Four junior shooters are among a Jamaican contingent that departed the island yesterday to participate in the 2015 Gator Cup Sporting Clays tournament at Quail Creek Plantation in Florida.

The annual tournament, which is Florida’s Premier Sporting Clays event, will get under way today and end on Sunday. The event will see over 500 shooters from around the world competing in FITASC 100-bird competition, FITASC 50-Bird Sub-Gauge and the Five-stand competition.

The Jamaican team, led by coach Khaleel Azan, will contest the preliminary rounds tomorrow and Friday, before the main event on Saturday and Sunday.

Brandon Reid, 16, along with 14-year-olds Nickolai Clarke, Peter Mahfood and Richard Lechler will be a part of the Jamaican team. Also in the Jamaican line-up are Geoffrey Ziadie, Jeffrey Panton, Bruce DuQuesnay, Errol Ziadie, Paul Burke, Ray McMaster, Robert Reid and Kurt Hudson.

“I am really proud of our junior shooters, they have accomplished a lot and it speaks well to the future of the sport in Jamaica. I am confident that the team members will give good accounts of themselves,” Azan told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

The Jamaicans were able to get their rifles fine-tuned at the Spectrum Systems Sporting Clays tournament at the Knolford Polo Ranch in St Catherine on Sunday.

The event, which saw approximately 111 shooters participating, was topped by Geoffrey Ziadie with a score of 86, with Ian Banks taking the runner-up spot with a tally of 83 points.

National champion Shaun Barnes shot 82 to take A Class honours, ahead of Brandon Reid (81) and Paul Josephs (80). Gerry Chin (78) led the B Class, followed by Nickolai Clarke and Nicholas Hudson who both shot 77.

Jordan Thwaites (71) took C Class with Mark Harris and Andre HoLung taking the runner-up spots with 67 hits each, while D’Andre Simpson (74) topped the D class ahead of Matthew Josephs (72) and Michael Wehby (67).

Ryan DuQuesnay topped the E class with 67 hits ahead of Yuri Harris, who also shot 67 and Roman Tavares-Finson 63. Denroy Boboran (60) topped the Hunters Class, ahead of Martin Hopwood and Ryan Machado with 52 hits each.

Laila Azan led the female shooters with 52 hits, followed by Isabelle Chin (50) with Carolyn Chuck (49) finishing third.

Meanwhile, Reid’s 81 hits also gave him top honours in the junior category ahead of Clarke and Simpson, while Matthew Josephs’ 72 hits gave him the top spot in the Sub-juniors section, with Lazarus and Tavares-Finson finishing second and third respectively.

— Sherdon Cowan