March/April 2009 - New Zealand Clay Target Association

21st January 2009
To: Trevor Manson,
President,
Clay Target Shooting
Association of New Zealand
Re: World DTL Trap Championship
South Africa 12 th to 21 st March 2010
For those shooters who attended the team dinner at the last
World DTL Championship which was held in Banagher, Ireland,
you may recall the comments I made regarding the next event,
scheduled for March 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.
For the benefit of those National Team shooters who did not
attend the team dinner and naturally also for the hundreds of
shooters who were not even in Ireland for that Championship
event, I would like to pass on some exciting information about
the World DTL Trap Championship to be held in South Africa.
At the tip of the African continent, Cape Town has become
recognized as being one of the top tourist cities in the world,
ranked alongside Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Singapore, San
Francisco and many other similar cities which enjoy glorious
beaches close to beautiful mountains. Cape Town has become
a cosmopolitan city, since large numbers of European and
British based people have invested in property overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean, for, what to them, has been small money.
The Valley Gun Club is situated a scant 30 km from the city
of Cape Town, close to the towns of Paarl and Stellenbosch,
which lie in the heart of the South African winelands and are
surrounded by world class beauty. The club is arguably the
Country’s premier Clay Target Club with over 200 members,
who enjoy all disciplines of Clay busting, including the Olympic
disciplines.
Whilst I am passionate about the Cape, the winelands, and
the Mountains and Valleys, as the President of the Clay Target
Shooting Association of South Africa I should be better qualified
to promote the shoot rather than the tourist attractions, so let
me say that the Valley Gun Club management, main committee
and all of the sub-committees which have been formed have
been hard at work for over a year already, to ensure that they
present a shoot by which all future shoots will be judged.
A more dedicated team of professional people will be hard
to find anywhere on the globe. At least three of their senior
management team attended both of the last two DTL World
Championships - in Wagga Wagga 2006 and Banagher 2008
- in order to observe what to do, or not to do.
All the ranges will be in place; a total of 12 for the shoot, plus
two as permanent practice ranges which will be open during
shooting for those who wish to simply calm nerves with a quick
10 shots before their event. All traphouses are equipped with
new traps and the supplier will be on hand with replacement
machines in the unlikely event of any breakdown.
Ammunition will be on sale at the range, both from the club,
which is a licenced “dealer” and from normal traders who
will have their facilities in a “tent town” for vendors. A secure
facility for gun storage will be available at the range for peace
of mind for all shooters when they leave the range at the end
of each day’s shooting.
The shoot program is in the final stages of completion and
should be on the website during March 2009. Please visit
www.ctsasa.co.za which will provide you with a link to the
Valley Gun Club and the World DTL Championships. The shoot
program will include the South African Trap Championships in
both ATA single barrel, and DTL, providing good practice for
the World DTL Championship. There will also be a number of
side “fun” events to keep all shooters happy.
Perhaps the most compelling reason for you to very seriously
consider pressing the “entry” button on the website, is the
cost factor. At the time of writing, the Australian dollar and
the New Zealand dollar are each worth around 6 to 7 of our
South African Rands. Simply stated, this equates, for example,
to a beer costing, in a good restaurant, about R12, or in your
terms, about A$ 1,80. A really good meal in a great, world
class restaurant, at about R200 a head, equates to about
A$25 – A$30. The value for money proposition for our foreign
visitors is absolutely awesome.
Accommodation in high standard Bed and Breakfast type
establishments should cost around R300 per person per night,
or $42. Naturally, for the well heeled, superior International
level 5 Star hotels are also available in Cape Town at (to us!)
staggering prices! The Cape Town Waterfront – known as the
“V & A” Waterfront after Victoria and Albert – is the model from
which all International Waterfront developments have been
based. It contains dozens of good restaurants, shopping malls
and hotels and is a great place to chill out in an internationally
recognized tourist haven.
Most importantly for families, the levels of crime are nowhere
near what some grossly overstated bad press has given South
Africa. We do have crime here, as does every major city in
the world. Wherever I have travelled, I have had friends or
work colleagues warn me to stay away from certain areas.
Cape Town and environs are no different, as is the rest of
South Africa. We offer the opportunity for a fantastic holiday
for shooters and their families and would urge those shooters
who are considering the trip, to bring your wives, partners and
children. You will have a holiday of a lifetime at remarkably
affordable costs.
If you have any questions at all, please use the facilities
provided by the internet and make contact either directly to
Valley Gun Club, or to The Clay Target Shooting Association
of South Africa.
We look forward to seeing you and your families in the Cape
in March 2010. Don’t delay - book your flights NOW!
Yours in shooting
Malcolm McClelland
President - Clay Target Shooting Association of South Africa
Gunshot 8