Obsessive , Compulsion

[Salopian]

Is our sport now becoming an obsessive compulsion?

I am amazed at the number of shoots that certain individuals are now doing per week , along with fuel prices , cartridges and changing their guns regularly this is now fast becoming an elitest sport.

Should the powers that be now consider reclassifications to include amateurs, and professionals??????

Each week we have competitions with the usual classes C to AA , but in those classes we get competitors who shoot 100 clays per month competing against same class shooters who shoot 100 to 500 per week. Surely that is not a level playing field?

 

[schmokinn]

i think i actually shoot better if i shoot less,some of my best scores have been after a couple of weeks off.

But i love shooting so may do 2/300 on a weekend 

What about the C class shooters that seem to pop up once a year and shoot AA class scores at the Essex or suchlike?

 

[Salopian]

Agreed , that is what is wrong with the system, but what is the fix?????

 

[Will Hewland]

Like the classification system, you cant make it to iron everything out. I now shoot much more than i used to, but I know lots of top people shoot 3x what I do. There would need to be 4 bands of shooter frequency rankings. :blink:

 

[schmokinn]

Agreed , that is what is wrong with the system, but what is the fix?????

Don't think there is one...maybe individual shooting assessments,sure the CPSA could make some money out of that  :angel:

 

[Hamster]

It's nothing new, those who can afford the time and money to shoot and practice more will more often than not be those who get in the money. The money being a hundred quid, which is about a tenth of what it costs to win it.  :lol:

Almost nobody makes any money at this game, maybe 2-3 people max can get back more in pound notes than what you have to spend to begin with, the money is in coaching  :wink:  I have mates who have spent thousands on lessons and if I'm honest they're no better now than if they'd spent the £100+ an hour on just banging away. I reckon there's a definite market for "non names" making a good living by charging £40 an hour for the same end result.  :baby: :lol:

 

[perazman]

Without doubt the top end of our sport is elitest. Those with the time and money will rise to the top. I think its best for the vast majority of us to accept that and just get on with enjoying breaking clays in our own little worlds and enjoying the odd win.

But it is sad to see promising young shots fall by the wayside due to lack of funds when less talented youngsters progress off the back of their parents bank accounts but I guess that's just life. The company's that support young shots and beginners deserve congratulations for their efforts.

Its ironic that the majority of sponsorship goes to the very people that finacially don't need it. 

As far as obsessive clay shooting goes I think it certainly does exist. I'm sure some people think cartridges expire! I can't see it doing any harm and the money they blow probably keeps grounds open and viable for the rest of us.

PM.

 

[Lloyd Pattison]

All sports are elitist, that is the nature of competitive sport. Further, niche sports are pretty much always dominated by the well off. Any kid can kick a ball about and spend time / effort practising to become a great footballer, there is infrastructure (far from perfect mind you) to support that, and it's a popular sport with plenty of money sloshing about.

Nobody on the council estate I grew up on went shooting. I was a trapper when I was a kid and got to shoot once a week, but the limiting factor was cash and it always will be. Archery was exactly the same, if the kid's parents are willing to spend the money on equipment / time / travel / comps you have a chance. Otherwise forget it. I am not saying it's impossible to succeed without a silver spoon, it's just way harder.

Looks at the Winter Olympics, I cant see any of those bright young things practising the skeleton round the back of the youth club then nipping home for fish fingers and minding the dog while their dads go and sign on.

 

[Will Hewland]

In fairness, you don’t need vast money (compared to sailing, motor racing, even skiing) to do well at clay shooting, although you do need decent money of course. As Peter says you do need time. I don’t spend a fortune on shooting but I’m able to shoot 100+ comps per year as time is mostly mine to control. It suits self-employed people well, who can nick half days for all the midweek shoots easily. 

 

[Westward]

I agree that it's possible for people on a normal income to do very well at clays but having plenty of disposable and/or flexible work hours and/or land to shoot over certainly helps - just as it does in every other leisure sport.

It strikes me though that there's certainly an obsessive gene in lots of sporting clays shooters. Remember the 3rd Sunday in January? It was cold, windy and steady rain all day, but no shoots were cancelled and enough people turned out that the grounds could at least break even.

I'm lucky if I get to shoot registered once a month but I stayed home in the warm and dry that day which I suppose means I'll never be any good because I'm just not obsessive enough... :wink:

 

[MDP]

Looks at the Winter Olympics, I cant see any of those bright young things practising the skeleton round the back of the youth club then nipping home for fish fingers and minding the dog while their dads go and sign on.

Lizzy Yarnold for example, started off as a heptathalete, and was spotted by UK Sport who got her into the skeleton. She spent her time training at the local athletics track, before going home for fish fingers... 

 

[Sian]

I was going to participate but I think I’ll stay quiet

 

[Jan Powell]

Is our sport now becoming an obsessive compulsion?

I am amazed at the number of shoots that certain individuals are now doing per week , along with fuel prices , cartridges and changing their guns regularly this is now fast becoming an elitest sport.

Should the powers that be now consider reclassifications to include amateurs, and professionals??????

Each week we have competitions with the usual classes C to AA , but in those classes we get competitors who shoot 100 clays per month competing against same class shooters who shoot 100 to 500 per week. Surely that is not a level playing field?

I can only really comment on trap shooting but the sport’s demanded an obsessive attitude for some time. As someone that came to clay shooting from a professional sporting background that suits me just fine although it may not everyone’s wish.

I would say trap shooting, where usually  nothing less than a perfect score will do, does tend to suit the obsessive. Just about everyone is looking for that little advantage, whether it’s a £10000 gun, a £2000 custom stock, they’ll spend it. What’s a little sad is that those that can’t afford to invest in the equipment, coaching and practice struggle to beat those that can.

As far as classifications are concerned, i’d like to see the introduction of AAA class in all domestic disciplines. It’ll give the many marooned in AA class something to strive for and the opportunity to win some prizes.

 

[Will Hewland]

I can only really comment on trap shooting but the sport’s demanded an obsessive attitude for some time. As someone that came to clay shooting from a professional sporting background that suits me just fine although it may not everyone’s wish.

I would say trap shooting, where usually  nothing less than a perfect score will do, does tend to suit the obsessive. Just about everyone is looking for that little advantage, whether it’s a £10000 gun, a £2000 custom stock, they’ll spend it. 

What’s a little sad is that those that can’t afford to invest in the equipment, coaching and practice struggle to beat those that can.

As far as classifications are concerned, i’d like to see the introduction of AAA class in all domestic disciplines. It’ll give the many marooned in AA class something to strive for and the opportunity to win some prizes.

In sporting AAA is a real phenomenon. Anybody who is genuinely AAA (by which I mean shoots at lots of good grounds) is a mile ahead of somebody who scrapes into AA with just a few comfortable local grounds. The trouble is, AAA isn’t used except for the EO and similar..

 

[ChrisPackham]

All sports are elitist, that is the nature of competitive sport. Further, niche sports are pretty much always dominated by the well off. Any kid can kick a ball about and spend time / effort practising to become a great footballer, there is infrastructure (far from perfect mind you) to support that, and it's a popular sport with plenty of money sloshing about.

Nobody on the council estate I grew up on went shooting. I was a trapper when I was a kid and got to shoot once a week, but the limiting factor was cash and it always will be. Archery was exactly the same, if the kid's parents are willing to spend the money on equipment / time / travel / comps you have a chance. Otherwise forget it. I am not saying it's impossible to succeed without a silver spoon, it's just way harder.

Looks at the Winter Olympics, I cant see any of those bright young things practising the skeleton round the back of the youth club then nipping home for fish fingers and minding the dog while their dads go and sign on.

https://vimeo.com/55026759

Reminds me of this sketch

 

[Jonny English]

What I have found most disappointing just lately is the obsession with sponsorship. Every Tom dick and Harry wants a sponsorshio deal, and not because they can't afford to shoot, mainly because they want the bragging rights of being able to spout off on facebook and instagram about how many sponsors they have, or how they have a cartridge deal.

An example: on Facebook the other week, someone posted the question what were your goals for 2018?

95% of the replies were "I want a cartridge deal, a gun deal etc etc"

No one replied with, I want to be county champion, English champion, world champion!

The obsession with sponsorship is getting out of hand, I sponsor me and me only, my wife and family sponsor my time by allowing me to go once a fortnight, for which I am grateful.

 

[DavidJ]

I'd suggest region play a part as well, try coming to the North East and finding a 100 sporting registered even once a month.

 

[Jan Powell]

What I have found most disappointing just lately is the obsession with sponsorship. Every Tom dick and Harry wants a sponsorshio deal, and not because they can't afford to shoot, mainly because they want the bragging rights of being able to spout off on facebook and instagram about how many sponsors they have, or how they have a cartridge deal.

An example: on Facebook the other week, someone posted the question what were your goals for 2018?

95% of the replies were "I want a cartridge deal, a gun deal etc etc"

No one replied with, I want to be county champion, English champion, world champion!

The obsession with sponsorship is getting out of hand, I sponsor me and me only, my wife and family sponsor my time by allowing me to go once a fortnight, for which I am grateful.

I couldn’t agree more. On a slightly different note, I'm sick to death of seeing my fellow competitors constantly promoting themselves on social media.

It seems the phrase, "self praise is no praise at all" is lost on most of them.

 

[Clay day]

The main difference I find between clay shooting and any other sport is the amount of hobbyists amongst top class competitors.

There isn’t a single sport i can think of where you can pay an entry fee of £30-£40 and compete alongside county, British and on some occasions world title holders.