2010 5-Stand National Championships
16-17 October 2010

Jan Jacka from New South Wales prepares for a
high incoming target.


Under 18 Junior Adam Shale from Victoria in action.


The Victoria Team won the State Teams Shield. The 2010 5-Stand National Championships were hosted by the Wodonga/Albury Field and Game Club at their range on October 16 and 17, where four 5-Stand layouts had been set up by club members with the support of the two SSAA NSW Shotgun Trailers.

While much energy and time had been devoted to the preparations for the Championships, the weather intervened to play havoc with the traps and equipment. A massive downpour of torrential rain on the Friday before the Championships turned the area into mud and slosh, making final adjustments difficult. The wet weather continued into Saturday and challenged the expertise and patience of both organisers and competitors, as they strove to keep the layouts working in the wet and muddy conditions and register respectable scores. With the district flood-bound and many highways closed, a number of competitors were unfortunately unable to reach the shoot to compete. Luckily, the rain cleared away on Saturday afternoon, the equipment dried out overnight and shooting resumed on Sunday in cold windy conditions, with the competition running much smoother and finishing just after lunch.

The Championships were attended by 57 competitors from New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. There was an excellent variety of targets presented to challenge everyone on the four layouts. Even with the very difficult shooting conditions on Saturday and many targets to test the skills of some of the best sporting shooters present, Peter Hall scored a 25 on Saturday, while on Sunday, Peter, Grant Powell, Jeff Zammit and Robert Hall each scored 25s. Many other competitors scored into the 22s and 23s regularly - a testament to their skill and determination to perform well under the very trying circumstances.

At the conclusion of the 200 targets, Victorian shooter Robert Hall emerged the National Champion, upstaging his father and last year’s champion, Peter Hall, with an impressive score of 181/200. Other winners from the Championships were:
AA Grade: Peter Hall (Vic) 178, Bart Brighenti (178) (shoot off), Jeff Zammitt (Vic) 175
A Grade: Michael Ling (NSW) 168, Simon Hore (Vic) 164), Shaun Krzus (NSW) 162
B Grade: Anthony Williams (NSW) 150, Travis Wright (Vic) 149, Anthony Pitt (Vic) 143
C Grade: Brent Suprain (NSW) 143, Frank Di Fiore (137), Damien Porta (NSW) 130
Ladies: Gaye Shale (Vic) 144, Trina Adams (Vic) 133, Marisa Hall (Vic) 109
Veterans: Alec Ceccato (NSW) 162, Warren Brown (NSW) 147, Doug Brenton (NSW) 146
Juniors U18: Stephen Penrose (NSW) 169, Adam Shale (Vic) 168
Juniors U15: Demi Shale (Vic) 101

Following the computation of points gained at this year’s State Titles and the National Championships, Warren Brown announced that the following competitors would be offered places in the two SSAA Australian Shotgun Teams to compete in New Zealand in 2011:
Open Team: Robert Hall, Bart Brighenti, Jeff Zammitt, Peter Hall, Grant Powell
Graded Team: A Grade: Shaun Krzus, B Grade: Anthony Pitt, C Grade: Robert McDonald, Veterans: Rod Evans, Ladies: Jan Jacka

Competitors expressed their appreciation to Wodonga/Albury Field and Game Club members for staging the Championships and particularly to Simon and Mark and their helpers with the layouts; to Phil who assisted in the office; and to club president Tony Fisher and his team, who provided some excellent catering over the weekend.

Generous sponsorship was provided by Milperra Marketing with their excellent EXPRESS Cartridges. Casella Wines at Griffith donated plenty of their famous Yellow Tail wine and all winners received SSAA national medallions. A popular prize was a swag donated by the SSAA Store and this was won on a lucky entrant draw by Griffith competitor Bart Brighenti.

At the conclusion of shooting on Saturday, the National Shotgun AGM was held. Warren Brown was re-elected as the SSAA Shotgun National Discipline Chairman, with Jan Jacka as vice chairman. The main items of business included planning shoots in 2011 and the adoptions of amendments to the current Shotgun Rules.