The 2022 Pan American Handgun Championships are set for September 15-22 in Frostproof, Florida and member of the Jamaican delegation, Ryan Bramwell, says the team is well-prepared for a good showing.

“We look forward to a great event and will represent our club and country to the best of our abilities,” Bramwell said.

The event is an International Practical Shooting Council (IPSC) level four match that is held every three years and comprises the regions of the USA, Canada, The Caribbean and South America. The last edition of the championships was held in Kingston in 2018.

Originally scheduled for 2021 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is expected to be the largest IPSC match held in this hemisphere with 700 shooters from 25 countries registered.

Jamaica, with a 26-member strong team, will be sending the largest delegation they have ever sent to an international match.

“It promises to be the largest Pan American Hand Gun Championships ever held,” said Bramwell.

“We’ll be competing in four divisions: production optics, production, standard and open. We’ll also be competing in individual and team categories as well as categories of overall senior and lady categories. Lesgar Murdock, Andy Yapp and myself are the three senior shooters that will be leading the charge and we’ll also have a set of talented individuals such as Adrian Randle, Alrice Palmer and Darin Richards, to name a few, who’ll  be pushing hard for medals. On the ladies side, our best female shooter, Yeonnie Campbell, is also looking for a medal in the production division,” he added.

The full teams are as follows:

1. Open: Lesgar Murdock, Rory Wilson, Alberto D’ascola, Ryan Gourzong, Bernard Lawrence.
2. Standard: Andrew Yap, Paul Dixon, Ellsworth Dixon, Owen Campbell.
3. Production: Yeonie Campbell, Sanjay Welsh, Matthew Smith-Barrett, Florence Golding.
4. Men’s Production Optics: Ryan Bramwell, Alrice Palmer, Adrian Randle, Andre Oddman, Darin Richards, Arjun McPherson, Michael Wilkinson, Robin Rickhi, Thomas Hall.
5. Lady’s Production Optics: Renee Rickhi, Sasha Mullings, Kayla Keane, Shayon Francis.

Bramwell also noted that the postponement was a positive for the team because it gave them more time to prepare.

“During that time, we’ve been much better able to prepare for the event and the new shooters are now better prepared for a match of this magnitude. The competition that we will come up against will be of world class quality,” he said.

Jamaica will also have 10 officials at the Championships, six of whom will represent the International Range Officer Association (IROA) and the other four represent the National Range Officer Institute (NROI).  

IROA officials: Lennie Moulton, Al Stewart, Gregory Wong, Keith Miller, Latoya Wright, Evan Medley

NROI Officials: Rohan Wilson, Charlton Vanriel, Rohan Wallace, Tanya Stewart.

Jamaica will also be sending a team to The World Shoot scheduled for November this year in Thailand. 

Jamaica’s history-making female shooters will be leaving the island starting on Sunday to compete in the Pan American Handgun Championships in Polk County, Florida from September 14-21.

Members of the team, who were feted by title sponsor Spectrum Systems at the Jamaica Pegasus on Thursday, are looking forward to competing in the Production Optics Division. Yeonnie Campbell, Renee Rhickie, Sasha Mullings, Shayon Francis and Kayla Keane will make the trip to Florida where over 28 countries from Central, North and South America will compete over various divisions.

The Super-Six squad had intensified their tactical training under the watchful eyes of coaches Andy Yap and Anthony Johnson and their fitness levels have been enhanced thanks to physiotherapy courtesy of Spectrum Systems.

Team member Shayon Francis is satisfied with preparations going into the championships,

“We will be competing against shooters who have been doing this for years so we started training up to four times per week instead of just twice daily. Our physical training has really helped to improve our agility and speed going into the championships as a result,” she said.

 For this reason and others, Sasha Mullings, the team captain, believes they are ready to perform at their best.

 “I know we will perform well in Florida and I know this will boost more interest in the sport from licensed firearm holders. We are ready," she said.

 The team’s participation at the championships was made possible through a multimillion-dollar sponsorship from Spectrum Systems who will cover airfare, accommodation and match rounds.

Andrew Stanigar, the Managing Director of Spectrum Systems believes the women will represent the country well in Florida.

"I have seen these ladies rise to the challenge to beat the best male shooters in Jamaica and they did that through teamwork, ingenuity and strategy," he said. "I am confident that they are going to make Jamaica proud."

Also in attendance at the send-off ceremony were Jamaica Rifle Association President Major John Nelson and Formula Woman Driver Sara Misir who offered words of encouragement to the women.