There is plenty of congratulations and back-slapping going on in East Otago smallbore shooting circles.
The East Otago team, known as the Otago Blue and Golds, has just won the national district competition for smallbore rifle shooting, the first team from the region to pick up the trophy.
To make the win even more impressive, it was the first year the Blue and Golds had been back in the top grade, after winning promotion from the second division last year.
The competition can be likened to the national provincial championship in rugby, with provinces competing in a round-robin competition from April to August every year.
The concept started in 1998 and no team has ever won the second division and gone on to win the top grade until the Otago team did it this year.
The final shoot was against the Hutt Valley Hawks and in a postal format the Otago team ran out clear winners, with a score of 4975.227 to the Hawks' total of 4959.236.
Craig Cookson shot the highest score in the final.
The team was made up of: Murray Reeves, Malcolm Garland, Adrianne Sherwin, John Hamilton, Alistair Smith, Bridget Johnstone, Adam Thompson (North Otago), Craig Cookson, Chris Clearwater, Allan Whitfield, Hamish Soper, Nick Philips, Joseph Thompson, Nigel Neehoff, Gerald Corfield, Lindsay Horne, Les Bell, John Stanway, Ronald Sheat, Allan Kane, Jacinta Grant, John Brosnahan, Morris Stevenson, Campbell Wright, Sam Young, Craig Neame and Colleen Lee (East Otago).
As well as the team winning the competition, some of its members were picked in the South Island squad to shoot against the North Island, along with other shooters from East Otago.
They were: Sherwin, Johnstone, Garland, Peter McCullum, Whitfield, Philips, Clearwater, Amelia Hewson, Brosnahan, Stevenson and Young.
Tony Black, from South Otago, was also in the South Island team.
Brosnahan and Stevenson were selected for the New Zealand junior side, while McCullum made the New Zealand Open team.
Amelia Hewson was selected for the New Zealand juniors, women's and open teams.
