World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) European Championships held Lonato Del Garda, Italy.

2022 has seen a demanding competition calendar for Para Shooting athletes, Paul Bailey, Keith White, George Glover, Mike Drever and Reuben Welch. They were joined by seasoned shooters Trevor Green, Darren Wiles and Bill MacLennan to represent Great Britain at the WSPS European Championships in their respective PT1, PT2 & PT3 categories. The competition took place at the end of Sept 2022, at the revered Trap Concaverde, Lonato Del Garda, Italy.

Many of the team have been shooting internationally since 2017 and have enjoyed success both domestically and internationally with continuous improvements in their performances.

Italy again leads the way in the development of Para Trap by hosting the inaugural European Championships as they did for the 2017 World Cup and the 2018 World Championships. 

Conditions during the competition were far from ideal with a mixture of poor light, rain and wind on the first day, followed with heavy fog at the start of the second day. All athletes contested gallantly against the conditions, with mixed outcomes. Despite a determined second day performance neither Mike (97/125) nor Ruben (79/125) had done enough to reach the PT3 final on this occasion. In the PT2 grand prix Bill shot a credible 84/125, safeguarding him sixth position for the final, whilst George delivered another solid shooting display also securing him sixth position in the European Championship final with 108/125. Keith also progressed to the PT1 final in sixth position with 92/125, however Paul (84/125), Darren (67/125) and Trevor (55/125) would have to settle as chief support for their fellow countryman.

The fog burned off and the sun shone upon the PT1 final. Keith made a great start, jostling for the lead all the way to the medal positions. There was little between the top three and after the other athletes capitalised on lost targets, Keith finished third, winning the European Championship bronze medal. 

The PT2 final saw George begin at a blistering pace that proved too much to sustain and would see the shooter eliminated in sixth position, whilst in the PT2 Grand Prix final Bill MacLennan did enough to claim fifth position.

Further to the individual successes, the PT1 team event saw Great Britain (White, Wiles and Bailey) win the silver medal.

When we asked Para Trap Manager Julian Welch to comment on the team performance, he replied, “I am delighted for the squad overall as there was continued progress by all the athletes. The squad has been galvanised by yet more international experience and will go away to hone their skills ahead of the World Championships in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates later in the year”.