Three-time defending champion Aliana McMaster and defending champion Shaun Barnes are ready to defend their Driftwood Gun Club titles on Sunday at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate over-looking the town of Ocho Rios.

The event will begin at 9:30 am, with over 150 shooters set to contest the 17-station course.

It kicks off the first sporting clays shoot of the year for the Jamaica Skeet Club, which has a busy 2024 calendar.

Barnes, the six-time national shotgun champion, will battle the likes of four-time national champion Christian Sasso and nine-time national shotgun champion and current Jamaica Skeet Club president Ian Banks, as well as two-time Driftwood Gun Club champion Craig Simpson, the red-hot Nick Benjamin, with multiple wins under his belt in 2023, and the very consistent Ray McMaster among other outstanding shooters. They will be challenged by several sharp shooting juniors.

Meanwhile, the Ladies section will also be competitive with McMaster expected to be challenged by her mother, many-time national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, former national shotgun champion Marguerite Harris and a number of very good lady shooters such as Renee Rickhi, Loriann Harris and others.

The shooters will compete in various classes including A to E, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, Ladies and Hunters or beginners.

Proceeds from the tournament will be used for the Driftwood Gun Club’s charities, which are dominated by educational support in the Treasure Beach area in the parish of St. Elizabeth.

Club president, Christina East is happy to have Proven on board for the fourth consecutive year as major sponsor. She credited David East who passed away in 2020 with playing a pivotal role in securing the venue (Murphy Hill) as the home of the club's annual competition.

East was considered to be a visionary club member who only wanted the best for sporting clays in Jamaica, hence the competition is held in his honour. This year marks twenty years of existence for the Driftwood Gun Club.

 

Defending champions Nicholas Chen and Aliana McMaster are ready to defend their titles at the Rangers Gun Club and Family Fun Day which is set for Sunday, May 7 beginning at 10 am at the True Juice complex in Bog Walk, St. Catherine. 

The Rangers Gun Club is expecting a field of approximately one hundred and fifty shooters along with family members to trek the lush walking course venue for a day of individual and team competition featuring the local gun clubs. 

For the second year in a row four clubs will compete for the trophy; Driftwood Gun Club, Jamaica Gun Club, Rangers Gun Club and defending champions, the Trelawny Gun Club. 

Competition for top honors will be stiff as some of the Jamaica Skeet Club's best shooters will be vying for top honors. They include nine-time national shotgun champion Ian Banks, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes, current national shotgun champion Chad Ziadie, his father Geoffrey Ziadie, Ray McMaster, Andrew Hopwood, Ryan Chen and Bobby Chung as well as the high performance family team of female McMasters - Aliana, Wendy (five-time national shotgun champion) and Abigail along with other well known female shooters in Renee Rickhi, who is part of the Jamaica Rifle Association's Alpha Angels lady shooters, Marguerite Harris and Tara Brown. 

Shooters in various classes from A- E, Hunters or Beginners, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, and Ladies will be competing in order to win their classes and, in some cases, move up to more challenging classes. The course features a seventeen-station walking course. 

Part proceeds from the event will be donated to the Food for the Poor organization. 

The lead sponsor for the Rangers Gun Club Sporting Clays and Family Day is Sterling Asset Management. Worthy Park Select is the gold sponsor and there are several 'station' sponsors. 

The club has rich a history of young business men and some of their fathers who loved shooting getting together in the mid 1980s to start the Rangers Gun Club at their Salt Gully base in St. Catherine. 

They initially focused on bird shooting then took on sporting clays which is currently the most popular form of the sport and is said to be the favorite of the younger shooters. The tournament is being brought back by on their request.  The club's archives show that Michael Ammar, John Ammar, David Shoucair and Wayne Srour took the leap with Michael Ammar Sr., Sameer Younis and Dr. Badih Shoucair to start the club.

 

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