Oceania championship - Sporting - New Zealand (March 2009)

Registration closed

Sporting

1 targets

Participants

22 /300

Start

Mar 27, 2009, 13:00

Europe/Kiev (UTC+2)

End

Mar 29, 2009, 13:00

Europe/Kiev (UTC+2)

Until competition start

0 days

Location

Kapenga, New Zealand

Status

Registration closed

Actions

Results

Winners

TOP 3

Overall

MACPHERSON Craig

SO +19

178

MACPHERSON Craig

SO +19

178

NANKERVIS Blake

178

NANKERVIS Blake

SO +21

178

BIRGAN Damien

SO +20

178

BIRGAN Damien

SO +20

178

Category Man

MACPHERSON Craig

SO +19

178

BIRGAN Damien

SO +20

178

DEADMAN Brian

177

Category Ladies

TANGEY Brooke

150

DUNNETT Maria

137

LONSDALE Natasha

133

Category Junior

NANKERVIS Blake

178

GUERRA Nicholas

164

BISHOP Thomas

161

Category Senior

TREADWELL Ed

164

BROWN Bob

158

TRIFFIT Ken

SO +16

156

CECCATO Alec

SO +10

156

Category Veteran

MCFARLANE Ray

151

BERGER Gerard

143

BROWN Graham

140

About competition

Oceania Championship of Parcours de Chasse

The 2009 FITASC Sporting Oceania Championship was a premier international clay target shooting tournament held from March 27th to March 29th, 2009. Serving as the absolute pinnacle of continental clay target shooting in the Pacific region, this highly anticipated three-day championship brought together elite marksmen from New Zealand, Australia, and neighboring Pacific nations to compete in the main Sporting discipline (Parcours de chasse). The tournament was proudly hosted at the historic, world-class facilities of the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Event Highlights & Structural Parameters

Operating under the highest international framework of global target sports, this Oceania Championship paired New Zealand's dramatic landscape with strict international sports regulations:

Sanctioning Architecture: The competition operated under the direct international authority of FITASC (Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse) in coordination with the New Zealand Clay Target Association (NZCTA), certifying that all multi-field course configurations, target trajectories, and firearm compliance parameters conformed to strict global tier-1 standards.
The Continental Crown: As the premier sporting clays event of the Oceania zone for 2009, this championship served as the ultimate platform for selecting the region's top athletes and establishing continental dominance.
The Volcanic & Valley Challenge: The host facility is internationally famous for its extreme topographical profiles. The courses forced shooters to engage targets flying far below the horizon line into steep valleys and against the dark background of native manuka and ancient pine forests. This created massive visual and optical challenges, thoroughly testing the technical adaptation and mental stamina of the international squads.

1. Full Event Program & Schedule

The high-stakes championship timeline allocated an extensive target menu distributed across a multi-day international schedule:

March 25th – March 26th (Wednesday – Thursday): Arrival of international and domestic delegations, squadding confirmation, official shooter check-in, weapon safety compliance verifications, and training ranges open for practice.
March 27th (Friday) — Championship Day One: Phase 1 of the official continental qualification course begins over specialized natural layouts.
March 28th (Saturday) — Championship Day Two: Middle qualification stages. Intense competitive tracking across specialized multi-stand layouts as leaders begin to separate from the field under shifting Rotorua weather conditions.
March 29th (Sunday) — Championship Final Day: Concluding qualification flights, followed immediately by high-stakes, sudden-death international tie-breaking shoot-offs (barrages) to determine the definitive individual and category podium positions.
March 29th (Sunday) — Official Closing & Awards Ceremony: Staged late Sunday afternoon to honor individual, category, and national team winners, officially crowning the 2009 Oceania Sporting Champions.

2. Venue Profile & Logistical Location Details

All championship rotations, multi-stand layouts, and administrative offices were hosted by one of New Zealand's oldest and most prestigious clay target facilities:

Host Venue:

Rotorua Rod and Gun Club

249b State Highway 30,

Kapenga, Rotorua, New Zealand

Established in 1917, the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club is highly regarded in the Southern Hemisphere for its unique topographical layout. Set in a stunning, geothermal-rich region, the club's "old-style" FITASC sporting courses span sweeping valleys and dense foliage, challenging the world's best shooters with deceptive speed transitions and highly technical target paths.

3. Organizing Committee & Registration Framework

Administrative operations and international competitor registries followed strict timeline allocations managed through the global governing body and its national affiliate:

National Organizing Body: New Zealand Clay Target Association (NZCTA)
International Sanctioning Oversight: Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse (FITASC)

Shooting Ground

Rotorua Rod and Gun Club

Kapenga, New Zealand

Founded in 1917, the Rotorua Rod and Gun Club is a premium, historically significant clay target shooting facility located in the picturesque Kapenga region near Rotorua, New Zealand. It serves as both a vital community hub and a world-class sporting arena that accommodates everyone from beginner duck hunters to elite international athletes. The club's most defining feature is its extreme topographical profile; shooting layouts are positioned on the edges of steep escarpments, allowing targets to be launched over deep valleys and against the dark background of ancient pine forests.

The facility is highly regarded for hosting a dense calendar of prestigious tournaments. It regularly serves as the arena for the FITASC Oceania Sporting Championships, the New Zealand Sporting Clay Championships, and local club matches like the historical "Cups Day," which features the unique Gully shoot. Beyond professional sports, the club is deeply integrated into the local hunting and social culture, offering junior duck shooter training events, stag parties, and corporate team-building "Flurries".

To support these diverse activities, the club's infrastructure is designed to challenge professionals while maintaining high comfort levels for guests:

Disciplines & Layouts: The grounds can host up to 16 layouts during major events, featuring DTL, ISSF Skeet, Compak, English Sporting, Balltrap, Double Rise, and the unique, terrain-heavy Gully discipline.
Equipment: The facility utilizes fully automated, state-of-the-art Promatic and Laporte traps, which are regularly upgraded through community grant funding.
Infrastructure: Amenities include a comfortable clubhouse, hot catering options during events, EFTPOS payment facilities, on-site ammunition sales, and wheelchair-accessible zones.
Topographical Challenge: The "Old Style FITASC" setup forces shooters to engage targets flying well below the horizon line, creating severe optical and biomechanical challenges due to the valley's unpredictable updrafts and dark vegetation.

Guided by an experienced committee and President Vaughn Snowling—an elite AA-grade shooter and FITASC referee—the club offers comprehensive coaching and practice opportunities. The facility perfectly caters to a wide audience:

Beginners & Families: A safe, welcoming environment with dedicated coaching for school teams and novices.
Hunters: Pre-season events specifically designed to help waterfowl hunters tune their skills and check their equipment.
Professional Athletes: Extremely complex target trajectories ideal for international tournament preparation.
Corporate Groups: Tailored packages providing instruction, guns, and ammunition for team-building events and celebrations.

Thanks to aggressive and successful grant fundraising, the club manages to keep participation highly affordable without compromising on quality. A standard series of 25 targets (Skeet, DTL, Compak, etc.) costs $14 NZD. Shooters also pay a compulsory daily ground fee of $14 NZD, which includes a $5 shot fall levy dedicated to the environmental cleanup of the grounds. Comprehensive entry for a full day of major club championships generally costs around $112 NZD.

Operating Hours:

Wednesdays: From 4:00 PM (Practice sessions for new members and general practice).
Sundays: The club officially meets every third Sunday for scheduled events (major tournaments typically begin between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM).
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Closed for regular practice (Available by prior arrangement for private corporate events, stag parties, and major multi-day tournaments).

249B State Highway 30, Kapenga, Rotorua 3040

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Website

Oceania championship - Sporting - New Zealand (March 2009)

Actions

Winners

About competition

Oceania Championship of Parcours de Chasse

Event Highlights & Structural Parameters

1. Full Event Program & Schedule

2. Venue Profile & Logistical Location Details

3. Organizing Committee & Registration Framework

Rotorua Rod and Gun Club

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