5-Stand National Championships
23-25 September 2011

Three Springs Sporting Clays President Gary Turley
takes careful aim at a fast incoming target.




WA competitor Michael McDonald in action with his
self-loader at the 5-Stand National Championships.


NSW junior Jayden Roe. The 2011 5-Stand National Championships were hosted by Three Springs Sporting Clays at Three Springs, about 300km north of Perth, from September 23 to 25, 2011. Set among the northern wheat-belt and surrounded by nearby mines, gas-wells and a large power grid from a gas-fired power station under construction, the Three Springs Club was an interesting venue for such a shoot. While the club has only a limited membership, its facilities are way beyond what might be expected, with a huge modern clubhouse with all facilities and plenty of the necessary equipment to stage a successful National Championships.

Club President Gary Turley and his local team worked hard to prepare the 5-Stand layouts and to ensure that all was ready at the club for the three days of competition. The three day event of 100 targets daily on 5-Stand layouts set up among scrub on a dried-out salt lake presented some diverse and challenging targets for everyone. Each day, two quite different layouts had been prepared to confront competitors and ensure that the standard of the targets were worthy of a national event. All the targets were controlled by the latest electronic SHOTPUT controllers, which ensured that the clay targets were presented in a known but random order.

As a warm-up to the National Championships, a 100-target Three Springs 5-Stand Salt Lake Classic event was staged on the first day, with the National Championships of 200 targets following on the weekend. The winner of the Salt Lake Classic event was Western Australian competitor Michael McDonald with an excellent score of 86/100. Other winners were:

AA Grade: Paul McGowan (WA) 85, Greg Allen (NSW) 84, Rhys Howard (WA) 82

A Grade: Gary Stipoinovich (WA) and Harvey Turner (WA) 77 (shoot-off)

B Grade: Wade Wood (WA) 59

C Grade: Terry Marsden (WA) 66, Matt Stipoinovich (WA) 55, Gilberto Da Silva (WA) 51

Veterans: Warren Brown (NSW) 79, Dave Knight (WA) 77, Stuart Johnston (WA) 71

Junior U18: Jayden Roe (NSW) 81

Juniors U15: Joshua Beck (WA) 36

During the National Championships, Jayden Roe, an up and coming New South Wales junior from the SSAA Hay Branch, led the scoring for most of the Championships. At the conclusion of the National Championships, he had swept all before him and emerged as the SSAA National 5-Stand Champion with a superb score of 190/200 targets, winning a new shotgun to complement his SSAA National medallion and sash. Jayden's remarkable achievement resulted from him staying focused throughout the Championship and quietly but thoroughly employing his excellent shooting skills to let only a few clays escape. Seemingly unaffected by the pressure of such competition, this 15-year-old junior shot two perfect rounds of 25, with one round of 22 and the rest being either 23s or 24s. For such a young shooter who has been competing for less than two years, this was indeed a triumphant win, given the number of much more experienced shooters competing.

Competitors who also shot a 25-round were Paul McGowan, Greg Allen, Rhys Howard and Michael McDonald. Other winners were:

AA Grade: Paul McGowan (WA) 185, Greg Allen (NSW) 184, Frank Tagliapietra (NSW) 181

A Grade: Michael McDonald (WA) 171, Darren Macartney (NSW) 166, Roy Crisp (WA) 159

B Grade: Neil Hebiton (WA) 158, Terry Marsden (WA) 134, Matt Stipoinovich (WA) 133

C Grade: Gilberto Da Silva (WA) 120, Glen Spenser (WA) 102

Ladies: Michaela Philipp (WA) 130

Veterans: Warren Brown (NSW) 161, Dave Knight (WA) 160, Stuart Johnston (WA) 149

Juniors U18: Jayden Roe (NSW) 190

Juniors U15: Joshua Beck (WA) 100

The New South Wales Team of Greg Allen, Frank Tagliapietra, Warren Brown, Darren Macartney and Jayden Roe won the SSAA National Team Trophy with a score of 882, ahead of the WA Team with 840. Doug Coleman from Western Australia won the lucky entry prize of a SSAA swag generously donated by the SSAA Store.

At the National Shotgun AGM, Warren Brown was re-elected Shotgun National Discipline Chairman with Jan Jacka as Assistant Chairman. Plans were made for New South Wales to stage the 2012 5-Stand National Championships and Western Australia the National Sporting Clays Championships.

A special vote of thanks was given to the Three Springs Sporting Clays club for hosting the Championships and to its members and supporters who ran the Championships, managed the office and provided excellent catering over the three days.

by SSAA Shotgun National Discipline Chairman Warren Brown