Sharpshooter gives trophy collection to Special Olympics

A veteran marksman has donated a large number of his medals and trophies to the Far North Special Olympics.

Renowned for his deadly accuracy and fiercely competitive spirit in the pistol shooting arena, Rob Banks was spring cleaning when he came across a box full of various medals and trophies gathering dust.

He decided to clean them up and pass them on to a deserving organisation, eventually settling on the Special Olympics group in Kaitaia as worthy recipients.

The handover took place at Banks' Peria home last month where the collection was gratefully accepted by Tony Pakura, one of the standouts for the Far North/ Bay of Islands squad which had taken part in the the Special Olympics summer games in Dunedin last November.

"You kids can use them now," the sharpshooter told the Special Olympian, noting many of the engraved plates on the miniature trophies could be prised off and replaced with blank ones.

Pakura, a student from the Te Puna Aroha unit of Kaitaia College, was duly impressed with the gesture and said he was honoured to accept the collection on behalf of the local Special Olympics movement. He even noted some of the medals may well be given away at the Far North Special Olympics football championships in Waipapa later this month.

Banks, a former lay magistrate, said the collection featured various titles won at local, regional, national and international pistol shooting events over the past few decades.

He had given some of his medals to the local school for its annual cross-country run "some years ago" and one of his great-grandchildren had ended up winning one.

"He wore it to bed that night ... took mighty pleasure out of having it around his neck. If somebody else gets some use out of them ... [then it'll be worth it]," said Banks.

While he still shoots competitively, often finding himself up against competitors 60 years younger than himself, 83-year-old Banks admitted he has "eased off a bit". However, he remains president of the Far North Pistol Club, a position he's held for the past 22 years. The club had between 35 to 40 registered members who met once a month for shootouts on a range inside Aupouri Forest.

One trophy Banks was not so ready to handover was the 2009 FNDC Master Sportsman of the Year.