Nicola Heron reports from the Fedecat Trap 5 in Spain, where Para Trap combined with a World Championship for the first time.
The fifth Fedecat Trap 5 World Championship saw a Para Trap category at a world championship for the first time outside the IPC.
It proved to be a popular move which was so well supported by Para Trap athletes that instead of the single category published in the programme, the world federation opened it up to all three current Para Trap categories – SG-L, SG-S and SG-U – and offered medals and prize money for each category.
The event was held at the wonderfully modern multi-discipline shooting ground Sociedad Valenciana de Caza y Tiro at Cheste near Valencia, on the weekend of 30 August to 1 September. The club put on a fantastic competition enjoyed by all.
This is a fabulous ground and well suited to Para athletes. It is easy to move around the ground with the powered or manual chairs, due to the wide flat concourses to all of the layouts. The armoury is easily accessible on the ground floor, and there are lifts to access the restaurants and bar.
The championship ran perfectly and to time, the weather was glorious all weekend and everyone had a fantastic time meeting old friends and making new ones.
High Gun overall – and World Champion – was John Henderson (ESP) who scored 148 ex-150 followed by 22 in the six-man final and 11 in the sudden-death shoot-off.
The GBR team were few at this event, but still managed to return four medals. Para Trap athlete Bill MacLennan won Silver in SG-L and was also the second highest Para Trap shooter over all three Para categories.
Nicola Heron won silver in Ladies and Bill and Nicola won bronze in the Mixed Team event out of five teams.
The best thing about Trap 5 is the equality amongst shooters. All able bodied and Para Trap athletes compete together on the same ranges in randomly chosen squads.
Trap 5 gives us all a great opportunity to increase the level of Para Trap participation internationally across similar disciplines.
We are looking forward to the 2020 season, as it will give our Para Trap athletes of all ages the chance to compete for either a European Championship or World Championship title. We hope to see many more British shooters at the title shoots next year.
What is Fedecat?
CM.FEDECAT is a world sports body whose headquarters are in Spain. The acronym stands for Consejo Mundial de Federaciones Deportivas de Caza y Tiro. Literally translated that means ‘World Council of Sports Federations for Hunting and Shooting’.
They are registered with the Spanish Ministry of Sport as an official sport body, and have developed exciting new clay and target disciplines for shooters to enjoy – including Fan 32, Trap 3, Trap 5 and Sport Fedecat.
Fedecat-UK represents British shooters competing in the CM.FEDECAT International Championships. It is a ‘not for profit’ clay target shooting federation which is run by shooters for shooters. Fedecat-UK encourages its members, from all walks of life and all ages, to compete in the CM.FEDECAT disciplines on the international circuit.
They say: “There are so many beautiful shooting clubs in the World and we would like to introduce you to some of them. Come and join us and experience International Competition shooting at its best. Having fun, no matter what level of shot you are.”
Trap 5
Trap 5 is one of the CM.FEDECAT disciplines. It is a bunker discipline like OT and UT, using 24g cartridges. Clays are thrown from five trap machines, which all make the same distance of 65m. It can be shot on a standalone five-trap field, or the middle five on an existing OT layout.
Just like OT, it has schemes that determine the angles and heights that the targets achieve from each machine. In basic terms, the two left traps throw to the right, the two right traps throw to the left and the centre trap throws straight away from the shooter. There are five stands, with a maximum of six shooters to a squad taking turns to shoot a total of 25 targets per layout.
Trap 5 is an incredibly friendly discipline which allows many Trap shooters to cut their teeth internationally as the championships are open to all. You can find information about Trap 5 on the website www.fedecat-uk.com and the Facebook page Fedecat UK.
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