this edition are some WORLD FAMOUS dad jokes (courtesy of Clayton Dennis and family) AND some coaching tips from Don Currie, pinched from the ‘Target Talk’ newsletter. Read on for giggles and shooting advice – Sign up to Don Currie’s newsletter for more great shooting advice!

In other news – The Wannamal relocation is in full swing, with two shoots already held at the ground with a lot of local interest, they are on track to getting the club ready to rock and roll for the 2019 season. Read on for an update on the Wannamal ground. Further details on their “official opening shoot’ will be released in 2019. ☺

We have a couple of amazing recipes in this edition thanks to Stacey Bell and the CWA of WA Cookery Book & Household Hints (Available to purchase from the CWA of WA). In this edition, we will be honoring the beloved Three Springs dim sim with a different dim sim recipe and also a braised rabbit recipe. Delish!

If you have any feedback on the newsletter or more importantly have a dad joke of your own (or want to provide feedback on the dad jokes in the newsletter), you can get in touch with me [email protected] or 0407 478 296.

Thanks. ☺
Happy Shooting folks!

Quarter 2 edition Written by Carrie Paulsen

Dear Shooters,

Welcome to the 2nd edition of the State Newsletter for 2018. Being half way through the shooting season, there is a lot to recap on already. At a state level, our President Vern Godfrey & Secretary Sue Green have been very busy preparing documentation for the Department of Sport & Recreation for the successful grant of $10,000 that is now in the State’s bank account… PARTY TIME! Just kidding! ☺ this money is used towards coaching clinics and further development of the sport.

We are already two qualifiers down and Harvey was the first cab off the rank hosting our first state qualifier for 2018 in March. The State and Harvey Sporting Clays welcomed 69 shooters and the reviews were all very positive on the running of the shoot and target presentation.

The scores were high and saw our National President, Tony Trainor winning high gun with a total score of 95 / 100. Closely followed by Aidan Cooper on 94. The weather was freakishly perfect that day, with zero wind and beautiful conditions and as a result of this we saw a lot of high scores. Mother nature was too kind to us that day. ☺

Pegasus held the 2nd State Qualifier mid-May with a total of 62 shooters in attendance. Pegasus were showcasing some brand spanking new grounds that I absolutely loved shooting at. Pegasus and WAFGA challenged the shooters ability with some new and varied targets including a pesky uphill & downhill rabbit sim pair and challenged their fitness levels by making shooters walk half a mile to get to there! Thank god the boys had placed signs of encouragement around the ground.

Boodgie (Rhys Howard) took out high gun with a score of 89/100 with Michael McDonald trailing closely behind with a score of 87 / 100. Lancelin put on a beautiful sunny day, with light winds. A great day was had by all with a lot of great feedback about the freshly cut grounds. I am very excited to see what Pegasus has in store for us all at their next shoot.

Read on for interviews with our 1st and 2nd State Qualifier winners – Tony Trainor and Rhys Howard, Hunting & Habitat news including club updates from Harvey, Wanneroo, Pegasus & Wannamal. I have also pulled a few recipes out of the archives – Goat Chilli and Pot Roast of Boar by ‘Tapeworm’ from a December 1995 edition. If anybody has a delicious recipe they would like shared to the WAFGA readers, please send it to me to include in our next edition.

Once again, I welcome any feedback about the newsletter – if there is something in particular members would like to read about, please shoot me an email at [email protected] or have a chat and a beer with me at the next State Qualifier in Geraldton on the June long weekend.

Happy Shooting folks!

Q1 2018 edition Written by Carrie Paulsen

Happy New Year and welcome to the first edition of the State Newsletter for 2018.

We have a brand new State Executive & Committee. Vern Godfrey (Harvey) is our fearless leader this year, taking up the role of President with the help of Ian Callan (Wannamal) as his Vice President. Tom Papadopoulos (Pegasus) is the 3rd delegate to make up the Executive (The Executive is responsible for the day to day running of State). Mike Hudspith (Wanneroo) is the State Target Director for another year and Sue Green (Wannamal) continues to enjoy the punishment as State Secretary and also stays on for another year. We also have a few new Delegates around the table for 2018 and a lot of fresh ideas to continue to grow this sport that we all love so much.

Thank you to Colin George, who has endured the top position as State President for the last 4 years and Brian Backhouse as Treasurer for the last 2 years. The time and effort you both have given to the sport is greatly appreciated and we are all looking forward to seeing you both around the traps for a shot very soon.

If members have any ideas, or concerns about the sport, that they would like to address at a State meeting, it is imperative that you go through the correct channels. Discuss this issue with your State Delegates and it will be put on the agenda for the next State meeting. Don’t forget that all state meetings are open for all to attend. Visitors cannot comment on the table discussions, but your voice can be heard through your Club Delegate.

Please remember that ALL positions on the Committee are volunteer positions. Committee members give up their own time to assist with the running of this sport. We all have a clear vision to move the sport forward direction.

There are a lot of exciting new events happening in 2018 – with the introduction of twilight shoots & BBQ’s at Perth Metro (Wanneroo) and Echidna Park. These are already proving a big hit amongst the members looking for a bit of fun on a Friday & Saturday nights.

I also had a quick interview with our State Compak Champion – Doug Coleman, read on for all his secrets in his shooting success!☺

Q4 2017 edition Written by Carrie Paulsen

Howdy Shooters,

Welcome to the fourth edition and final edition for 2017, of your state newsletter.

A lot has happened since the last newsletter, Echidna Park was the host of the 2017 SCA Nationals. With the help of all clubs in WA it is safe to say this event was a huge success. The feedback from our travelling and local competitors was extremely positive, with whispers that Echidna Park could be suitable to host a world event.

Wannamal hosted the final event at their beloved grounds. Closing off their 2017 season with an 80 pair English sporting shoot that the masses certainly flocked to, to shoot at this beautiful ground one last time. A full article on Wannamal’s closing shoot can be found in the latest SCA magazine. But we also have some very exciting updates on the future of Wannamal later in this newsletter!

All clubs have held their AGM’s and there has been some changes to some committees, please view the updated contact list at the end of this newsletter to stay up to date.

State is yet to hold their AGM (scheduled for January). ALL positions are up for grabs. If you are interested in forming part of the State Committee, get in touch with your state delegates for further information! All members are welcome to attend as observers, the AGM is held at the Department of Sports and Recreation in Leederville – contact your Club Delegates for further information.

Wishing everybody a safe and Merry Christmas. Please make sure you over-indulge with your loved ones and spend the holiday season busting clays.

Written by Carrie Paulsen

Hi Shooters,

I wanted to start this edition firstly to thank the members (Neil Joslin & Penny Dodd in particular) who have taken the time to dig through their archives and locate some very old WAFGA newsletters and memorabilia for me to read. I was able to read newsletters from as early as September 1985 (to put it into perspective, September 1985 is a few months before I was born). This allowed me to gain me an understanding of what the shooting world was like “back then”.

I was reading some very professional and well written newsletters that was an incredibly large task for a team of people. It gave me an insight of the huge amount of effort and dedication that our members put into this Association, remembering that it was not as easy to distribute a newsletter back then (they had to be typed, prepped and then mailed individually to members!). A very expensive and time consuming job and done incredibly well! I was very impressed. ☺

Anyway, after multiple cups of tea (“glasses of wine”) and spending hours reading numerous editions of Shooters of Tomorrow (the old newsletter), I realised that our new newsletter was lacking something extremely important… a name! So, given the old newsletter was called Shooters of Tomorrow, what better name for this version than Shooters of Today.

Reading through these newsletters certainly gives you a sense of what it was like in the sport “back then”. The major theme portrayed through most of the newsletters was always the absolute love of the sport. It was nice to read how everybody chipped in to help each other out. There was a lot of friendly banter between the clubs and members which was both hilarious and a recurring factor in all of the newsletters. Even though there was a lot of competition, everybody seemed to be out there having fun with their friends.

Also a very interesting point to read, was the average number of shooters attending an event would be around the 100 shooters mark! I urge everybody to speak with some of our veterans about what the sport was like back then… I guarantee you will see them instantly light up about the memories they shared.

If you are interested in reading any of the old newsletters, I will have them on display at the Wannamal Closing Day Shoot on the 8th October 2017. Otherwise if you cannot make the closing day shoot, send me an email and I’ll happily send you some copies. They’re a fantastic read! ☺

Happy shooting!

Written by Carrie Paulsen

Welcome to the WAFGA Newsletter. This is a quarterly newsletter that will be sent to all members of WAFGA to keep members up to date with information discussed from the State committee meetings and will include general news and notices submitted from all associated clubs in Western Australia.