The Shacman/Tank-Weld 200 Bird Sporting Clay Shoot concluded on Sunday after two days of intense competition at the lush Worthy Park Sugar Estate in Ewarton, St. Catherine. The event saw Craig Simpson crowned as the national sporting clay champion, while Aliana McMaster retained her title as the Ladies champion for the third consecutive year.

Participants faced challenging conditions, including rain, wind, high humidity, and extreme heat. These elements, combined with tricky target presentations, tested the shooters' skills and resilience. After the regulation 200 bird shoot, the top six scorers were selected for the decisive Super Six shoot-off.

Craig Simpson, Chad Zaidie, Christian Sasso, Andrew Hopwood, Roman Tavares-Finson, and JJ Ralston emerged as the top six shooters. The Super Six shoot-off, consisting of a 25-bird target shot over three rounds, ended in a tie between Simpson and Zaidie at 178 each. A subsequent shoot-off saw them tied again at 190 after two rounds. The third and final shoot-off broke the tie, with Simpson hitting seven out of eight targets under extreme pressure to clinch the championship by just one bird.

Reflecting on his victory, Simpson shared, “Yesterday was one of the most difficult sporting shoots I have shot in a long time, and I had to dig deep. I wanted the sporting clay title this year. This is my third win this year, and I was really hungry for it. I wanted to close out the year with the 200 Bird championship.”

Regarding the Super Six shoot-off, Simpson added, “I had a strong first station, shooting all eight targets. The middle was tough, but I managed to hold on and tie with Chad. Chad is a top-quality shooter and pushed me to earn it today. It was a very entertaining, high-class shoot-off.”

Khaleel Azan, past president of the Jamaica Skeet Club and coach of many local shooters, praised Simpson for his hard work, dedication, and passion for the sport. He also commended all the Super Six shooters, especially the two junior shooters, Roman Tavares-Finson and JJ Ralston, for their exceptional performance.

In the Ladies category, Aliana McMaster scored 142 to secure her third consecutive title. Her mother, Wendy McMaster, finished second with a total score of 132, while Toni Barnes placed third with 113. Aliana expressed her satisfaction with her performance, especially given the challenges she faced this year. “It feels amazing because I had to battle with so many things this year, especially with CSEC and school. I’m really happy that I could pull through and defend my title.”

Aliana described the competition as particularly challenging, noting, “It was my first time being in the super squad for A Class, and it was definitely a new environment. The course was very tough on the first day, and I had to be on my game. Today, I did much better.”

The top three shooters in the various classes were:

 A Class:

 Christian Sasso: 168

Roman Tavares-Finson: 165 (S/O)

Andrew Hopwood: 165 (S/O)

B Class:

 Brandon Laing: 149

Todd Lazarus: 139

Dominic Simpson: 115

C Class:

 Justin Samuda: 140

Anthony Desnes: 137

Richy Duquesnay: 135

D Class:

Stephen McConnell: 131

Cameron Lee: 125

Philip Burgess: 123

E Class:

 Fraser McConnell: 112

Che Rowe: 109

Kevin Chin Shue: 102

Ladies Class:

 Aliana McMaster: 142

Wendy McMaster: 132

Toni Barnes: 113

Juniors:

JJ Ralston: 154 (S/O)

Roman Tavares-Finson: 154 (S/O)

Mark Desnoes: 151

Hunters or Beginners:

 Tatrecia Mitchell: 112

Nick Dawson: 109

John Chin: 102

Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster were the top shooters last Sunday at the Jackson Bay Hunting & Fishing Club in Jackson Bay, Clarendon. Simpson, who secured 91 points, had nothing but praise for the venue and the targets, while giving his victory speech.
While acknowledging that it was more challenging than he had expected, that didn’t stop Simpson from putting in the mental work it needed to win. “The wind made it more challenging than you would expect, but still, there was something there for everybody. You had a mixture of targets, some of which were of international standards, testing the best of us. I’m happy that I came out on top,” he said.

Craig Simpson

Aliana McMaster, who scored 86 points, won the ladies section ahead of her mother, Wendy McMaster, with a score of 83, who was dethroned last year as the five-time national female champion. It was all love and support for the mother-daughter duo, as Wendy shared that at one point, she sensed that her daughter was withholding and she had to have a pep talk with her.
Wendy, after accompanying her husband to several bird shooting events in support before he took up clay shooting, said she eventually decided it didn’t seem that hard and she could try it too. She eventually ‘dragged’ her children into it.

For Aliana, while she has no recollection of the exact moment she decided to take up the challenge, she said being exposed to it eventually led to that decision. “To tell you the truth, I was just tired of watching. I was like, I’m going to be here anyway; I might as well participate. So that’s how I got into it, and I think it was maybe the following year that I did my first lesson”.
Fast forward to the 2024 event, and the duo both stated that they are not competing against each other; in fact, they are each other’s biggest supporters. “I’m not competing against my daughter; I’m really competing against all the men in the C class; she competes to win her class,” Wendy, who ended up in the third spot in the C class, shared.
Although, with a smile, she said when Aliana just started “to whop her bottom,” it was a little bit of shaky ground as she thought, ‘Looks like this girl plans to give me a run for my money!” She had no fear, as she said her victories made her proud.

Aliana McMaster

Aliana quickly dismissed the rivalry as she stressed how much she admires and supports her mother in the sport. “I am her biggest supporter.”.
The day was an overwhelming success, and president of the Jackson Bay Hunting and Fishing Gun Club, Sean Clacken, shared that there was a big improvement from last year, with over 150 gunners participating. They also did things a little different for this year’s event. “We created our own trophies; they are all made of wood and have clay on them,” he informed, giving credit to the creators, Chris Lee and Woodman 876.

He also shared that improvements were made to the course as the gunners wanted a shorter walking course, which he informed was ‘easier but trickier’. “We wanted to facilitate those young to the sport, but at the same time give challenges to the more experienced,” he informed.

Sable-Joy McLaren, Senior Manager of group marketing for First Rock Group, title sponsors for the competition, is thrilled with the success of the event. “We’re very pleased with this year’s staging of the competition. The incredible talent and sportsmanship displayed by all the participants made this a great experience.” She continued “It’s actually FirstRock’s second year sponsoring the event, and this time around we supported in a more expansive way, by including other members of our Group, Ultra Financier, Century 21 Jamaica and Optimum Distributors.”
Among the other winners for the day were Liam McConnel with 79 points in the Hunter category, Brian Kong with 83 points in the C category, and Chad Ziadie with 91 points in the A category.

Defending champions Craig Simpson and Wendy McMaster will be gunning for top honors again at the Rangers Gun Club shoot which is set for Sunday May 6^th with a 10 am shotgun start at the True Juice Complex in Bog Walk, St. Catherine.

The venue is considered to be happy hunting ground for the two defending champions. It is the venue where Simpson posted his highest score in the sport (97 out of a possible 100) and where McMaster dethroned her daughter and two-time winner Aliana, to take the top spot. 

Competition for top honors will be stiff as some of the Jamaica Skeet Club's best shooters will be on the course. They include nine-time national shotgun champion Ian Banks, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes, four-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, other national shotgun champions like Chad Ziadie, his father Geoffrey Ziadie, Ray McMaster, Andrew Hopwood, Nicholas Benjamin and young David Wong as well as former winner Nicholas Chen.

On the female side the top contenders include two-time winner Aliana McMaster and sister Leanne, Renee Rickhi who is part of the Jamaica Rifle Association's Alpha Angels lady shooters, Marguerite Harris and granddaughter Lori-Ann Harris among others. 

Shooters in various classes from A - E, Hunters or Beginners, Juniors, Sub-Juniors and Ladies will be competing hard in order to win their classes and in some cases move up to higher and more challenging classes. The event features an eighteen-station driving course. 

The shooters will face targets of varying types including true pairs (birds launched at the same time), rabbits (birds released on the ground), birds in the air released at different speeds and directions as well as some targets released over gentle flowing streams on the lush green course. 

The Rangers Gun Club is expecting another big field of approximately one hundred and fifty shooters to conquer the expansive driving course for a day of individual and team competition which will feature the local gun clubs. For the third year in a row four clubs will compete for that trophy. The competing clubs are Driftwood Gun Club, Rangers Gun Club, Trelawny Gun Club and defending champion - the Jamaica Gun Club. 

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 shoot is Sterling Asset Management while Worthy Park Select, National and STLSOLAR are the next level sponsors. 

The club has a rich 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.

Three-time winner Craig Simpson and four-time female winner Aliana McMaster finished tops at the Driftwood Gun Club Shoot at the 17-station Murphy Hill Course in St Ann recently.

Both competitors shot 95 out of 100 targets and dominated the packed field, which included a total of 157 of the best gunners on the island, such as nine-time national shotgun champion and president of the Jamaica Skeet Club Ian Banks; six-time national shotgun champion and defending champion Shaun Barnes; four-time and reigning national shotgun champion Christian Sasso; Chad Ziadie, the 2022 national shotgun champion; as well as five-time national female shotgun champion Wendy McMaster.

The young McMaster already created history by being the first female to make it to the A Class late last year and her score of 95 again etched her name in the history books, as it is the highest by any female locally. When her score was posted most people thought it very possible that she won, which would make her the first female to win any sporting clay event in Jamaica, but Simpson roared back with his high-scoring 95 to set up a tense shoot-off between them.

In the end, Simpson took down six of the eight targets, while McMaster struck only four.

“Winning is always an amazing feeling, it’s what keeps us going. I tell everybody that I don’t think I leave my house if I was not coming here to win. I am hungry for the win. Always hungry for the win. I am always excited about the competitive field, and as the years go by with the juniors emerging, the field only becomes more competitive, and it's an internal challenge to stay relevant. I have been able to do that over the years and I plan to continue to be there for as long as I can, but they are coming," Simpson said.

McMaster, on the other hand, was also happy with her performance.

“It’s honestly an amazing feeling. After you have a reputation or expectation from the people coming to the shoot it can get to you and really mess up your head. I feel it can play a big part in how that day goes, but I just had to approach it like any other shoot and just do my best, and frankly, winning four times in a row is honestly such a great feeling and I am absolutely grateful for it," she noted.

Meanwhile, the top three in the various classes were A Class: Christian Sasso (92) by way of shoot-off with William Zager (92) and Alex Cunningham (91); B Class: Gordon Bucknor (86), Robin Rickhi (84), and Zachary Harris (81); C Class: Brandon Laing (90), Adam Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); D Class: Lori-Ann Harris (85) and Noah Vaughn (84); E Class: Seymour Essor (69), David Campbell (67), and Anthony Ayoub (67); Ladies: Aliana McMaster (95), Lori-Ann Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); Hunters or Beginners: Philip Burgess (77), Cameron Lee (69), and Che Rowe (68); Juniors Aliana McMaster (95), David Wong (87), and Lori-Ann Harris (85); and Sub Juniors: Craig Powell Jr (55) and Levi Clarke (48).

The last member of Jamaica’s nine-member team departed the island on Monday for the World English Sporting Clay Championship set to commence at the E.J. Churchill Shooting Ground in England on Wednesday, July 5 and end on Saturday, July 8.

Jamaica had its best results in 2022 when the women’s team finished third and the men’s came fourth, marking the first time that a team from the island took a spot on the podium.

The women’s team is comprised of national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, Aliana McMaster and Abigail McMaster, who are hoping to at least equal their third-place finish.

Craig Simpson (captain), Ryan Chen (vice-captain), Ray McMaster, Robert Yap-Foo, Gordon Bucknor and Lennin Thompson, make up the men’s team.

The team is a mixture of experience and new members with Simpson, who has been competing in the championship since the early 2000s, being the most experienced.

“We are enthusiastic to be attending this prestigious event. My job as captain is to motivate my teammates while keeping them composed,” Simpson said.

“This trip is about gaining international exposure and knowledge of where the sport is at on the European continent and how we can get Jamaica to a higher level of competitiveness. The fraternity is excited to have us in attendance and our participation alone is a win for Jamaica."

Sponsors Proven, Hawkeye, Coldwell Bankers, National Bakery, Ammar's and BarePelt are backing the Jamaicans, who will be going up against teams from the USA, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Mexico, Italy and Sweden.

Craig Simpson and Wendy McMaster toppled defending champions Nicholas Chen and Aliana McMaster to take the top spots at the recent Rangers Gun Club Sporting Clays Classic on at the Tru-Juice complex in Bog Walk, St. Catherine.

Simpson posted his highest-ever sporting clays score with an almost perfect scorecard of 97 out of a possible 100, after dropping just one bird each on stations two, four and fourteen.

"All year, it’s been a tough year. Been struggling with a lot of things mentally, technique, all of those things but, as usual, kept at it and everything came together,” said Simpson.

“It was 18 stations; first we have ever seen that here. The targets were technical even though there was something there for everybody. It was all about who was able to maintain the focus and I knew that.”

Roman Tavares-Finson's 95 earned him the runner-up spot.

Wendy McMaster scored 82 to win the Ladies category ahead of her main challenger, her daughter Aliana. She said the secret to her win was staying out of the heat, keeping hydrated and sticking to the game plan by focusing on her shooting only while on the course.

"I am very happy. I had a good day shooting the targets. I found a secret last week and I tried it out today and it really worked well so I am really happy that I ended up in the eighties."

Aliana was just three shots back on 79 in second place while Lori Ann Harris was third with a score of 77

The top three shooters in the various classes are as follows: A Class: Chad Ziadie 94, Christian Sasso 93 (L/R), Ian Banks 93 (L/R); B Class: Najeeb Haber 87, Brandon King 82, Aliana McMaster 79; C Class: Ramon Pitter 83 (S/O), Ricky DuQuesnay 83 (S/O), Eddie Depass 83; D Class: Zachary Chin 87, Justin Samuda 85, Kashka Jones 80; E Class: Lenin Thompson 81, Max Williams 80 (L/R), Luke Chin 80 (L/R); Hunters or Beginners: Lori Ann Harris 77, Stephen Silvera 75, Leanne McMaster 74; Ladies: Wendy McMaster 82, Aliana McMaster 79, Lori Ann Harris 77; Juniors: Roman Tavares-Finson 95, David Wong 89, Mark Desnoes 87.

Two time defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster are ready to drop a 'three-peat' in the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge organized by the Driftwood Gun Club. 

The shoot will be held at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate over-looking the town of Ocho Rios on Sunday with a 9:30 am shotgun start. 

It kicks off the first sporting clays shoot of the year for the Jamaica Skeet Club, which has robust calendar for 2023. 

Simpson will have to battle over 100 competitors including three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, who he got the better of by way of long-run in 2021, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes and nine-time national shotgun champion and current president Ian Banks as well as the very consistent Ray McMaster and Robert Yap Foo among others. 

The Ladies section will be also be competitive as well with McMaster expecting to be challenged by her mother, five-time national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, former national shotgun champion Marguerite Harris and a number of very good lady shooters. 

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

All the shooters are looking forward to this year's event which will be the first one which does not feature Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. It is expected that there will be on-course hospitality and lunch post- competition as well as the very popular prize giving and camaraderie among the competitors and members of the Jamaica Skeet Club. 

The proceeds of 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. 

The club president, Christina East was happy to have Proven on board for the third consecutive year as title sponsor. She credited David East who passed away in 2020 with playing a pivotal in securing the venue as the home of the club's annual competition. East was a visionary club member who only wanted the best for sporting clays in Jamaica, hence the competition was named in his honour.

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."

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.