Air gun athletes gather at Memorial to prepare for 2015 Canada Games
The competition was started in 2009 by the Newfoundland and Labrador Shooting Association, the Shooting Federation of Nova Scotia and the Royal New Brunswick Rifle Association to prepare athletes for the 2011 Canada Winter Games.
"We wanted to cooperate through competition so our regional athletes would be better positioned to be competitive at those games," noted organizer Dave Woolridge. "And it was a success. Newfoundland and Labrador took three Canada Games medals and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were able to place three athletes into the finals."
Since 2009, the competition has been rotating through the three provinces and this is the second time that Newfoundland and Labrador has hosted.
"We're very proud to have the Frank Zahn High Performance Marksmanship centre here. It's a very unique facility and we're really excited about the fact that this competition could ensure that some of these Atlantic Canadian athletes get a better chance at the 2015 Canada Games," said Dr. Scott MacKinnon, acting dean of HKR.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Shooting Association is the provincial sport governing body for Olympic shooting sports in Newfoundland and Labrador. The association is responsible for the development of athletes, development of coaches, promotion of precision shooting sports and for the selection of Canada Games teams within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Frank Zahn High Performance Marksmanship and Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic Training Facility is Atlantic Canada's first and only Shooting Federation of Canada sanctioned regional training centre for the Olympic shooting sports. The training facility is a result of partnerships between the Newfoundland and Labrador Shooting Association, Shooting Federation of Canada, Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Sport Newfoundland and Labrador.
For more information, please contact Michelle Osmond, communications co-ordinator, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University, at 709.728.2364 or mlosmond@mun.ca.