Lockdown Live 2 - Match Report
The second Lockdown Live competition took place on March 21st with competitors from all over the UK dialling in via Zoom to compete against each other in a 60 shot air pistol match with Finals to follow.
It wasn’t quite the Delhi World Cup but it was a wonderful demonstration of how, with a little technology, some creative thinking, a few committed BPC volunteers and some dedicated pistol shooters we can continue to hold some form of live competition under the current Coronavirus regulations.
The day started at 09:30 with the qualification match, shot over 90 minutes (a 15 minute extension from standard ISSF timings to allow for those on paper targets). The BPC was running a live scorecard for the first time and scores were submitted (by those willing) in 10 shot strings and added to a live scoresheet. This created further interest for spectators and coaches and showcased some exceptional strings from the likes of Kate Markham (99), Kristian Callaghan (98) and Matt Reed (98). Managing the pressure was key and the highest score for the day came from Matt Reed with 572 along with some notable shooting from the Junior Women where Kate Markham and Harriet Watson had to got to the number of inner tens to split them at 562 each, Harriet winning that one with a remarkable 19 X's.
After the qualification match there was a break for scoring and lunch, followed by the Men’s Final. This was a close fought affair with Jeremy Pitman winning his second Lockdown Live title, just ahead of Matt Reed. The other finalists fought valiantly and particular mention should go to Tim Woolford in his first final, a difficult enough experience even when not having to score & change your own cards! Despite the pressure on the Juniors from competing against Seniors, they responded outstandingly, with Joe Baker taking 3rd in the Men’s and Scarlett Garner & Raissa Vickery winning 1st and 2nd respectively in the Women’s Final, ahead of Imogen Reed in 3rd. Scarlett Garner’s superbly consistent final score of 237.4 was notable for being 0.1 ahead of the winning finalist in the Senior Men’s.
Well done to all the competitors and thank you for joining the competition. Particular thanks should also go to Oliy Tozer for running the Finals range and Peter Turner and his assistant Charlie for providing the music and the timing as well as filling the Jury role.
The next Lockdown Live is scheduled for the Sunday, April 18th and the entry form will go live soon.
