On Thursday, Jamaica’s all-female elite shooting team, Super Six, loaded up their cash cartridges when top roofing company, Spectrum Systems, announced sponsorship for them to participate in the upcoming Pan Am Handgun Championships.
The multi-million-dollar sponsorship means Spectrum Systems will cover the cost of airfare, accommodation and match ammunition for five of the team’s members who will compete at the championships scheduled for Florida from September 14-21 this year. One team member is unavailable due to personal reasons.
Spectrum’s sponsorship is also another first for the history-making shooters as it is the first time a shooting team leaving Jamaica to a major tournament has been sponsored.
It is also the first time Jamaica will be represented at a significant shooting tournament by more than one woman.
“Spectrum Systems, Jamaica’s number-one roofing company, is pleased to sponsor Jamaica’s number-one shooting team. We wish them all the best as they represent us at the championships. Spectrum will ensure they have all they need ahead of and during the championships,” said Andrew Stanigar, Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Systems.
Meanwhile, chairman of Super Six, Robin Richki, who with the group’s marketing and public relations director Steve Brown and the entire team was present at the announcement, said the agreement has helped clear a difficult hurdle.
“Words cannot express how grateful the Super Six family is to Spectrum Systems. This sponsorship has placed us in a position where the dreams of these ladies can be achieved, and I am confident they will make Jamaica proud,” Richki said.
According to Richki, it was obvious from day one that the women on the team have the potential to do well in the sport. Their growth and impact, Richki said, have raised eyebrows and restated the importance of women in any field.
“This support from Spectrum Systems will send the performance of these ladies to the roof of the sport in short order. In just a few months, they have become the face of the sport and are attaining scores that keep going up,” said Richki.
Team leader Detective Corporal Sasha Mullings said this was the best news for the team she leads.
“We are thankful to Spectrum Systems, the Jamaica Rifle Association, our coach Anthony TJ Johnson and our management team for believing in us. We are super elated by this sponsorship and although it is a different environment, we are ready for any challenge,” she said.
Former national shotgun champion Christian Sasso and in-form female shooter Aliana McMaster were in top form recently when they defeated Master Class shooters in the Jack Links Cup and the Zoli Cup, respectively, in Florida.
Sasso emerged the victor in a shoot-off with USA Master Class shooters Joseph Fanizzi (USA) and Bill McGuire (USA) after all three were deadlocked in a three-way tie in Jack Links Cup at Quail Creek Sporting Ranch.
Naturally, he was ecstatic about his performance. "I would like to thank the sponsors who helped me to compete in the Jack Links Cup tournament in Florida, Sasco Distributors, Azan Super Centre and Issa Construction - they all played an integral part of my success that took place over the competition," he said.
"Right now I am ecstatic. I always try to do my best but to place in Master Class Fitasc, after a shoot-off with Joseph Fanizzi and Bill McGuire, two giants in the sport, I couldn't be any happier with the results. As you know Fitasc is only one category of many in the tournament. Right now my shooting scores are in line with the pros.
"I believe that with more international tournaments to come and exposure to different targets, I can consistently produce a first, second or third place."
He also congratulated his Jamaican colleagues who also competed.
"I would like to congratulate all the Jamaicans who participated and placed in the tournament. I will start with Aliana McMaster, who is a junior excelling in the sport as basically a newcomer, Roman Tavares-Finson, who shot exceptionally well, Zachary Chin, Jonathan Ralston, who is a junior producing good scores right now; Isaac Mair, Chad Zaidie, Shaun and Marc Barnes, Edward Zacca, Paul Burke, Wendy McMaster, John Desnoes, Gordon Bucknor (and) Lenin Thompson.
“All of these persons did extremely well in their respective classes, and I would just like to big up all of them and big up team Jamaica."
Shaun Barnes, a six-time national shotgun champion topped the AA Class preliminaries with a score of 83 and the AA Class Fitasc (86).
Roman Tavares-Finson won the AA Class in 5-Stand after scoring 93 while Chad Zaidie topped the Main Event with a score of 172. Young Jonathan Ralston bagged first place in a number of disciplines namely, A Class Thursday Prelims - 81, A Class Fitasc - 85 and A-Class Super Sporting - 42.
In the Zoli Classic at the South Florida Shooting Club, there were outstanding performances from Aliana McMaster, Chad Ziadie, Richard Todd and Brandon Laing.
McMaster was the number one female performer for Jamaica after topping the D Class - 87 in the Thursday Prelims, Friday Prelims - 83 and 5-Stand - 85. She is the first Jamaican female shooter to win a class in any overseas shooting competition under the Jamaica Skeet Club banner. She bagged 10 trophies in the tournament.
"My performance overall between the overseas shoots so far has been my best performance I could have put out there. I didn't feel like I left anything out there,” she said.
“I couldn't have done more. All I learnt is knowledge and experience and just a feeling of accomplishment and also dealing with disappointment and different aspects of things I need to learn about myself when shooting in foreign and I couldn't have asked for a better result or game."
Meanwhile, Chad Ziadie won four AA Class categories with scores of - Thursday Prelims - 95, Friday Prelims - 86, Fitasc - 80 and Super Sporting - 44.
The recent Jamaica Gun Club Sporting Clays tournament turned out to be a good one for the McMaster family. The tournament attracted 148 shooters from across the island to its Salt Island facility in Clarendon where the McMasters demonstrated their mastery.
In extreme heat, Ray McMaster shot a score of 92 to take the top spot by long run ahead of Chad Ziadie and Brett Thwaites, who also had scores of 92.
McMaster’s wife Wendy shot a 78 to win the Ladies' competition while their in-form daughter Aliana was second with a score of 69. Aliana’s sister Abigail finished with a score of 62 to finish in fourth place.
McMaster, who for the second time walked away with the trophy for the Highest Overall score, was thrilled at the outcome.
"Awesome, awesome, awesome! I actually didn't think the 92 would prevail," he said, revealing that he was unable to say exactly what made him victorious.
"I don't know but I just come out and do the same exact thing, come out and execute. For one, the breeze wasn't blowing too much and I think that helped with the course. Shooting is like that, you just come out and everything happens for you on the day. I must say I am happy that I prevailed but the score could have been better but I am very happy."
Wendy, meanwhile, was equally chuffed at her triumph.
"I feel really good. My confidence level is going back to where it was. I was struggling back in several shoots before and I worked on my weakness and I have discovered how to correct it so right now I am in a good place, just to work on it a little bit more so I can always be on top," she said.
The top three shooters in the various classes were as follows:
A Class: Brett Thwaites 92, Shaun Barnes 91 (LR) and Jordan Thwaites 91 (LR);
B Class: Najeeb Haber 79, Craig Davis 77 and Evan Thwaites 76;
C Class: Nathan Chin 90, Paul Burke 82 (LR) and Ricky DuQuesdnay 82 (LR);
D Class: Gordon Bucknor 87, Justin Samuda 83 and Richard Todd 80;
E Class: Noah Vaughn 81, Matthew Grant 77 (LR) and Carlton Davis 77 (LR);
Hunters or Beginners: Kashka Jones 72 (LR), Lucas Thomson 72 (LR) and Anthony Ayoub 72 (LR);
Ladies: Wendy McMaster 78, Aliana McMaster 69 and Tara Brown 67;
Juniors: Nathan Chin 90, David Wong 87 and Mark Desnoes 82;
Sub Juniors: Christopher Lee 50.
Two shooters, Noah Vaughn and Kashka Jones were promoted to D Class and E Class respectively after winning their respective classes on the day.
Christina East and Renee Rickhi shattered another glass ceiling earlier this month when East was elected the first female president and Rickhi, the first female club captain respectively, of the 16-year-old Driftwood Hunting Club.
Both women are also the first females to be named to lead any gun or hunting club in Jamaica.
"The shooting world is a man's world and when I started learning to shoot over 20 years ago, it was a male-dominated sport with few women, whether it was sporting clays or rifle or pistol and when the influx of women came into the sport it drew a lot of attention. And when women started to do better than men in the different classes whether it was JRA (Jamaica Rifle Association) or the Skeet Club, it made the sport more competitive,” said East.
“Women made it more fun and more entertaining and women brought more flair to the shooting fraternity. Being a founding member of the Driftwood Gun Club, for the last 15 years we have managed a lot of charity and donations events across St. Elizabeth.
“The aim is to continue to assist those in need from the early childhood institutions in Treasure Beach that we do support and the bird boys to help them personally develop themselves and to continue to grow the club's membership.”
She believes the time was right for the club to have a female president.
"As the first female president of the gun club in Jamaica, I think that It’s the right time for a woman to ‘start leading and to start to make an impression on the shooting fraternity. Driftwood is a young club but has made a big impression on all the gun clubs. We are considered trendsetters among the shooting clubs and I have been among the group that has brought new ideas, events and vibes to the shooting arena. We host great shoots and other events and we intend to grow the members and to continue to personally and professionally teach them safety and to sharpen their skills.
"I also think it’s important that women be encouraged to be responsible firearm users and to be able to defend themselves, especially in a high-crime area. Under my leadership, we will specifically target women and encourage women to participate and learn to defend themselves and to take up competitive shooting and to really be great at it.
“It’s great that the club, which is predominantly male, has chosen two women to hold the two most prominent positions in the club. With Renee as the club captain, it demonstrates that women are highly regarded and respected in this sport.”
Rickhi said she was happy that the club has demonstrated its confidence in her abilities.
"I am honoured to be the first woman club captain of a hunting club in Jamaica. I am grateful to the members of Driftwood for having the confidence in me to give me this task,” she said.
“ A club captain of a hunting club has a lot of responsibility; land acquisition, field preparation and shoot management. We have to make sure that our birds are there, we are getting enough rise, they are coming to the field, watching the flight to determine the best position for the members. The good thing about my club is that we have a lot of fun but you still want them to have a great shoot no matter what. It’s a lot of work, especially closer to the season, but it's also a great time as well, especially the road trips and I want to commend Driftwood for choosing me as their club captain, as a woman and for choosing Christina East as their president."
Defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster successfully defended their titles at the David East Memorial Sporting Clays shoot at Murphy Hill in St Ann on Sunday.
In cool and cloudy conditions, both shooters proved to be a class apart with Simpson, who shot a 92 to be the only shooter to score in the nineties while McMaster, scored 81 and was the only female to score in the eighties.
"It feels good. It took everything I had today,” said Simpson, who had a perfect start at Station Nine picking off all six birds.
“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 beaten 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."
Simpson hit 24 consecutive birds before dropping one on Station 14.
He said that the weather had little effect on him during the competition.
"I enjoy this weather. Actually, it wasn't too cold for me. This was comfortable for me, I like it.”
‘A’-Class shooter Geoffrey Ziadie copped the runner-up spot after posting 89 in the morning session while three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso who tied with Simpson last year on 96, shot an 84.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old McMaster, who had a perfect start on Station 12 before missing two at the next station said she was proud of her final score.
"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,” she said. “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 practice this to come back again and shoot a better course."
For her, the conditions were a factor.
"I hate shooting in the cold and when it’s kind of overcast because it kind of messes 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."
Jamaica’s Isaac Mair has described his B Class victory at the Florida State Championships this past weekend as 'the sweetest' of his wins this year.
Craig Simpson defeated defending champion Christian Sasso via long run to win the David East Memorial Sporting Clays on Sunday. Meanwhile, Aliana McMaster dethroned her mother, Wendy, to take the women’s title.
Three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso and four-time national female champion Wendy McMaster are eager to take to the course their respective rivals today at the David East Memorial Shoot at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate which overlooks the town of Ocho Rios in St Ann.
Sasso, however confident, will have to look out for his rivals, who include six-time national champion Shaun Barnes as well as Ray McMaster, Craig Simpson and Robert Yap Foo.
The Ladies section also promises to be competitive with McMaster expecting to be challenged by her daughter Aliana, Marguerite Harris and Renee Rickhi.
Mention must be made of the Juniors who have been posting wins against some of the island’s top shooters. Juniors such as Danzell Knight, Mark Desnoes, JJ Ralston and David Wong are expected to be engaged in heated battle throughout the day.
The shooters will compete in various classes including A-E, Junior A-D, Sub-Junior, Ladies and Hunters or beginners.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, there will be a number of changes to the 2021 staging of the tournament. The usual two-day event will now be held in one day in order to reduce the contact time among the shooters.
There will be no hospitality on the course and no after-shoot prize-giving lyme. The wearing of masks will be mandatory and shooters will be subjected to temperature checks on entering the venue.
There will also be no shooters briefings and fewer shooters will be allowed on the course at any one time. This means that there will be two start times (9:30 am and 1:30 pm), which will lead to a longer day overall but makes for easier social distancing with fewer shooters on the course.
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