Pistol club aims for national facility
The Hibiscus Air Pistol Club has its sights set on building new club rooms to house a national training academy.
The club started seven years ago at Wentworth College after the school sought a shooting coach for its pentathlon team.
Students realised elite national and international shooting coach Greg Yelavich MBE lived just down the road and approached him.
Yelavich is now club president. The 12-time Commonwealth Games medallist, who holds six national records, has since led school and club members to national glory, on top of his coaching duties for national and international shooters.
The club also caters to other community groups like Scouts, Air Cadets and secondary schools competing in the national McMillan Cup.
It now wishes to expand from one night a week to seven days, and is seeking somewhere to build clubrooms.
The move would see an international standard range built with 20 bays for air pistol and rifle shooters.
The club has approached the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board asking for support in finding a place to build it. One option is on a corner of unused land leased by Auckland Council to the Orewa Bowling Club.
The club is backed by the New Zealand Shooting Federation, Pistol New Zealand and Modern Pentathlon New Zealand, who sent
‘‘We have relied upon them as the very best ...’’
letters of support to the board.
Shooting Federation sport development manager Gavin Paton said air pistol shooting is the grass roots discipline for all ages, and a proven pathway for competitors to the Commonwealth Games and Olympics.
‘‘With a new facility led by Greg Yelavich and other senior members we can envisage nothing but a positive outcome resulting in internationally recognised athletes,’’ Paton said.
Modern Pentathlon New Zealand secretary general Dale Dobbs strongly supports finding the club a permanent premises.
‘‘We have relied upon them as the very best, and often sole, training ground for the shooting component of our sport.’’
Yelavich travels to Whangarei and Auckland shooting ranges to coach athletes from New Zealand and abroad. The new club would enable them to come to him, as well as being able to establish school holiday programmes and expand current successes, he said.