Banks outshoots them all in Clay Open
Ian Banks shot 81 targets to emerged champion of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Capital Markets Sports Clays Open yesterday at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club.
Banks finished two ahead of Khaleel Azan with 79 targets on a windy day that made it very difficult for the shooters.
Banks, who has been competing for the last 18 years, told the Observer it was tough going trying to cope with the conditions.
“It was a tough course, the wind didn’t help. The wind allowed for the targets to bounce around a lot and I think it was difficult for everybody, not just the top shooters,” he said.
Banks, who emerged champion out of approximately 75 competitors, would love for the powers that be to make sporting clay a more popular event.
“Make obtaining a shotgun licence easier and reduced the cost of targets and ammunitions by lowering the duties and GCT that is applicable,” he noted.
There were eight other sectional winners with patsy Kelly walking away with the Ladies crown ahead of Christine Cain and Chevaughn Miller.
Robert Yap with 77 targets captured the A Class title ahead of Shaun Barnes with 76 and Richard Azan with 73.
Chris Kean won the B Class with 75 targets ahead of Richard Ramson with 74 with Eddie DePass third on 68 targets.
Albert Chow with 66 wrapped up the C Class division, five more than Milade Azan and Brian Chung third 60 targets.
The D Class was won by Rory Chung shooting 64 targets ahead of Jamaica Observer’s CEO Ed Khoury, eight back on 56. Anthony Phillips finished third with 52 targets.
Tony Gooden won the E Class division with 60 targets ahead of Stephan Chin with 57 and Rodney McMillan on 56.
David Thwaites was the Junior champions and Adam Zaidie captured the Sub-Junior title.
Sporting clays is a shotgun shooting game in which clay pigeons are presented to the gunner in ways that mirror the flight pattern of game birds, or occasionally rabbits, in their natural habitats.
The Skeet Club — the local ruling body — tries to put on a tournament once a month and there will be a big two-day tournament in May in St Ann.
