These were held in Bali in late August, and New Zealand had a team of shooters and three range officers (RO) who travelled to it. This is a level four-match; the worlds are level five, so in short, it is the most significant type of match in this part of the world.
The event was held over three days, while the Pistol was over four and started a day later. Twenty-four different courses of fire, from small courses up to twelve, medium – twelve to twenty-four and large as high as thirty-two. While it has been held every three years, it is moving to a four-year cycle.
PCC (Pistol Calibre Carbine) were hired as we aren’t allowed them, which put our teams at a big disadvantage because it’s tough to compete with hired gear even when it works well, and unfortunately, these did not.
There was a change in how we competed each day, usually done in half days. This time, the days were split into four, and we covered six stages in three hours.
There were eight people in my squad, which comprised two teams of four. You might have thought we had it easy, looking at the young Thailand team we were slotted with, until the first shots. Unlike NZ, shooting is acceptable, and juniors celebrated, so while they were young (I’m older than three of them added together), they had been shooting for years, and it showed. It was no surprise that they won 1st Open Team. While the days were short, a lot of shooting was done in quick succession. Whilst good for me, it meant a lot of work with little rest for the RO and range staff. They had long, hot days with little downtime, and my thanks go out to them for this, as it is not easy.
The stages were very challenging and varied, making IPSC such a unique sport. That and how everyone competes, no difference between ages or sex; eighty-five ladies and forty-three juniors competed. We have different categories, but stages and points are the same. By doing it this way, we are very inclusive, and skills are what matter.
The top in the Open was Brodie McIntosh, a senior (50 -60) from Aussie. We had a number of seniors in our teams this trip; for us, it is a bit of a trend as our average age is getting older; this is probably down to several reasons; costs and licencing requirements are just two.
Our members did well, but for me the heat always gets me. I like it cold, and Bali isn’t that. Sweaty hands mean you can’t grip the gun the same way, so we use a pro grip or cork to try and combat this, much the same as climbers do. The other thing is keeping the gun going: getting the oil right. Too dry, and the gun stops working; too much, and the sights get covered, making the aim harder.
Our best placings came in the age groups Ramel 3rd Classic, Andre 3rd Production Optics, Jim 4th Standard all Seniors and Victora 1st Production Ladies Super Senior.
After a rough start, I finished well, but the points lost can’t be recovered. I placed 17th Senior in the Open, which I was happy with. The old ‘Must Do Better’ comes to mind.
My thanks to Tactical Solutions for supporting the Nelson crew. The Rush24 backpacks and 5.11 pants were suitable and helpful.
