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Games On!
By Shari LeGate
GOG target sport announcer
Target Sports will fire the opening round in the 2001 Great Outdoor Games Thursday, July 12. The target sports are the ultimate extreme sports, testing athletes in more that just marksmanship. Skill, strategy, speed, timing, stamina, strength, hand-eye coordination and countless other talents are needed to achieve excellence in these sports.
In the archery event, for example, it's more than just letting an arrow fly downrange. Pulling back a bow that has a 75-pound draw, holding it virtually motionless until it's on the mark and then releasing it to hit a target the size of a silver dollar 20 to 60 yards downrange is an incredible feat and one that takes years of practice to master.
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Once the head-to-head competition begins, it's all over in 60 seconds ” |
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Some of the greatest archers in the world will be competing over the next few days doing exactly that. Jackie Caudle, patriarch of the "first family" of archery, has been competing for 20 years. Caudle won the gold medal at last year's games and will be back to defend his championship. Silver medalist Kelly Ward was the only woman to make it to the finals in the head-to-head competition. Ward is considered one of the top female archers in the world. Not only is she a two-time national champion, she was named shooter of the year in 1997.Ward will be competing again this year, and she's got gold on her mind this time around.
Joseph Goza, who Ward defeated in the semi-finals last year, is back with a vengeance as well. A fierce competitor, Goza was the youngest person to ever win the prestigious Buckmasters Archery Event, and he was only 12 years old when he won a National Championship.
No time for practice
Rifle shooting is a slow, quiet sport. It's all about patience, precision and timing. The ability to have the steely calm to slowly squeeze the trigger as the target comes into focus. A pristine sport, right?.
Not at the Great Outdoor Games. Here, the competitors have 60 seconds to hit 14 shots!
The Great Outdoor Games rifle event is unlike any other rifle event in the world. What makes it even more challenging, because it's unique to the Games there's no place for the shooters to practice except at the event itself. The competitors get just one hour of practice before they have to compete. There will be no practice matches, and once the head-to-head competition begins, it's all over in 60 seconds. It's fast, furious and exciting!
Sixty seconds to hit 14 targets may seem like a lot of time, but not the way this game is played. Once a competitor hits the first 10 targets, they then move on to the "dueling tree." There are two dueling trees, one for each competitor, and it consists of four targets. Once a competitor hits a target on the dueling tree, it is considered scored, unless the opposing competitor "unhits" the target. Then it is no longer scored.
At last year's games, two of the best shooters in the world, Carl Bernosky and Doug Koenig, cleaned the first 10 shots in less than 10 seconds. The remaining 50 seconds were spent with those shooters "unhitting" each other's targets. It was an exciting match in which Doug Koenig eventually came out on top.
Both shooters are back this year. And a new competitor this year is Jerry Miculek, considered the fastest pistol shooter in the world. Miculek can shoot six targets in less than two seconds. What's more remarkable is that he does it with a revolver. This is a man to watch at these Games.
Under the lights
The Shotgun athletes face the same dilemma as the rifle shooters in that this too is an event unique to the Great Outdoor Games. Each athlete will be allowed a few practice shots and then the match begins.
A new twist to the shotgun event this year is that it will be played at night under the lights, where an entirely new perspective comes into play. When shotgun barrels are made, their color is a shiny chrome. The barrel then goes through a process call "blueing," where the barrel color is changed to a deep midnight blue for a finished look. However, when you shoot a night, the barrel blends into the black background and as a result, there is no relationship between the barrel and the target. If one element is not clearly visible, it can make for some pretty interesting shots.
One athlete to watch is Dan Bonillas, who has been competing since 1967 and is considered one of the best trap shooters in the world. The advantage that Bonillas has is that he is very skilled at shooting under lights. Doug Fuller is returning to defend his gold medal and young Dustin Long is back to avenge his loss to Doug in the finals. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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