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FT Blog: The World was my Oyster

FT Blog: The World was my Oyster

It was I who said I wanted to bring the 2017 World Field Target Championships to Wales back in 2015. We (WAFTA) had just won the FT Team title in Lithuania and we had four of our shooters in the top 10, so the time was right, as enthusiasm was high and we had the people. I have been a professional wedding photographer for 22 years and most of my job is not about taking photos at a wedding, but controlling what happens and when. I am quite good at it, so I knew hosting the worlds would be like running three GPs on the same day but over three days, nothing to it with planning!!

Thus, the team was formed; initially myself (course design and chief marshal), Doz Falconer (Trade and marshal coordinator, as well as competitor,) Richard Beaugie (worrier/checker on what we were planning and a competitor) and John Johnson (RGB) with Mark Basset (Trade and competitor) joining us about 9 months after we had started.

Fitting venue

Initially, it was finding the ground that was our first concern. Hundreds of miles and many site visits resulted on our second visit to Glanusk near Crickhowel suddenly ticking the boxes, so we had our venue. October 2016 and the bride and groom turned up, initially 475 of them! That’s how many people wanted to shoot the event when booking in opened! That figured dropped to approximately 330 by day one of completion. It must be said we had the world’s best booking in crew with us, Sue Falconer, Paula Higgins, Mel Rogers and of course Sam Reece. These four ladies are simply the best at booking in and then sorting the scores, thank you ladies. Likewise, I had a great team of marshals (too many to name but thanks to all) around me. Dave Gage controlled White course with Andy Slade and Simon Higgins controlling the combined Black and Yellow courses, I just kept them all happy and dealt with the occasional query!

 

Welsh-style

So, what were the courses like? Having shot five WFTF events myself, that’s 750 targets and not coming out of kill more than about 20 times in the windless events, I wanted a traditional Welsh FT course. That means basically windy! Black and yellow courses were alternate, lane 1 Yellow was followed by lane 1 Black and so on till no 25. The course followed a wonky, U-shaped firing line through 180° with mainly open and exposed lanes, but with ranges mixed so; something for everyone! Indeed, special mention must go to Reg Gallagher who cleared Black on day 3, simply world class shooting!

White course was separate and much more picturesque, turning 360° in four sections, there was even an alligator in the pond waiting for the unwary shooter! A little bit more sheltered but still a test to WFTF standard; and as before, something for everyone! Shooters shot one course per day. I’m blowing my own trumpet, but when ex World Champion and current European Champion Andrew Gillet, tells me at the end of the third day, these were the best WFTF courses he has ever shot, I know we got it right. Indeed, the praise has carried on all week, as well as at the time. The bar has been raised and now I hope the rest of the World just keeps it where it is or even takes it higher.

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So, who won?

Well, it went exactly as I hoped and planned, to the last target! John Costello and Steffan Kanwik were tied after the first two days, both having missed just 7 out of 100 targets! However, if you read last month’s article, you will remember a chap called Jack Harris, current GP and World Champion! Jack was third, just one behind and a host of other shooters were in contention. You don’t win the worlds on day 1 or 2, you only loose it. So, day 3 and the top seeds were on Black (target faceplate colour) course, the hardest by virtue the standers were longer than on White or Yellow. Sitting averages on each course were about the same. We had the odd shower over the three days and a mix of wind, it was slightly less in the AM session, but that can work against you sometimes if you can’t see the wind. Indeed, I heard many top shooters give long targets wind, aiming some 20 – 40mm out of kill only to see the pellet hit the cross hair, then give a shortrange target inside edge of kill only to be bemused to see the pellet move 50mm in nonexistent wind!

Personally, I would rather shoot in the wind; being Welsh, it seems natural! Both Costello and Kanwick struggled on the last day, dropping 6 and 8 respectively. This let the door open and Harris and Falconer stepped through at the same time; yes, it was tight. So tight in fact that with radio contact we knew Doz had finished on 47 and thus going into his last lane Harris needed both for the win. Harris had top English shooter Neil ‘Puffpowder’ Hague and one of Spain’s top shooters and one of the few non- UK ex World Champions Pepone, as partners. Thus, I planned it that they finished on a tough lane. A pair of Welsh Dragonshaped targets (40mm kill zone) at 53 and 51 yards, in the wind! Watching Jack take his first shot, the relief when it went down was obvious but from that point the second target was down before the pellet was loaded.

 

Back to back

And so back to back World titles were in the bag for Jack, with fellow Welshman Doz delighted in second spot, (giving Air Arms 1st and 2nd places!) and Costello holding a fine third place given his lack of FT shoots over the last few years due to work commitments. The Prize giving was a feast for the winner, so special mention to the fantastic work by Mark Basset in collecting over £50,000 of goodies from our many generous sponsors. Two years in the planning, the busiest week of my life and by 11 am Sunday morning after a fantastic team effort from both English and Welsh, all the courses were in and bar for a narrow muddy footpath where shooters had marched, it was gone, utterly surreal!
(I can’t wait to host it again!)

 

World FT championship 2017 @ Glanusk

1. Jack Harris Wales 139 (Ex 150)
2. Doz Falconer Wales 138
3. John Costello England 137
4. Adam Benke Germany 136
5. Rafael Villa Guerrero Spain 135
6. Stefan Kawnik Germany 135
7. Mark Basset Wales 135
8. Sergio Arman Spain 135
9. Ferenc Sas Hungary 134
10. Andrew Gillott England 133

Full results here: https://wftc2017.wales/results/

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