ONE of the Jamaica Skeet club’s biggest event of the year — the prestigious NCB Capital Markets Sporting Clays Open which is in its 12th year, shoots off today at the Woodleigh Shooting Range in Clarendon starting at 10:30 am with a shotgun start.

It is one of the most anticipated events of the year and will feature the best gunners on the island including nine-time national shotgun champion Ian Banks, who was the highest placed Jamaica in 2018 after ending with a score of 92 out of 100 birds.

Banks had to settle for second place behind the young American Joseph Pinchin, who shot 96 out of 100 birds to be crowned the champion. He is the first non-Jamaican to win the NCB Capital Markets Sporting Clays Open.

Shaun Barnes, the six-time shotgun national champion, will be on the range as well to challenge for the top spot. He is coming off a recent win at the Jamaica Gun Club’s shoot in February and will be looking to be on the podium again.

The current national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, who won his second national championship in 2018, is upbeat about his chances today. He is also coming off a recent win, having won the first shoot of the year, the Driftwood Gun Club’s Sporting Clays Challenge in January.

Other shooters to look out for include the 2017 NCB Capital Markets champion Bobby Chung, who credited his ability to keep a cool head in the heat of competition for his win. Also on the course to vie for podium finishes will be Craig Simpson, Geoffrey Ziadie, Robert Yap Foo, Ray McMaster, Robbie Subaran and Nicholas Benjamin.

The ladies section should see a lot of competition as well. Three-time national female champion and defending champion in the NCB Capital Markets Sporting Clays Open Wendy McMaster has been shooting well as seen by her improvement to date. She is now shooting with the men in C Class (the only female in C Class). She expects stiff competition from Marguerite Harris, the 2017 champion, Toni Barnes and Renee Rickhi.

In the juniors section, Roman Tavares-Finson, Danzell Knight, Peter Mahfood, JJ Ralston, Mark Desnoes, Cameron Pan Sang and Matthew Josephs will be in hot pursuit of each other for the top spot.

The 100-bird shoot will be spread across 17 stations. The shooters will compete in nine classes — A, B, C, D and E; Junior, Sub Junior; Ladies and Hunters or first-time shooters.

The shooters have come to expect challenging conditions on the Woodleigh Shooting Range such as windy, hot and humid with very little covering.