Spot ON

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Taking aim. Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

Checking the score cards

Gone are the days that women are supposed to play their part on behalf of others. Breaking free from the stereotypes that define their ideal self the women of the new age are taking less trodden paths to show their skills to the world.

One such example emerged at the newly introduced Sri Lanka Schools Air Rifle and Air Pistol Shooting Championship where girls shone in their shooting abilities. Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo, emerged as the Girls School Champions in the event which saw the participation of around 20 schools from across the island. The Best Shooter in the Girls School Air Rifle category was Methsarani Lokuge while Hansani Jayakody bagged second place in the Girls School Air Pistol category.

Four Devians: Methsarani Lokuge, Hansani Jayakody, Madhu Kalpani and Dilky Amanda comprised the Air Rifle and Air Pistol teams which competed at the Sri Lanka Schools Air Rifle and Air Pistol Shooting Championship 2012. This was the first time that the event had been held in national school level. The event had been organized by the Sri Lanka Schools Shooting Sports Association and had been held at the Bandaranayaka Central College, Veyangoda, last month. The association’s headquarters is in Nalanda College, Colombo.

“We started our school association from November 2011. We have around 30 members. Nalanda College helped us find weapons during the initial stages of practices. We even had a segment in our sports meet this year as a means of introducing the sport to the other students,” explained Devi Balika Vidyalaya Air Rifle and Air Pistol Shooter’s Association teacher in charge Jeewanthi Sarathchandra.

Elaborating on the rules of the sport, she said that a student who scores more than 80 percent is given the Sharp Shooter medal. Fourteen Devains have already won this medal. Students need to be over 15 years to take part in the sport.

“This sport is even included in the Olympics. We need to spot children’s talents from school age and help them to sharpen their skills. Many believe that school children should not handle weapons but this sport improves concentration, discipline and endurance,” she said.

She says that every student has to follow a basic course before handling the weapon. They need to seek parent’s permission to follow this event.

Technical adviser Captain Harsha Weerasooriya	Teacher in charge Jeewanthi Sarathchandra

“We begin practices after school. The distance between a shooter and the target card is 10 meters. We use lead pellets and it is performed outdoors. The shooters improve their ability to score marks through practice. Most of them were unable to locate their target properly on their first day,” she noted adding that even the students who have passed out are regretful that the sport had not existed at schools during their time.

Speaking to the Daily News Methsarani said that they are handed 10 pellets for the competition. The first five are for trials while the shooter’s score is calculated from the last five shots.

“I could only obtain 60s when I started off but with practice I scored 90s. My score was 93 at the competition. I joined the sport because I found it interesting. It was newly introduced to schools and not quite what you would expect girls to follow,” expressed the Grade 13 student.

Methsarani is also engaged in photography, creative writing and painting. She also contributes to the school newspaper. She wishes to pursue further studies in law.

Though Hansani is into both air rifle and air pistol shooting she believes that she can give better competition in the air pistol category.

Methsarani	Hansani

“We had the air rifle competition in the morning while the air pistol competition was held in the afternoon. I was the leader of that team for that event. It is important to keep your mind clear for this sort of activities,” she opined.

Hansani said that her mother had not been taken up by the idea of her joining the association. She had thought that Hansani would pay more attention to her new found interest rather than her studies.

“I managed to convince her in the end. My father was very supportive from start to finish,” the Grade 11 student said with a smile. She also said that she played badminton and is an athlete. She was also engaged in photography. Now her priority is in passing her general certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary level (O) and Advanced Level (A) examinations. She wishes to become an aircraft designer.

Both students want to encourage other children to take up the sport. They also wish to thank their principal W D P K Samarasinghe, Technical adviser Captain Harsha Weerasooriya and teacher in charge Jeewanthi Sarathchandra for their support.

“We have conducted training camps for schools in many districts. Around 67 teams took part in the maiden Sri Lanka Schools Air Rifle and Air Pistol Shooting Championship. Some students have the inborn talent to control the weapons. This sport is even included in the Asian School Sport competition. Students who have excelled in the sport will be able to take part in those events as well,” Sri Lanka Schools Shooting Sports Association Technical adviser Captain Harsha Weerasooriya said.

He notes that a participant usually finds it easier to handle the air rifle since you are able to grip the rifle with both hands. Those using the air pistol need strong shoulder muscles to control the weapon because it has to be handled with one hand.

Expressing her views about the sport Devi Balika Vidyalaya principal W D P K Samarasinghe said that though she has witnessed the sport on television, she had never known that it could be done in schools.

“The Sri Lanka Schools Shooting Sports Association introduced some new sports recently. Air rifle and air pistol shooting was one of them. I was especially keen on us taking up this sport since it did not demand much space. The students and teacher in charge too showed immense interest in engaging in the sport. It also benefits them to prepare their mindset for their academic studies,” she said.