Young gun on target

By Ben Hope
BERWICK teenager Laetisha Scanlan is one step closer to representing Australia in New Delhi after winning the women’s trap event in the second round of Commonwealth Games trials on the weekend.
Scanlan joined Australia’s top shooters at the Melbourne Club in Lilydale on Saturday where she won her event with an impressive 92 out of 100.
“The third and final trial is held in Sydney at the end of April,” Scanlan said.
“From that trial they will select two ladies to represent Australia. It will be a tough competition against the best shooters from around Australia.”
Scanlan competes in the women’s trap event with her Beretta DT10 double-barrel shotgun. Women in the trap competition shoot at 75 targets over three rounds and from five different positions.
“From each of the five shooting lanes there are three traps under the ground that fire the targets at different angles and speeds,” Scanlan said.
“You never know where the target is coming from so you need good hand-eye co-ordination and reactions.”
The first Commonwealth Games trials were held as part at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) national championships in January.
“There will be other shooting events at the games but I only compete in the women’s trap,” Scanlan said.
“I’m not as good at the other events.”
The trap event seems to suit the 19-year-old who has already earned a silver medal at the 2006 World Youth Olympics. If she qualifies this will be her first Commonwealth Games but the second time she has competed in New Delhi.
Last month Scanlan competed in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships where she earned a silver medal in the team event and came within a shot of the bronze medal for her individual efforts.
“It was like a warm-up to the Commonwealth Games, we used the same range they will use in October,” she said.
“I ended up fourth in the individual event after being third equal after the finals. It went to a shoot-off, where the first to miss a target loses.”
Scanlan was introduced to the sport five years ago by her dad, a competitive clay target shooter, and says she enjoys the challenge of the individual sport.
“It’s really you against yourself; mentally you have to be pretty focused,” she said.
“I think the Commonwealth Games are an amazing opportunity. It’s a shame that shooting doesn’t get more publicity compared to some of the other events.”
Scanlan is a member of the Frankston Australian Clay Target Club where she practises three times a week. She is also in her third year of a communications degree at Monash University.