Allan Harding

566/600 -- Tied for 1st place at the 2009 BC Handgun Championships

2009-05-31T16:01:00.003-07:00

What a great weekend! I'm sitting outside at the Campbell River airport enjoying the sun and fresh air.

I only shot in the Olympic 10M Pistol event this weekend and enjoyed watching the other events at the 2009 BC Handgun Championships. 566/600. That score is only a couple points lower than my personal best and several points higher than the Olympic Minimum Qualification Score. At Nationals this summer I'll need to be shooting at this level or higher so I can make the National Team. A 566 is likely enough to make the National Development Team.

I was tied for 1st place but in order to break the tie, the officials work backwards seeing who had the better last 10 shots. Edmond Lee's last string of 10 shots was just a bit better than mine so he's the official winner. Nice work Edmond! In 3rd place with a 562 was Tyler Johnson.

i wasn't in campbell river long enough to do much exploring...
but here's a photo of a shot up van near the shooting range ;)

Less than 10 weeks until Nationals... I need to get in some Olympic 50M Pistol training before then. It will be great to be shooting a 2nd event!

2009 BC Provincial Handgun Championships starts tomorrow!

2009-05-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'll be travelling to Campbell River, BC tomorrow morning to shoot at the 2009 BC Handgun Championships. My first competition back since recovering from a shoulder injury nearly a year ago!

Mobile device usage temporarily affecting eye sharpness

2009-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of mobile devices... I've got a Sony PSP, Apple iTouch, and Nintendo DS which were gifts from previous employers and currently use a BlackBerry Bold and an HTC Google G1 phone which I unlocked to use here in Canada. The great thing about devices with built in wireless Internet is how connected you always are to things.

The other night after a busy work day I was at practice, and like many others I'm usually never really disconnected from the office. I was busy reading and writing emails on my phone and noticed when I got back to the line to practice my eye's weren't focusing on the front sights as easily. I didn't think much of it at the time... heck... the same thing can happen from eating really spicy food. Hah.

rest your eyes while shooting... turn the mobile devices off

What I found is that it's not actually the mobile device that causes any blurriness, it's that I'm targetting visual focus to such a small area for prolonged amounts of time. Eyes get tired. So the combination of practice and focusing on a small area (front sight), coming off the line to rest and picking up a phone to focus on a small area puts a huge strain on one's eyes. The actual difference in sharpness is minimal and not quite on par with Guitar Hero vision, but it's enough that it can make it difficult to focus; especially when trying to hit an area smaller than a dime at 30'.

What I have started to do with more discipline while I'm at the range is to turn the phone off. Disconnect. I'm there to shoot 10s not extend my office hours any longer than I need to. I'll need to find someone to send out Tweets during Finals at Nationals on my behalf. ;)

2 weeks until the 2009 BC Handgun Provincials in Campbell River, BC!

Registered for 2009 BC Provincials and 2009 Canadian Nationals

2009-04-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

I've sent my registration in for Provincials in Campbell River, BC next month and for the 2009 Canadian National Handgun Championships in Calgary, Alberta in August. The 2009 Provincials next month will be my first competition back since last summer when I injured my shoulder.

It will be busy weeks leading up to both events. Next month I might be going down to San Francisco for a few days for a conference and I'll be volunteering at the 2009 World Police & Fire Games right before flying to Calgary. I've signed up for 10M and 50M pistol events for Calgary and will only be shooting 10M at Provincials.

2009 BC ISSF Handgun Championships

2009-04-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

I just returned home from a 5 week business/vacation trip and will likely post up a few photos in the coming weeks.

Back to shooting...

The 2009 BC Handgun Championships will be in Campbell River, BC on May 29, 30, and 31. I'm definitely looking forward to this one and it's going to be great timing before Nationals in early August. The registration form can be found on the BC Target Sports Association website.

This will be my first event since my shoulder injury at Nationals '08!

2009 Canadian Nationals Pistol Championship details...

2009-02-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Updated information for the 2009 Canadian National Pistol Championships is now available at pistolcanada.ca.. it's going to be in Calgary again and I will definitely be attending.

Also... results from the 2009 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix! Congrats to my fellow BC team mate Tyler Johnson who had the top Canadian score going into the Finals!

2009 BC Airgun Championships - XBOX 360 Giveaway!!

2009-02-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

The registration form for the 2009 BC Airgun Championship is available on the BC Target Sports Association website.

xbox 360 giveaway at the 2009 bc airgun championships

All registered shooters will be entered into a draw for an XBOX 360! Somebody (in attendance) will take home a brand new XBOX 360 video game console!

Carry the 2010 Olympic Torch

2009-02-05T13:50:00.001-08:00

You can sign up to be a Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torchbearer sponsored by RBC here: http://www.carrythetorch.com. I signed up but I think trying to get drawn to carry the torch around downtown will be tough :)

RBC - Carry The Torch Commercial

A few photos from the 2010 Speed Skating Oval

2009-02-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

Last week I was out in Richmond, BC and checked out the Richmond Olympic Oval which will be used for the 2010 Olympic and Paralymic Winter Games.

outside the richmond olympic oval

venue ceiling fabricated from pine beetle kill wood

cory fuhr's "the speed skater" on display at the venue

Canadian Airgun GrandPrix is happening next weekend in Toronto. I'm skipping it this year but I'll post up scores as I get them.

Upcoming matches in Western Canada

2009-01-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

2009 is here! I've been getting back into training and loving the fact that I can shoot and raise my arm properly again.

Here are a handful of upcoming matches in Western Canada.

Feb
06-08 - Alberta Provincial Air Gun - www.albertahandgun.ca
13-15 - 2009 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix

March
06-08 - 2009 BC Airgun Championships - Registration Form
13-15 - City of Calgary Air Gun Championships - http://www.crpc.ca
27-29 - City of Calgary ISSF Pistol Championships - http://www.crpc.ca

If I've missed any matches, please let me know so I can post up details.

Regrettably, I'm missing the Canadian Airgun Championships this year and a few other matches. I'll be back in Competition mode in April and hope to make it out to Saskatchewan in April and/or May.

I haven't seen any information as to where the 2009 Canadian National Pistol Championships will be held but pistolcanada.ca has recently released information on the 2009 Athelete Selection Criteria for the National Team, Development Team & the Junior Program.

Looks like I will need to be shooting above 573 to make the National "A" Team. That's 10 points above the Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) or 95.5% perfect.

More to come... I took some photos of the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Richmond today and will post them up.

2009 Go!

Volunteering at Vancouver 2010 Olympics

2008-11-10T11:23:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was invited to the in-person interview and training sessions for volunteering at the 2010 Olympics. The interview, sessions, etc lasted about 5 hours. It was a neat experience listening and talking with other people to hear their stories about why they were there and why they wanted to volunteer.

If I recall correctly, there were about 50,000 applications from people all over the World wanting to volunteer at the Winter Games in 2010. Of those, they will pick around 25,000 people.

Thanks to my initial phone screen a month ago, they determined I'd be a good fit for the technical / media areas of the Games. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to help out at other events leading up to the Games too. I need to get officially picked though I guess. ;)

I'll find out more soon and will continue to write posts about this journey.

On a side note, practice is going well. It's good to be back at the range training again. My next competition will likely be in Calgary or Toronto in early 2009.

That was longer than expected!

2008-10-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

After several months of not being able to practice and going to physiotherapy and trying to get my shoulder rehabilitated I'm finally back.

Tomorrow will be my first day back at practice... I've taken only a single shot since my injury in July. I'll be easing back into it to avoid stressing the shoulder muscles and tendons again. 10 shots tomorrow... and I'll add 10 more every few days while continuing physiotherapy until I'm able to shoot full competition matches again. Still a long way to go, but I'm back in the gym this week able to push around some light weights again, and ramping up the cardio again.

Unfortunately, I'll be skipping the big shooting match held in Richmond, BC in a couple weeks so I won't have another competition to shoot at until February 2009.

Many Thanks go out to friends, family, clients, coworkers, the fine folks at Sport and Spinal for supporting me and helping me get to this point. This has been a long, tedious, and relatively painful experience but ultimately I think it's made me stronger. We'll find out in the new year anyway. ;)

Out for several weeks

2008-08-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

For about 4 weeks now I've been dealing with shoulder pain and going to physio to help get my shoulder better. Problems started the week of Nationals and got worse up until 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, I have to cancel going to the Western Canadian Airgun Championships next month and am unable to practice at all for at least another 3 weeks.

I contemplated getting a left handed grip and start shooting left handed but it would be difficult to be competition ready by September.

For now... I take a break and will build up my shoulder strength and get all the tendons and everything working correctly again before competing in November.

No Zorb! ...but Calgary Zoo today!

2008-07-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I finished Finals and ended up in 7th place, not to bad considering that was my first time making Finals at Nationals since returning to the sport.

me (on the right) shooting a 10 on thursday's 2nd relay.
phillipe tousignant is to my left.

I also found out at the Awards BBQ that our BC Airgun Team consisting of myself, Edmond Lee, and Tyler Johnson got the gold medal beating the Saskatchewan team.

My camera's SD card seems to be corrupted so I'm unable to get any photos off of my camera. The Z-Trip zorb adventure was cancelled as there was a massive thunder storm all day. We drove out to Canada Olympic Park and checked out the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum and Ice House there to watch the National Development Bobsleigh Team practicing. We also drove past the Zorb area which looked like a long ditch which was almost flat -- apparently they moved it there. It does not look fun, maybe it was the rainy day, but I expected it would be a steeper hill... scratch that... I expected it to be on a hill... any hill!

Today, I went and checked out the Calgary Zoo and was impressed! I sure hope I can get my photos off my camera.

Back to Vancouver tomorrow.

2008 Canadian National Finals Tomorrow 8am - Currently Tied For 5th

2008-07-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today I shot a 560 / 600, one point shy of making the cut to possibly qualify for Canada's National Development Team. The score, combined with yesterday, puts me in a 3-way tie for 5th going into the Finals tomorrow morning. It also makes me the top 10m pistol shooter from BC.

Result	Competitor	Province	Score
1	Prakash Nanjappa	ON	1145
2	Stan Wills	AB	1132
3	Wayne Salhany	ON	1131
4	Yuri Movshovich	ON	1128
5	Sylvain Ouellette	PQ	1119
6	Josh Riker-Fox	AB	1119
7	Allan Harding	BC	1119
8	Mikhail Oussovitch	ON	1118

Finals will take place at the Calgary Rifle and Pistol Club. Everything is setup and ready to go for the Top 8 shooters. I am currently in a 3-way tie and with the count back I will likely be shooting in Position 8 (photo below) as positions 1 and 10 probably won't be used.

i'm currently in a 3-way tie for 5th

Gotta rest up tonight to fight for every point tomorrow!

Once the competition is over a bunch of are going over to the Canada Olympic Park to Zorb next to the 1998 Olympic Ski Jump.

Competition Day #4 - My shooting glasses take a tumble

2008-07-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well my first day of shooting at the event got off to a slow start. The range didn't have a scale to measure how much CO2 gas was left in my air gun, so I was cautious with how many sighter shots I used before starting my first competition shot. During the equipment check on the line my shooting glasses were accidentally pushed off the table and hit the cement floor. I was afraid to look, especially when I felt something hit my leg! With the kind of impact it made, you expect to see shrapnel and debris everywhere. Luckily, everything was fine. The plastic case made a loud noise when it dove into the cement and there was no lens in the frames to get injured. No lens in my glasses?? Yes. I took it out on Sunday and have been using them without a lens since. They still have the adjustable iris in place (not shown in the photo below).

what not to do!

After about a dozen sighter shots I began and it took some time to get into a flow. The competition consists of 60 shots; 1 shot at 1 target. Of the 1h 45m to shoot I used all but 3 minutes. Normally, I would be finished earlier but getting off to a slow start with double checking that my glasses were aligned and functioning properly. Despite a few equipment hiccups and making a last minute change this week to opt out of using a lens in my shooting glasses (the lens helps keep the gun sights clear and in focus) I'm happy with my score of 559 / 600. I know I can do better than this and will continue to fine-tune my self, equipment, and approach to shoot better.

I have yet to see where I currently stand against other shooters from across Canada. I'll look tomorrow after I shoot again.

Arrived in Calgary!

2008-07-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

I landed in Calgary this afternoon to find Vancouver-like weather with a mix of rain and sun. Mostly grey skies and rain, not like the great day yesterday back home in Vancouver:

the view yesterday, aboard a ferry cruising back to Vancouver

After getting settled in, I went out to the two ranges hosting the 2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships and got signed in and my equipment checked. I put some practice time in at the range to get my gun sighted in and get an overall feel for the range. I competed at the Calgary Rifle and Pistol Club last September for the Western Canadian Airgun Championships so I was familiar with how everything was setup.

The Dark Knight movie opens this week... must see!

Focus Al :)

My first relay of the competition begins tomorrow morning at 10am.

2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships start tomorrow!

2008-07-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships start on Sunday July 13th in Calgary, Alberta. I fly out of Vancouver on Tuesday morning and will arrive with time to register and get in some practice time before my first relay of the event starts on Wednesday.

June was a really busy month and it seems like it's been almost non-stop between life, work, and trying to find enough time to practice. I'm looking forward to this week off to unplug a bit.

I'm going to be posting progress from the competition daily (well... maybe almost daily) and will put up photos of some of the non-competition adventures I'll embark on... like tumbling down a hill side in a giant plastic bubble! ;)

Travel details sorted for 2008 Canadian Nationals in Calgary

2008-06-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

There are 6 weeks left until the 2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships in Calgary. I just got my flight and accommodations sorted out and am very much looking forward to this trip. I found a seat sale at West Jet which made a big difference from some of the deals Expedia found for me online.

I quickly put together a Google Map of the two shooting ranges that will be used for the event as well a couple of attractions I might check out. Last September when I was in Calgary I was thinking of checking out the Zoo so I'm probably going to do that and I'm also going to spend more time at Canada Olympic Park (COP).

I only spent a few hours last time at COP but I'm going to spend at least a day there this Summer and plan to try Zorbing! Rolling down a hill inside a giant plastic ball... Sold!

Delivered a rushed performance at 2008 BC ISSF Championships

2008-06-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

The great thing about going out of town for a competition is I tend to leave 'stuff' behind once that airplane takes off or I've driven out of town. 'Stuff' like work schedules, meetings, errands etc. With the competition being a local one yesterday and my schedule the way it was I didn't leave 'stuff' behind, it was another hectic business day and not a competition day.

I got to the competition in the late afternoon and there was enough time to shoot before the BBQ. Without really thinking about it for too long it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately this wasn't a good idea and broke a lot of my regular competition habits.

It's a good idea to get a practice session the day before (if possible) to get a feel for the range. Knowing the conditions of the range helps with preparations.

Unfortunately for me, I rushed there, I rushed in, I rushed to start my match, and I rushed through all my shots (549/600) -- what I should have done is practiced that day and gone early to shoot the next morning. I would have known that the 10M range was outdoor, that the lighting changes, how the target system worked, and what the temperature was like. I think the last time I shot at that range was in the mid 90s.

Knowing the conditions and environment helps with packing the right tools and equipment (ie: a jacket if it's cold) and preparing mentally. I think this actually applies to almost anything in life.

This competition has reinforced that for me and I intend to make sure I get a practice session in the day before at Nationals in Calgary next month.

Registered for 2008 Canadian National Championships

2008-05-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

This week I received confirmation of my registration for the 2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships. Registration can be done online at www.pistolcanada.ca.

registration for 2008 nationals
is available at pistolcanada.ca

There was also a change this week regarding the venue and the available practice times. If you're planning to attend it would be a good idea to get registered early:

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES OF SCHEDULING, THE 2008 MATCH COMMITTEE HAS HAD TO CHANGE THE VENUE OF THE 2008 CANADIAN NATIONAL AIR GUN MATCH.

THE LOCATION WILL BE:

CALGARY RIFLE AND PISTOL CLUB
1910 – 39 AVE. N.E. – CALGARY, T2E 7Y9

THIS CHANGE WILL ALLOW SOME GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN CHOOSING SHOOTING RELAY TIMES AND WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR A COMPLETE OPEN DAY OF PRACTICE TUESDAY JULY 15.

Less than 2 weeks until the 2008 BC Handgun Championships -- I'm currently scheduled to shoot 10M and 50M pistol events.

Registered for the 2008 BC ISSF Pistol Championships

2008-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending the 2008 BC ISSF Pistol Championships at the end of May. I'm waiting to see if my PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence) gets sent to me in time so I can compete in the 50M Pistol and Standard Pistol events, both events are shot using .22 calibre pistols. Over the next few weeks I'll be making updates about my training for this competition as well as for Nationals in July.

Registration forms for the 2008 BC ISSF Pistol Championships are online now at the BC Target Sports Association website. The event will be held in North Vancouver at Pacific Shooters.

Completed - Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course

2008-04-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

What a busy week! I picked up my new Canadian Passport last Tuesday and just completed my Non-Restricted and Restricted Firearms Safety Courses this week.

Getting my passport I thought might be a long process, but it was in my hands in less than 2 weeks and I waited no more than 20 minutes at the passport office. I remember hearing stories from 2007 of people waiting for hours and then waiting for weeks. There doesn't seem to be much of a wait if you complete all the paperwork online before you go to the office to drop it off... in fact I think I was even given a different ticket number because everything was filled in electronically and printed from online.

non-restricted and restricted course books,
plus exam results and PAL paperwork

A special thanks to Albert Wood who is a certified instructor / examiner of firearm safety in British Columbia. His courses are enjoyable and filled with lots of great stories to keep the class engaged. You're also able to get your hands on disabled firearms to see how they work, everything from rifles, shotguns, to 9mm handguns. I'll post up dates for the next round of courses he'll be putting on. If you're interested in taking the course and are near Vancouver please let me know and I can forward your information.

Now that I have completed and passed the safety courses I must submit all my paperwork in to the police to get my PAL (Possession and Acquisition Licence). I'm hoping that all of this can happen before May 30 as that is when the BC Handgun Championships are and I'd like to shoot Olympic 50M Pistol there in preparation for Nationals. All this paperwork to compete in an IOC supported sport! :)

Apart from working a lot and getting all this paperwork in order I've been down to training only 1 night a week, I'll be ramping that up in May and June as the 2008 Canadian Nationals are July 12 - 20 and take place in Calgary, Alberta.

Tracking progress to achieve high performance

2008-03-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

In a recent post I mentioned about my progress since last year and I thought it would be a good exercise to show it visually. In the last 10 months since returning to the sport I've managed to get myself back to where I was as a junior in the mid 90s when I was a National Junior champion to shooting the best I ever have.

In the chart below are various shooting events I've attended since my first competition back in May 2007. Each competition had 1 to 3 matches which I took the average of all scores shot during a particular competition. In total I have shot 12 matches at 6 different competitions in the last 10 months.

There are 3 notable lines on the chart:

593 - The World Record
578 - The BC Provincial Record
563 - The Olympic Minimum Qualification Score (MQS details)

I've also added a trendline so I could see how I was doing over time. The last marker around the 570 mark is located around the time the Canadian Nationals in Calgary are. That's my goal.

I've got a long way to go before competing Internationally, but I'm happy with my progress and intend to keep doing my best to get better. Even though I've been shooting higher than the Olympic MQS lately it doesn't mean much (yet). It's 'good'... but great comes after 580. ;) My last score of 568 would only have put me tied for 51st at the European Championships held a few weeks ago. Need more practice! :)

I also want to say a massive Thank You to all the new subscribers and readers of my blog. Thanks!

Day 2 - 2008 BC Airgun Championships Results - new personal best!

2008-03-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

A great day of shooting today with a lot of high scores. I shot a new personal best of 568/600. Tyler Johnson and Edmond Lee both shot 569/600 and Dorothy Ludwig shot a new personal best also at 387/400 which is probably the highest score shot at the match when calculated by percentage. Nice!

1st in master class and new personal best

Edmond Lee was the overall Match Winner for men with a total of 1716/1800 (569,578,569). Tyler Johnson was the top male Junior with a total of 1698/1800 (560,569,569). I was 1st in the Master class with a total of 1694/1800 (564,562,568).

The results for both rifle and pistol can be found here.