Shooting: 23-strong Games team named

The New Zealand Olympic Commission today named 23 people in the shooting team to travel to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next month, among them a father and son combination from Levin.

Grant and Ryan Taylor will team up in the pairs for the prone rifle and also compete individually in the same event.

Ryan was a member of the 2004 Athens Olympics team but for his father, Grant, it's been a long time between Games -- he was last in the shooting team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Greg Yelavich, New Zealand's most successful Commonwealth Games athlete, returns to the shooting team for a sixth straight games.

The Aucklander first appeared at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and has won nine medals, including two golds, as well as competing at two Olympic Games.

Yelavich will line up in the air pistol, 50m pistol and centre fire pistol events.

Eleven of the 23 named today competed in Manchester four years ago -- Jocelyn Lees, Yelavich, Jason Wakeling, Alan Earle, Juliet Etherington, Kathryn Mead, David Grummitt, Dayle Slinn, Teresa Borrell, Nadine Stanton and Paul Wilson.

At 18 years old, Erin Discombe is the youngest team member and will contest the women's skeet.

Full team:

Fullbore rifle: Brian Carter, John Snowden.

Women's 25m pistol: Jocelyn Lees, Andrea Bald.

Women's air pistol: Lees, Bald.

Men's air pistol: Greg Yelavich.

Men's centre fire pistol: Jason Wakeling, Yelavich.

Men's rapid fire pistol: Wakeling, Alan Earle.

Men's 50m pistol: Yelavich, Earle.

Men's standard pistol: Wakeling, Earle.

Women's prone rifle: Juliet Etherington, Kathryn Mead.

Women's 3 position: Sheryl Glass, Sally Johnston.

Women's air rifle: Glass.

Men's prone rifle: Ryan Taylor, Grant Taylor.

Men's air rifle: David Grummitt, Dayle Slinn.

Men's 3 position: Grummitt, Slinn.

Women's Trap: Teresa Borrell, Nadine Stanton.

Women's Skeet: Erin Discombe, Melanie Hoverd.

Women's Double Trap: Borrell, Stanton.

Men's Trap: Graeme Ede, Alan Sinclair.

Men's Skeet: Paul Wilson, Malcolm Duff.

- NZPA