Jamaica’s promising, young sporting clays competitor Aliana McMaster blazed a trail at the recently completed World English Sporting Clays Championship when she was the only shooter on the team to take home any silverware.

She bagged three trophies at the championship. The first of the three trophies was for her third-place finish in the main event after scoring 144 out of a possible 200 in sporting clays in the Lady Sub Junior category.

The other two trophies were for 5 Stand or Sport Trap where she copped a second- and a third-place finish.

She shot 81 (out of 100) to bag the second place in the Lady Sub Junior category. She then had to battle Charlie Falls in the Sub Junior category where she triumphed when she picked off eight of the targets to his five, to wrest the third place by way of tense shoot-off in the Sub Junior category. They tied for third place after shooting 81 each, hence the need for the shoot-off.

The championship was held at the E J Churchill Shooting Ground in England from Wednesday, July 5 and ended on Saturday, July 8.

McMaster is the first Jamaican and the first female to win a medal in any category on the European circuit. She was very pleased with her performance at the championship and now looks forward to this weekend’s National Shotgun Championship at the Tru-Juice property in St Catherine.

The female team was dominated by the McMaster family with national shotgun champion Wendy along with her daughters Aliana and Abigail completing the three-woman team.

They intended to defend their third-place finish from last year but it was not to be as they ended in sixth position out of eight teams.

Jamaica had its best results in 2022 after the female team ended in third position and the male team came fourth. It marked the first time that a local team was getting a podium finish.

The members of the male team were Craig Simpson (captain), Ryan Chen (vice-captain), Ray McMaster, Robert Yap-Foo, Gordon Bucknor, and Lennin Thompson. The team was made up of experienced and new members, with Simpson being the most experienced having been competing in the championship since the early 2000s.

Captain Simpson said that the team gained valuable experience at the championship which will benefit them in the future, while commending Aliana McMaster for her outstanding performance by taking home three trophies.

The championship featured 11 countries while there were eight ladies teams. The participating countries included USA, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Mexico, Italy, Sweden, and Jamaica.

The team sponsors were Proven, Hawkeye, Coldwell Bankers, National Bakery, Ammar’s, and BarePelt (re making and customising of shooting vests).