Shooting Australia Tuesday night announced the winners of the 2020 Awards of Excellence.
The four Community Awards categories were:
Volunteer of the Year – Doug Caple
Doug is a life member of the Hornsby RSL Rifle Club. He has held the positions of Club Captain and Club President and is considered a club ‘legend’. Every week Doug is the first to arrive at the range and sets up all the equipment. He then spends the time, before the range is open, completing range maintenance. And in the afternoon, he is there organising the packing up.
He is qualified to administer the Firearms Safety Awareness Testing and he goes above and beyond in ensuring participants are well versed in the safety rules. Doug is the first to volunteer for Range Officer duties be it at a Saturday afternoon club shoot, district shoots, OPMs or PSR.
Club of the Year – Belmont Junior Air Rifle Club
The Belmont Junior Air Rifle Club was formed in 2018 in response to the Queensland Government’s post 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games ‘Embracing 2018’ legacy programme. Coaches obtained TRA Club Coach qualifications with some being invited to further their training under Carrie Quigley.
Some staff also completed the TRA Range Officers course and are progressing with their practical assessments. Enrolments in the first year of operation were 20 juniors, and that number has been reasonably maintained ever since.
The Club has:
- Promoted the attendance at the Queensland Government ‘Weapons Act Safety Course’
- Registered with the Queensland Government under the ‘Fair Play’ scheme, which provides financial support to juniors from low socio-economic situations
- Participated in the Shooting Australia ‘Come and Try’ programme
- Participated in the Shooting Australia postal competition this year
- Participated in the Shooting Australia Junior Training Camp conducted by Carrie Quigley
- Registered with Duke of Edinburgh as a provider
Recently BJARC coaches conducted a State Junior Camp which led to juniors competing in the State Championships with notable success.
Official of the Year – Dennis Claxton
Dennis has been involved in Small-Bore and Air Rifle shooting for many years and currently serves as President of the New South Wales Small Bore and Air Rifle Association Inc.
Dennis has a long history of involvement in the sport as an official, officiating at many events from local through to international events such as Oceania Continental Championships, ISSF World Cups and WSPS World Championships in a variety of roles including range officer and jury member. His dedication as an official extends to mentoring aspiring officials.
Coach of the Year – Mike Jarrad
Mike has a passion for the sport and for coaching others to not only become a better athlete, but a better person.
Mike doesn’t coach by the book. He understands every athlete is different and he coaches accordingly, whether by the way he communicates, the way a training session is structured, or noticing when the ‘cookie cutter’ positions don’t work for certain body types.
He uses drills and games no other coach does, he observes things in a way no one else does, and he notices the smallest of things that make the biggest difference.
Mike spent several years coaching wheelchair athletes which has shaped his coaching methods.
One of his greatest success stories is Rifle athlete Elise Collier. Elise came into the sport less than three years ago with very basic knowledge and skills and next year she will be representing Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Shooting Australia Chief Executive, Luke van Kempen, congratulated all four winners on their Awards saying they are an inspiration to the Shooting community.
“They are very worthy Awards recipient and we applaud the selfless work that has completed at the important grassroots level of our sport over the past 12 months,” said Mr van Kempen.
“Shooting, like all sports, relies on hard-working community volunteers, clubs, coaches and officials and are we are delighted to honour them with these prestigious Awards,” added Mr Van Kempen.
The Awards evening was live streamed via Shooting Australia TV and can be viewed at https://epicentre.tv/live-events/shooting-australia-2020-awards-of-excellence
Further information;
Greg Campbell, PRISM Strategic Communications. Ph: 0418 239 139 E: [email protected]
