Year 13 student Louise van Bysterveldt outgunned her fellow female competitors taking away gold at the interschool clay target shooting competition in Matamata recently – a first for St Paul’s.
In a competition that is usually dominated by Pukekohe High School, Waiuku College and Hauraki Plains College, Louise scored 85/90 across the competition’s three events. Not only did she dominate the female competition, her combined score also placed her second equal in the boys’ competition.
For Louise, clay target shooting runs in the family. “My dad and four older sisters are all into the sport,” she says.
Although having competed before, this was a significant win for Louise. “I feel quite comfortable now when I’m shooting. It’s like a mind game; you get to a point where you know in your mind that you’re going to hit the target every time.”
Louise practises her shooting each week at the Waikato Clay Target Club. At home, her parents have a clay target shooting range that comes in handy for getting in extra practice.
This shooting success in Matamata follows on from the Taupo competition where Louise and Jonathon Porritt (also Year 13) teamed up for the mixed doubles event and won gold.
The St Paul’s scores from the Matamata interschool competition were as follows:
Single Rise:
Louise van Bysterveldt 20/20; Dylan Woodhouse (Year 13), Taotahi Te Ua (Year 13) and Alex Purdie (Year 9) all 18/20
Points Score:
Louise van Bysterveldt 59/60; Jonathon Porritt 58/60; Dylan Woodhouse 57/60
Single Barrel:
Jonathon Porritt, Dylan Woodhouse, Stanley Meyer (Year 13) and Alex Purdie all 8/10
In the team event, St Paul’s scored 279/300, winning the silver medal. The students are now in preparation for the North Island secondary schools’ competition in a few weeks’ time.
