The Fall Selection Match

If you've ever lived in Colorado for any amount of time (even just a week), you might have noticed the terribly unpredictable weather patterns of this region. On Monday it was beautiful shorts weather in the mid 70's to low 80's. I wore a tank top and shorts and got a SUNBURN! Not two days later, I was running to the sporting goods store to purchase HEAVY DUTY Long Johns! Then by the weekend it was lovely and warm fall weather again. But its par for the course if you look back, you will find that every Fall Selection Match held in Colorado Springs in October has some stint of adverse weather, and we just happened to get it!

NOTE: For those of you following along, but really lost as far as this Fall Selection thingy goes, never fear, I shall explain...Fall Selection refers to one of the three major national competitions held by USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports, per year. I compete in an event called Trap, where the object is to shoot a shotgun at a flying clay target and hit it. The general course of fire is to shoot 250-300 targets over a 3 day period, with the top 6 getting the chance to shoot off in a final 25 targets for to decide the winner. Previously, I shot Double Trap, but this event (for women) has recently been taken out of the Olympics. My time on the team has enabled me to travel the world and compete on the International level. I hope to continue my efforts and reach even higher heights in my new event of Trap.

Moving on...

As mentioned earlier, the training days leading up to the competition were beautiful. We had over 115 participants registered to shoot, which meant long days, but a good time would be had by all. (Photo Note: Mary, our head of competitions, and Steve, our match director, run the place with an iron fist...you don't wanna get on their bad sides.) However, the weather took a sudden dive on the official training day. It got SOOO incredibly cold that more people than usual shot only one training round and left....to buy under armour of course!

Day 1: 100 Targets, "Keep the car running all day"-cold.
I started off really strong with a 24/25, then ran into some trouble. To take my mind of things and to keep my hands from getting stiff, what did I do? KNIT of course!!! Please note the ear warmer headband, the under armour, the polar fleece outer layer, the blanket on my lap, and the ski jacket in the back seat. It was COLD. But the knitting was good...and calming. Too bad it didn't really help my shooting. But on the good side, over the three day competition, I got a lot done! Yet I digress...The competition day ended with my buddy Joetta, who by the way just had a baby in May, tearing it up and finishing at the top of the board. I, on the other hand, though giving a strong showing to finish with a 25/25, had two REALLY bad rounds in the middle...therefore, was not really at all near the top....in fact, closer to the middle.

Day 2: 100 Targets, Average cold with signs of warming up.
After an evening spent in a COLD hot tub (yah it was broken, but they didn't bother telling the girl that's been a popsicle all day), I was not looking forward to another cold day. It was, however, slightly more tolerable because it wasn't as windy. Caitlin, one of our new junior shooters, brought her puppy to cuddle and play with. (Isn't he cute!) Again, the shooting wasn't that great, but Joetta continued to give us all lessons. Oh yah, and the knitting continued...on and on and on and on.... This stupid project is never going to end. It's a good thing I was drug up on pain killer or my hands would have killed!

Day 3: 50 Targets, Chilly morning but warm in the afternoon.
It was a good thing that I showed up early, because they switched squading early in the morning so I was on an early flight. I was surprised to find that I wasn't as far out of the top 6 as I thought. If I had a good day and others didn't, then I could possibly push my way in.

(Photo Note: from the left, Mimi Wilfong, Goldie Pippin, referee, Susan Nattrass, Amanda Dorman, Kyndra Hogan, Lynsey Arnold.) Joetta kicked butt again, which was a big accomplishment since a women hasn't beat EVERYONE in quite awhile. (Oh yah, men and women don't compete against each other...they're afraid we'll kick their butt like Joetta did...hehe j/k) Unfortunately, I didn't have as good a showing all around as I'd like. I started to get a little more consistent after the first day, but it was too little too late. We have a good range in Colorado Springs, and despite the weather, scores are always pretty high.

An unusually large amount of people showed up for the finals (probably to watch Joetta steal the show.) And a careful observer could find Lloyd actually sitting for 10 minutes (even if he was explaining something to an over-anxious mom.) All in all, it was nice to see everyone again even if the weather mostly sucked. At least our match didn't go through Monday because it snowed (poor double trap shooters!) I was dissappointed with my performance, but there is always another match to train for. Spring Selection Match here I come. It should be interesting at the new venue in Curville. But for now, let Old Man Winter have his way. I'll snuggle up to my man and wait out the winter. Till next match, keep your head down and your hopes high!