NINE-TIME national shotgun champion and president of Jamaica Skeet Club Ian Banks, along with 16-year-old junior shooter Lori-Anne Harris were crowned champions of the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays shoot at the picturesque Murphy Hill in St Ann on January 19. Both shooters were winning the event for the first time since it began in 2020.

Banks, who shot 93 after missing only seven targets, was very pleased with winning his first shoot in a very long time.

“It is very special because it’s been a number of years since I’ve finished at the top, so it’s very very special. And, of course, this is the first sporting clays shoot of the calendar year so it’s a nice feeling.”

He, along with the other competitors, had to battle the changing weather conditions — which shifted back and forth from cloudy, windy, and hot and sunny — during their time on the 17-station course.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say [I] conquered; I just happened to come out on top today, you know. And obviously with the cadre of youngsters that are coming up now, I certainly couldn’t be termed a youngster. It’s a good feeling, because we have some really, really good young people coming up in the sport,” Banks said.

Chad Ziadie, the two-time and current national shotgun champion, bagged the runner-up spot after a tense shoot-off with B Class shooter Todd Lazarus. Lazarus won the toss and opted to shoot first, picking off six of the eight targets. Ziadie was perfect on the station as he punched all eight targets. Both men had shot 92 in the main event and could only be separated by way of a shoot-off.

Harris got her first hold on the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays trophy when she shot 85 to win the ladies’ and the juniors categories. It was the first time that someone other than a McMaster was winning the ladies’ category.

“It feels pretty good,” Harris beamed. “I mean, I didn’t think I was going to make it but I pulled through. I think it was a really good course. I really enjoyed myself; I mean the birds were challenging and it was a good experience.”

Aliana McMaster, the four-time winner of the shoot, and her mother Wendy who won in 2020, both shot 84. The runner-up for the ladies’ category had to be decided by way of long-run. Wendy came out the winner, while Aliana pocketed third place. Long-run uses the results on pre-determined stations to break ties in order to get a winner.

Club Treasurer Kirk Miller credited the support of Proven Wealth, Grand Excelsior Hotel, Monymusk, Fidelity Motors and a host of other sponsors for the success of the shoot, which allows Driftwood Gun Club to contribute to its charities.

“We have two basic schools in St Elizabeth, in the Treasure Beach area, that we provide support to. Part proceeds of the event will go to helping them with their back-to-school efforts and their school feeding programme,” he said.