STRONG SHOOTING FUTURE

Rolleston-based Ewan Bawden, has been shooting clay targets since he started Year 9 at Lincoln High School. He set himself a goal to be a top New Zealand shooter and is on his way to achieving this.

Ewan reached AA Grade within three years due to his hard work and dedication to the sport. It hasn’t been easy sailing for Ewan who suffered from health issues and underwent operations on his ears. He now has low hearing which possibly is helpful as he can’t hear people chatting behind him while he is on the mark. He is coached by David Miller and Colin Miller , who have both been representatives for New Zealand over the years. They have achieved excellent results, not only with Ewan, but all the students they coach.

Ewan started the year by winning the Junior High Overall at the Westland Provincials for the third year running. He was then reasonably confident going into the New Zealand Nationals in Hamilton where he shot for the Junior South Island team, unfortunately losing to the North Island team. He shot consistently all week and won the Individual Junior Minis. His AA Grade means he is competing against everyone, including the best of the best. He is happy to have had three shoot-offs and knows he is nipping at their heels for placings.

Subsequently, his scores were good enough to secure a place in the Junior Mackintosh team and to shoot for his country.

The Mackintosh event is an extremely prestigious representative team that is selected from the New Zealand Single Barrel, New Zealand Rise and New Zealand Points Score Championships. The event is held on a postal basis, with teams from Australia, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada and South Africa competing. Final results are not known until July, when the European countries have shot their event.

“This is an amazing achievement and we are very proud of him. He has also qualified for the Junior Oceania team, competing in Auckland, April 27th to 30th,” commented Ewan's mum, Maxine Bawden.

The Junior Oceania event is a biannual event that started in 2016, intending to foster Clay Target Shooting within the South Pacific and to increase participation with an emphasis

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on junior development.

Ewan is very proud to shoot for his country and works hard to help finance the trips required to compete at this level. He is currently looking for sponsors to help fund his trip to Auckland, as well as other trips he will no doubt be involved in to continue his success.

In May the school circuit starts and he is looking forward to competing with his team who are capable of higher achievements with the excellent coaching they have, and are hoping for a great year of results.

If you would like to sponsor Ewan please email: maxine.classiccurtains@gmail.com

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