Shooting: Shooting stars up for medal haul

MELBOURNE - It is hard to think of any sport less known and, perhaps, less fashionable than shooting. But it is where many of New Zealand's best medal hopes lie - not just in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games but also at the Beijing Olympics of 2008.

At the 2002 Manchester Games, the shooters were New Zealand's most prolific team, bringing back six medals. In fact, in the last five Commonwealth Games, shooting has brought home 33 medals. This is a major reason why SPARC is channelling so much more money and interest into the sport.

But, for sports fans, shooting can be a confusing and sometimes puzzling sport. In a relentlessly mental sport, shooters often have a long time frame in which to fire off a certain number of shots. In between these shots, the shooters compose themselves and concentrate mightily on their routines or set-up of the next shot.

This is not great for anyone watching at the range and it also poses problems for TV coverage. Long pauses are not the stuff of programmers' dreams.

But here's an explanation of the events and shooters who will compete when the shooting fires up on Thursday.

Pistol Shooting

* Women's 25m pistol (singles and pairs - shooters perform individually and as a team)
Two 30-shot stages: rapid fire and precision. Five minutes are allowed for the precision stage; in rapid fire, shots are taken at a turning target with three seconds for each shot.

Jocelyn Lees, Andrea Bald
Lees is one of the most experienced shooters, this being her fourth Commonwealth Games - winning two bronzes in 2002 (in this event and the pairs), and two silvers in 98 (pairs) and she has another great chance here. It's Bald's first Games.

* Women's air pistol (and pairs) 40 shots in 1hr 15m with 10m targets.

* Men's air pistol (and pairs) Shooters have 1hr 45m to shoot 60 shots at targets 10m away.

Greg Yelavich, Wang Yang
Both are capable of medalling. Yelavich has won 10 medals in Commonwealth Games, stretching back to 1986 and is quietly pleased with his form. Wang is originally from China, where he narrowly missed Olympic selection. Watch them in the pairs - they are distinct medal possibilities.

* Men's centre fire pistol (and pairs)

Jason Wakeling, Alan Earle
Wakeling has been at four Games - winning silver with Earle in the rapid fire pairs event at Kuala Lumpur in 98.

* Men's rapid fire pistol (and pairs)
Shooters use a .22 calibre pistol to fire two 30-shot courses at five silhouettes 25m away. They have eight seconds to fire at each of the five targets. Then the targets re-appear and they have six seconds to fire. Finally, they must shoot at each of the targets in four seconds.

Wakeling and Earle

* Men's 50m pistol (and pairs)

Yelavich and Earle

* Men's standard pistol (and pairs)

Wakeling and Earle

Rifles

* Fullbore rifle (and pairs)

Brian Carter, John Snowden
Carter is at his first Games but has proven himself to be a strong competitor nationally. Snowden is also a first-timer.

* Women's prone rifle (and pairs)
Shooters use a .22 rifle to lie prone, with the wrist held at least six inches off the ground and must take 60 shots in 1hr 15m.

Juliet Etherington, Kathryn Mead
Etherington competed at Manchester, as did Mead.

* Women's 3-position (and pairs)
Prone, kneeling and standing positions; 20 shots in each at a 50m target with one hour or over to complete each position.

Sheryl Glass, Sally Johnston
Johnston competed in KL in 98 in this event; Glass is at her first Games.

* Women's air rifle
74 minutes to fire 40 shots at a 10m target.

Sheryl Glass

* Men's prone rifle (and pairs)
.22 rifles are used to hit targets 50m away, with the wrist held at least six inches off the ground while lying prone and firing 60 shots in 1hr 15m.

Ryan Taylor, Grant Taylor
Interesting father-and-son combo and long-shot medal hopes individually and together. Father Grant first shot for New Zealand at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, son Ryan went to Athens in 2004.

* Men's air rifle (and pairs)
60 shots at a 10-metre target in 1hr 45m.

David Grummitt, Dayle Slinn
Both competed in Manchester Games in 2002 and will be stronger this year.

* Men's 3-position (and pairs)
Prone, kneeling and standing positions; 40 shots in each at a 50m target with one hour or over to complete each position.

Grummitt and Slinn

Shotguns

* Women's trap (and pairs) 
11cm clay birds are flung into the air at various angles; the shooter is allowed two shots.

Teresa Borrell, Nadine Stanton
Gold medallists in the double trap pairs in Manchester, they will again be strong medal prospects

* Women's double trap (and pairs)
The targets are launched two at a time so the competitors cannot be sure of angle or direction.

Borrell and Stanton

* Women's skeet (and pairs)
Like trap except that the shotgun is held at the hip until the targets are launched from a tower (not on ground level, like trap shooting).

Erin Discombe, Melanie Hoverd
19-year-old Discombe is the baby of the shooting team and has been shooting less than a year - but is regarded as a rising talent. Hoverd is also at her first Games.

* Men's trap (and pairs)

Graeme Ede, Alan Sinclair
Ede competed in the 1994 Games in Victoria, Canada, as did Sinclair. Could be strongest in the pairs.

* Men's skeet (and pairs)

Paul Wilson, Malcolm Duff
Wilson shot at Manchester in 2002 and has a good record internationally. He seems the strongest chance with Duff at his first games.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY