CPSA ESK Survey

[joe kitson]

HI SIMON JUST TO PUT THE RECORD RIGHT MR KITSON IS NOT THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SKEET COMMITTEE TONY HEEKS IS.THE COMMITTEE IS MADE UP OF MORE NASSA SHOOTERS THEN ENGLISH ALL THOUGH SOME DO SHOOT BOTH BUT NOT VERY GOOD.IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SKEET BETTER LETS GO BACK TO GUN DOWN OOP/S FORGOT NASSA BOYS SHOOT GUN UP MAY HAVE A PROBLEM THERE.NICK MARSDON DONT SEEM TO HAVE THE PROBLEM SHOOTING BOTH.

 

[joe kitson]

HI PAUL JUST TO LET YOU NOW LAST YEAR I WORKED WITH 10 YOUNG PEOPLE COACHINGTHEM FOR FREE YES FREE.TELL ME ANOTHER COACH WHO DO THE SAME WHO WILL GIVE UP HIS FREE TIME TO DO THE SAME. DONT NOCK THE OLD GUARD.

 

[paul b]

joe what you and others do to help out in our sport is great and ive been lucky enough to benefit from your many years of experiance myself.But the stalemate that seems to exist amongst some of you is stopping things going forward.

 

[skeetman]

As far as I know the highest score's in a counties

selection shoot

Get offered a place in a county team so any one can get in no one has a

Guaranteed place

 

[Sian]

I feel awkward offering my view as I'm not a skeet shooter. I shoot sporting and dabble in most of the rest of the disciplines including ESK. I've only once shot OSK which was only practice and for fun but despite their speed, the wind still took them off their line. I'm not sure I would want ESK changed and I'm not sure making it faster would bring in more new shooters to be honest. I realise for skeet shooters having the targets fly true is very important but I suppose it doesn't bother me so much because it's not my major discipline and I'll confess it's fun to get them when they are off their line. May be a new discipline, somewhere between would be the answer.

 

[shredder]

Jo seems to have a problem with nssa shooters did one poo on your cornflakes or something.

 

[joe kitson]

CHRISORGAN THE NAME IS JOE NOT JO.IV PROBLEY SHOOT MORE NASSA BIRDS THEN YOU HAVE SEEN.I HAVE NOTHING AGANTS NASSA SHOOTERS HAS SIAN HAS SAID ABOVE WONT MAKE ANY DIFFERENT IN THE WIND.THEY TRIDE THIS 40 YEARS AGO BUT THEN YOU WERE TO YOUNG OR JUST BEING BORN. WHATS NEXT STAND EIGHT.

 

[Jan Powell]

The way this discussion has degenerated into a slanging match encapsulates the problems within skeet. Whilst I don't know the opinions of those on the committee it's clear from the comments posted here that the discipline won't move forward until a sensible discussion can be had.

Sadly, I suspect that won't happen until the old guard let new ideas be brought to the table.

I hope the committee are able to push through this silly bickering for the sake of what is a very enjoyable and challenging discipline. Quite frankly, its gone on long enough.

 

[shredder]

Yeah I assume joe is old guard as you say and has underlying issues from a long time ago that just can't be let go.

 

[NedFlanders]

Having started the thread and now read some of the replies I would now like to make some positive observations:-

1. In my opinion part of the challenge of ESK is that the weather plays an important part, the fact that the targets aren't always the same depending on the conditions contributes to the skill required. Therefore changing the speed to make the targets fly truer in poor weather actually is  backward step. I make sure I practice in all weathers so that if it comes to a competition and the weather is poor I have the experience.

2. Some people may not shoot skeet because they perceive it to be

a) Easy - not true in my opinion it takes practice and the goals are different to say sporting or trap, my goals are something like shoot 50 straight, shoot 75 straight, score more than 90 in a major, win my class on a local shoot. All these are achievable without saying "I must get 100 that is the only goal"

B) Boring - not true in my opinion it is a different discipline and therefore requires a different skill set, the biggest one I have found is keeping my concentration over a complete 100 bird shoot.

So my ideas for encouraging more skeet shooting would be along the following lines

a) Taster and introduction days at local grounds, in my experience most regular skeet shooters are more than happy to help new skeet shooters with their first try

B) why not have 50 bird registered comps (they do in sporting) this would enable newer skeet shooters to experience competition without the full cost of a 100 bird shoot

c) Promote local skeet competitions more in PULL both before they occur and after with results, write ups etc, you often see reviews of sporting comps but hardly ever skeet comps

d) encourage juniors and colts to take up skeet, even if their main discipline is sporting, skeet helps with hold and look point discipline which is just as relevant to sporting as skeet and many seasoned sporting shooters often "warm up" with a couple of rounds of skeet first

e) Promote skeet competitions to local ground owners if they have the facilities, it only takes 1-4 referees for a skeet competition as opposed to 10-15 for sporting so the economics for them are appealing

I am sure there are many more good ideas out there without having to mess about with target speed etc.

 

[Eddie Wilkinson]

Big issue as I see it is accessibility to a ground set up correctly to put on skeet shoots, take my area,  any weekend within 10 -15 miles I can shoot sporting, yes I may want to travel further for better targets etc but.........  to shoot skeet (Which I really like doing from time to time) there are only two grounds 30 + miles & 40 miles. Others available but much further out, generally a longish day depending on squads etc, something different might be fun though  

 

[Jan Powell]

All of those are reasonable suggestions although I'm not sure the grounds would go for the 50 target competition idea. Most will want to shoot 100 and I'm not absolutely sure the rules allow two events to the run at the same time on the same layouts.

There's no doubt skeet is cheap and ground owners certainly like that. Certainly the cost of laying on a sporting shoot is considerable, traps referees, land and so on.

As I see it, the future lies in subtle amendments to what we have as well as an effective promotion of the discipline rather than wholesale changes to the format and rules.

 

[woody100]

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, I wonder if the cpsa threw some decent prize money into the majors it would attract a few more sporting shooters into the mix.now I'm a father I also wonder if the cpsa had considered not putting the majors and the home international smack in the middle of the school holidays. I know I can't be the only dad that is missing out on big shoots because of school hols. As far as the speed goes I am of the opinion that if you are a keen skeet shooter and enjoy your hobby,if it's a windy day the targets will move around whether they are at nssa speed or English speed. If you only register a thousand or so targets a year and put your gun away for the winter in fear of affecting your average. Then I can see why you may want the increase in speed. People inc myself that register five thousand plus targets a year just get on with it because we love our sport and the people we see every weekend come rain shine oh yes and even the dreaded wind. Happy new year to all the skeet shooters

 

[Mac]

5k a year - pah.

 

[Mac]

ESK is ESK

Nssa is nssa

Leave them alone

 

[Julesy]

I don't shoot but I see lots of shooters from total beginners to professional competitors.

Skeet is generally the discipline where people learn. Please don't speed it up, think of the brand new shooter.

NSSA already does all the things suggested and there aren't that many people who shoot it so I don't see how these changes will help.

By all means change the name if that will help but to attract people to the discipline it needs to have more.

Big events, social events, prize money, volunteers at grounds selling the discipline to new shooters.

And get rid of the prima donnas and the squabbling. It's only a bloody shooting discipline after all.

 

[ehb102]

And get rid of the prima donnas and the squabbling. It's only a bloody shooting discipline after all.

That's  a big off putting factor. Skeet shooters seem to have little tolerance for newbies whose existence is offputting. It's not that I'm the problem , others  have found the same. The sporting elite are not such sensitive flowers and are encouraging to the lowest ranked, which is much more welcoming . 

 

[NedFlanders]

I fundamentally disagree with the statement "Skeet shooters seem to have little tolerance for newbies", it goes with out saying that there are some who exhibit this attitude, but it is not, in my experience, the case with all skeet shooters. We often welcome new skeet shooters into our practice shoots and help and advise them. I don't think its fair to tar us all with the same brush. In fact I enjoy helping new shooters to understand and improve at the discipline. Most of us shoot skeet because we have a passion about it and I for one am only to happy to help new shooters.

 

[Sian]

I have been fortunate in that when I have joined in a round with experienced skeet shooters (some who have in the past shot for country) they have always been very encouraging and welcoming and in the early days patient.  I have only experienced one up his own wotsit who happened I think to be a OSK shooter doing a round of ESK and it was only him and me and he grunted at me all the time but I just ignored him.

 

[RobertBeard]

Sian

I was liking you ignoring him not him grunting at you!