Young guns targeting titles in shooting championship at Cannock

Athletes aged between 11 and 18, who had qualified from across the county, battled out in the Air Rifle and Air Pistol Championships.

Pistol athletes were the first to take to the firing range on day one at Chase Leisure Centre.

Gorgs Geikie, who is the founder and manager of the Schools Championships and the last pistol shooter to have competed for Great Britain at an Olympics, was at the event and deemed it a great success.

The 2012 London Olympian said: “It’s gone absolutely brilliant so far at Chase Leisure centre.

“Everyone had competed fantastically. All the volunteers and supporters have done such a great job to make sure it goes smoothly.

“The scores have been brilliant and it shows there’s some really strong talent around the UK.

“There’s been a huge interest in the competition throughout the entire season, which is incredible especially given the qualification rounds were competed in remotely due to Covid.

“The future of this event is looking very exciting as it keeps growing year on year.”

This is the first time the event has been held since 2020 due to the pandemic.

In the Junior Pistol Team category, Taunton Preparatory School won with a score of 488.

A score of 512 was enough for Shropshire’s Ellesmere College to take the Senior Pistol Teams crown, while Leweston School, from Dorset, won the intermediate competition with a score of 462.

In the individual disciplines, Stanley Bucknall of Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, in Kent, won the Junior Pistol Qualification. Lucy Banner came out on top in the Senior Pistol Qualification, while the intermediate competition was won by Sasha Mikhailov of Cardiff High School. Councillor Adrienne Fitzgerald, portfolio leader for housing, heritage and leisure at Cannock Chase Council said “It has been a privilege for us to host the National Schools Shooting Championships at Chase Leisure Centre. “During the two day event we saw over 300 young athletes from across the country, complete to become National Champions.

“It was fantastic to watch the event, a huge congratulations to everyone that took part and a big thank you to Rugeley Rifle Club who were instrumental in securing the championships in our district and to all the volunteers who helped.”