Five of Jamaica's best shooters captured top spots in the five competitive divisions of the Jamaica Rifle Association's (JRA) Christmas Hamper at the Woodleigh Shooting Range in Clarendon, on Saturday.
A total of 54 competitors took to the 10-stage range under sometimes cloudy skies. In the end, Ryan Bramwell topped the Open Division, Chris Hart bagged the Carry Optic Division, Petrano Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division, and Greg Henry held on to the Limited Division, while Michael Bradshaw was the surprise winner of the Production Division.
Bramwell, who ended with 887.45 points, ahead of Andrew Yap's 795.02 and Alrice Palmer's 726.34 in the Open Division, was overjoyed.
"I am very happy with my performance on the weekend. I really wanted to win the year with a strong performance, and I shot a very fast and accurate match on Saturday. When the dust settled, I ended up winning eight of the ten stages in my division and I won the match by eleven percent and ninety-two match points which is actually the largest margin of victory all year. My performance is the result of all the work that I have put in," Bramwell said.
"I have actually done a lot of observation and analysis when I attended the US IPSC Nationals in November, and this match presented me with an opportunity to put some of that knowledge and information gained into practice, and I think I have a lot more in the tank. I am really looking forward to 2024 as my training and preparation for the World Shoot which is in 2025 continues. It is setting up to be a really exciting year ahead and I can't wait for the action to start in January," he added.
The Production Division was very competitive with under two points separating Bradshaw and runner-up Anthony Johnson. Bradshaw who switched division from Carry Optics to Production, put in a disciplined performance to post 554.43 points with the experienced Johnson (552.68 points) and Sanjay Welsh (533.97 points) behind.
"My performance on Saturday was a result of both mental and physical training weeks before the Christmas Hamper. Production is the division which I first started shooting and I decided to shoot the same to tighten up a few fundamental aspects of my shooting. Being focused is also one of the main reasons why I was able to come out on top as one can easily lose focus whilst going through the stages, hence I knew I had to remain focused because I knew I was going up against some of the top shooters in the country," said Bradshaw.
Hart's 714.40 points was good enough to bag the Carry Optics Division ahead of the fast-charging Darin Richards (697.86 points) and Christopher Nunez (664.87 points). Experienced female shooter Yeonie Campbell, who opted to shoot Carry Optics instead of her customary Production Division, placed fourth with 566.90 points.
Belafonte secured the Limited Optics Division with 713.03 points, well ahead of Adrian Randle (692.74 points) and Ekepedeme Otuokon (652.53 points), while Henry (668.42 points), proved too good for rivals in the Limited Division. He won ahead of Ronald Brown (642.19 points) and Paul Dixon (541.74 points).
Meanwhile, Jamaica Constabulary Force ladies, Constable Shayon Francis (644.32 points) and Detective Sergeant Sasha Mullings (518.35 points), dominated the law enforcement category, as they placed first and second respectively.
Newly-elected JRA president Rohan Wilson said the event was significant in helping shooters with preparation in their build-up to the International Practical Shooting Confederation World Shoot in South Africa in 2025
"There will be a team of so far eight that will be going (and) the team is now in the process of being selected. This was not one of the qualifying events but nonetheless, it is one of our preparatory events, and so we are grateful to the Woodleigh Shooting Range which offers a great spread in terms of real estate. We did see quite a number of competitors exercise extreme dexterity in the way they performed, and it was just an awesome competition to watch," Wilson said.
Jamaica's top shooters came out on top of their Caribbean rivals in last Saturday's Spectrum Handgun Championship held at Jamaica Rifle Association’s Mountain View shooting range in Kingston.
The home shooters topped all four divisions with Ryan Bramwell emerging the victor in Open Division, Andrew Yap taking the Standard Division and Chris Hart winning the Production Optics Division. Yeonie Campbell captured the Production Division.
Bramwell put on a master-class display of speed and accuracy to earn 1059.57 points, firing 215 rounds in 130.70 seconds over the 12-stage course.
Alrice Palmer scored 949.3 points to claim the runner-up spot while Lennie Moulton scored 879.76 points for third place.
"It was a great day. I shot very well. I was very fast and aggressive today (Saturday) and I had very good hits so overall I came out the winner,” the victorious Bramwell said.
“It’s a great feeling. Having put in the work and gotten the results, it’s fantastic and we go back to the drawing board and keep training."
Campbell copped the Production Division and topped the Ladies Category. In the Production Division she got the better of Anthony Johnson in a nail biter with just one point separating them while Rohan Wallace was third.
In the Ladies Category she was comfortably ahead of second place Florence Golding and third place Philana Brown.
"My performance today was okay. I think that the stages were very challenging as well as they allow you to express yourself so I was pleased with my performance," Campbell said.
“The ladies did very well today, exceptionally well today. I am very proud of them. I think that we all competed admirably today and the results showed it."
There was keen competition in the Standard Division which went to Master Class shooter Yap, who scored more than one hundred points more than of Darin Richards and Lennie Moulton who were second and third, respectively.
The Production Optics Division went to Chris Hart ahead of Adrian Randle and Michael Bradshaw who took third place.
One overseas-based shooter got on the podium with Richard Durrant of Barbados getting second place in the Senior Category of the Standard Division behind Ellsworth Dixon while Thomas Jones was third.
Durrant commended the Jamaican shooters.
"The quality of shooting here is really high. I had some hope of placing on the podium. The last time I was in Jamaica was in 2018 and since that time the standard has really, really sky-rocketed,” he said.
“Andy Yap and Greg Henry, I shot against them before but today it was a different level. I have to go back to the lab now so I have to recalculate my shooting. The experience was really good. I would come again."
Major John Nelson, president of JRA was pleased with the overall standard of the competition.
"It’s a Level 3, which, is in fact the highest match we have had now for about four years. It is such a highly respected match that we had international shooters from the Cayman Islands, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago,” he said.
“It was attractive enough for them to be here. We had the highest turnout of our local shooters including our shooters from Trelawny, Negril and May Pen, who came in to compete in this particular shoot.
“Spectrum Systems have outdone themselves and as Mr. (Andrew) Stanigar said to me at the end of the presentations, you are not getting rid of us we are here to stay with you and support you."
Seventy-three of the Caribbean’s best shooters are set to battle for honours at the Spectrum Handgun Championship set for the Jamaica Rifle Association’s shooting range on Mountain View Avenue in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday, April 29.
Shooters from Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and the Cayman Islands will be competing at the Level III IPSC event, Jamaica’s first major international pistol match and highest-ranked competition to be staged since the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in 2020.
"Everyone is looking forward with great anticipation to the upcoming Spectrum Handgun Championship 2023 at the JRA,” said Match Director Paul Shoucair.
“We'll have all of Jamaica's top shooters versus top shooters from other islands in the Caribbean and the Ladies Division is looking pretty hot so looking forward to it and expecting some great stages."
The top gunners will compete in four divisions - Open, Standard, Production Optics and Production, which features the use of unmodified guns. The breakdown of the entry list shows eight overseas based shooters, eight female shooters and 57 local based male shooters are down to compete.
Among them is top-ranked master class shooter Ryan Bramwell.
"This match will in effect be a Caribbean championship and I am looking forward to competing against the best local and regional talent,” he said.
“The match itself promises to be a great event and I am really looking forward to doing my best on Saturday."
Among the other shooters vying for honours across the various divisions are Master Shooter Andy Yap and Darin Richards, and among the women, Alpha Angels Yeonie Campbell, Shayon Francis and Renee Rickhi.
Competition on the twelve-stage range will get underway at 10:00 am.
Jamaica's Practical Pistol shooters were in impressive at the recently concluded Florida Open Pistol Shooting Tournament in Fostproof, Florida.
Despite going up against more than 200 shooters that included Grand Master from 12 countries from the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean, the local team overcame the odds to win several awards.
Ryan Bramwell, one of Jamaica's Master Class shooters was the runner-up in the Carry Optics Division (Master Class). Pistol captain Alrice Palmer walked away with first place in the B Class category while Thomas Hall finished third in C Class while Adrian Randle was fourth in A class.
Ekpedeme Otoukon was awarded second place in the Senior category.
"I am really proud of my team's achievement. Based on the growth and development of the male and female members of this team and the club, I am seeing where we will have several Master Class shooters in the near future," said Bramwell, who was the only Master Class shooter on the team.
Jamaica pulled off a sweep in the Men’s Limited Division B Class in which Darin Richards finished first, Owen Campbell second and Ellesworth Dixon was third. Campbell also finished first in the Senior Category of his division.
Jamaica was also represented in the Open and Production Division where Bernard Lawrence (Open Division) and Sanjay Welsh (Production Division) were equally impressive, copping third place in C Class and second place in B Class, respectively.
The two Alpha Angels female shooters on tour were not to be outdone as Constable Shayon Francis was on target winning the Carry Optics C Class and was second in the Carry Optics Lady Category while team captain Detective Corporal Sasha-Gay Mullings finished in third place.
"The match was a very good one. The shooting stages were fun and I'm really happy with my performance and by extension my team's performance,” Francis said.
“We could have even done better, however, some of our members had equipment malfunction and we dropped some points on those stages but our team did exceptionally well nonetheless."
Meanwhile, Evan Medley who placed fourth in the Production Division and Keith Miller were among the range officers who officiated the match.
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:
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.
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