Let me give you my thought per my perspective.
First the competition aspect and I'll just talk about the Parker vs. LC Smith Challenge at the Southern for now. Each year I ask myself if I really want to shoot the qualifier and pay 60 cents per target for essentially practice? Being a realist, I know I have a snowballs chance in hell of making the team. Every year I do it. Why? First, I like to hear the gun go off, secondly, I want to support my Association, and thirdly, some part of the entry fee goes to a good cause. 10 high gun shooters make the team for each Association. I don't know how many shooters shoot the qualifier but the shooting is continuous for all day Friday and a half day Saturday. That's a lot of shooters and the majority of them will never make their team. It's the same shooters who make the team year after year plus or minus a couple of new additions. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching these guys break targets in the shootoff that I can't hit in my dreams. No amount of practice at my age will bring me up to their level.
Now for the Fox Parker Challenge, I want to congratulate Steve, Craig, and Daryl for trying something new to get the "average shooter" involved in the challenge. It seems like many of the "Top Dogs" don't like it. I guess only 2 "Top Dogs" in the shootoff is not enough. They want it all, even though it's been that way in the Fox Parker Challenge for years, and it's always been that way at the Southern. I can tell you that my name was drawn for the Parker team and I was apprehensive about shooting. I didn't want everyone to see how bad of a shot I was (although many already knew) and cost the Parker team the win. I hadn't been in a shootoff in almost 20 years while shooting ATA. I sucked it up and shot but boy was I nervous as I'm sure Dennis Downs and Fox shooter Laura Beavers was. I can tell you this, my nerves were a wreck and my heart was pounding when I took the line. My memory of shootoffs long ago are still etched in my memory and this one will be too. Lets think of the average shooters in our Associations a little more, the "Top Dogs" will still get their bones. Big shout out to Laura Beavers for giving it her best shot.
|