Tuesday, February 26, 2008

2008 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix Results

Well I'm sitting at the airport about to fly back to Vancouver. I was going to drive to Niagara Falls but it's snowing and visibility is limited so I came out to the airport early.

I stayed in downtown Toronto last night and checked out some of what the city has to offer. What a great city! I walked around downtown with a friend of mine. At night the CN Tower lights up in an array of colours.

CN Tower at night
1815 ft of LED light awesomeness

The results for the 2008 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix can be found here.

The BC Airgun Championships are this coming weekend in Richmond, BC. The competition will consist of 3 matches with the winner determined by aggregate score.

Next stop Vancouver...

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Canadian Airgun Grand Prix - Day 3

Day 3 of the 2008 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix...

This second match was a bit of a struggle after the 1st 10 shots. I probably should have waited to try my new Sauer shoes because it seemed like I could not get into a good groove at all. I probably went through about 35 sighting shots and used up a lot of time but once I started I shot a 96 for my 1st string of 10 shots. I ended up with a 555 for my 2nd match. The combined score put me in 11th in a field of approximately 75 male pistol shooters including athletes from Trinidad & Tobago, India, and the USA.

After the match, I ventured out with local friends to get a small tour of Toronto. I went and checked out the CN Tower and got to see where all the big sports facilities were - Air Canada Centre, Rogers Centre.

CN Tower
the world's tallest freestanding structure on land from 1975
until the Burj Dubai surpassed it in 2007


Toronto from 1465 ft Skypod level
toronto from 1465 ft skypod level


Rogers Centre - formerly known as SkyDome
when the roof is open you could watch baseball games


I'm venturing down to the Award Ceremonies in a few minutes and will probably update again tomorrow with complete results.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Canadian Airgun Grand Prix - Day 2

Day 2 of the 2008 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix...

My first round of shooting is complete and I finished the day with a 558 / 600. A decent score but under where I'd like to be (isn't that always the case? :)). I went in to today having slept great the night before and ate a good well rounded breakfast with lots of fruit.

I only shot 5 sighter shots which is less than what I usually do but everything felt 'on' so I started my first competition target right away. Part way through the match the clock mounted on the wall I was using to keep track of my time actually fell off the wall and broke on the ground. I had 20 shots left and knew I had lots of time so despite not being able to easily see a clock I didn't let time bother me. Take a deep breath. Take the shot. 10. Repeat.

After the competition was over I took a look at all the toys Cibles Canada Targets and other vendors had for sale. I purchased a pair of Sauer pistol shooting shoes. These are probably some of the flattest shoes I've ever seen.


Al Harding shocked at the awesome flatness of his new Sauers
shocked at the awesome flatness of sauer

I took them to the equipment check to make sure It was okay to swap shoes and use these rather than my regular sneakers I usually wear. Checked and ready. I'll be trying them out during tomorrow's match.

I'm currently hovering around 10th place. The top 8 men and women will do a Finals match tomorrow afternoon with another 10 shots scored to the decimal point. There are several countries here; mostly Canadian and American teams but also shooters from Trinidad & Tobago, and India. Roger Daniel (Trinidad and Tobago) is currently in 1st place having shot a 576 / 600.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Canadian Airgun Grand Prix - Day 1

Day 1 of the 2008 Canadian Airgun Grand Prix...

The nice thing about this event is it takes place right in the hotel. They take over the conference rooms and have a good setup for registration, equipment check, scoring room etc.

I checked in and got my registration package and had my equipment pass the gun check and went over to the main area to do some practicing.

Air rifle shooter practices
air rifle shooter practicing

During practice time I like to get a feel for the range; how the lighting is in the room, how the targets look, how the target carriers operate, where the washrooms are. Details.

Practice went well with about 30 shots taken. I don't really have a set number of shots I take during practice, it is more a case of knowing when things just feel right. The gun is sighted in and shots are going where you expect them to. No need to over do it.

My first match is tomorrow morning at 10:15 am EST and I'll post up results after.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

New season, new look... a shiny new allanharding.com

A few weeks ago I was working in Photoshop to come up with a better presentation for my shooting blog. I had a bit of extra time tonight before going to practice and wanted to get something new up before I left. Let me know what you think:


new look for allanharding.com

Now I have this new look just in time for the Canadian Airgun Grand Prix which I will be updating daily from.

I fly out tomorrow morning and have practice and registration on Friday and then shoot the 1st of two matches on Saturday morning.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Volunteer Opportunities - Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Living in Vancouver and knowing the Olympics are coming to the city in a couple years is pretty cool. On February 12th, the Volunteer Opportunities website is going live so you can sign up for some 25,000 jobs.

...from the Vancouver Province:

    "We have a shift of people making sure that the flame doesn't go out," said Donna Wilson, 2010's boss of human resources. "We fondly know of them as 'flamewatchers.' "

I'm going to submit an application maybe I'll get to be a flame watcher! :)

The process for becoming a volunteer sounds lengthy with phone screens and a 5 hour security screening and training session. You will be able to apply at www.vancouver2010.com.

I leave for Toronto next week and will be blogging daily once there.