sport words | Mark Viales
SHOOTING STARS New hatchlings at the range
F
acing life down the barrel of a gun time, however, she was the only one in the young fledglings onto greater things. That’s just the way it is among this closely-knit might sound intimidating, but some facility besides me, and I wasn’t about to family, both figuratively and literally. The people on the Rock do exactly that challenge her podium place. Piri name stretches a couple of generon a regular basis up at The lock ations, as do several others. Mairead’s the Europa Point firing range. Role model father, Darren, is now the Island Games There, within the confines on the rusty coach, but there is no favouritism between of its nest on the outer cliffBut in truth, Stephanie, 25, considmetal door of family, it just wouldn’t be possible. Stephface, under the shadow of the ers herself more like an older sister the squareanie says she has curbed her influence on lighthouse, the Gibraltar Target to the new crop of youngsters box, militarythe two younger girls who are praying for Shooting Association settled who threw away their toy guns for looking facility a more sophisticated firearm quite her place at the games to allow Darren’s in its home. After cycling the caused a loud some time ago. ability in coaching to flourish and hilltops that lay between the not tread on his territory, “I used to air strip and the range, I caught metallic clang Stephanie help out more in the early stages, up with one of Gibraltar’s top as it crashed Kristina Hewitt and has been but now that Darren has taken over, target shooters to see if any new Mairead Sheriff, both back. shooting air I don’t want to step on his shoes. I nestlings were eager to hatch. 14, are fresh onto The lock on the rusty metal door the scene and are al- rifles for nearly sometimes whisper some advice into his ear about small improvements to of the square-box, military-looking facility half her life... ready pushing Stephanie and the girls’ technique, but he is doing caused a loud metallic clang as it crashed Gibraltar’s stalwart shooting a great job and he has helped me back. On the other side, standing fully star, Heloise Mañasco, to represent the develop my personal game enormously.” kitted and rifle in hand, Stephanie Piri, a Rock at the Gold Coast 2018 Commoncrime scene investigator in her day job and wealth Games in Australia. There are only a shooter since she was twelve, welcomed two spots available in the women’s standNew blood me inside. She was soon back on the range ing 10m air-rifle event. However, there and nestled into her lucky slot, number 22, Stephanie considers Mairead, who just is no sense of bitterness between them, which she loathes to miss out on when she quite the contrary, Stephanie, like Heloise, started shooting in January last year, to finds someone else practicing there. This be very dedicated and she tries to take use their experience to help guide these 62
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2017