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By Vikki Gaddie Editor's Note: Vikki Gaddie was our July/August 2007 issue cover girl. This is her first person account of her time on the US Young Eagles team last year. The trip to the gold medal began with a very long 13 hour bus ride to Canada. On August 15, all 24 of the Young Eagles team headed for the bus to get it packed. The bus ride included games of catchphrase, serious leg cramps, bear growls, movies, story telling, and stops for food.
The next morning as we explored the base that would be our home for the next two weeks, we ended up in the cafeteria and found the food to be surprisingly delicious. It became a favorite spot where we would spend several hours every day. At 9 a.m. we reported to the Team Room for the first of many daily team meetings. Suddenly, it felt like Christmas. Vanessa Warner, fundraising and logistics coordinator, had laid out two hats, two shirts, a sweatshirt, a team jacket, a tie, a name tag, and team logo bullions for our blazers for each one of us. Also present at the first team meeting was Ian Cheeseman, founder; J.J. Jackson, manager; and Michelle Gallagher, team big sister. They allowed us a few minutes to dig through the goodies before we got down to business. In addition to international rules and Canadian range commands, we had to learn how to score when pair firing and what convertible sighters were. Convertible sighters are shots that can be converted for record if they are good enough or left as sighters if they are not. About an hour into the meeting, as we were beginning to fall asleep, Ian made us all stand up and pass the team "paddle" down the rows and back again. The team paddle is something that a person has to carry as a penalty. For example, a team member had to carry it for a day after he arrived an hour late for his relay because the time was listed in military time. The meeting turned hilarious when we were given our team blazers and were asked if we knew how to tie a necktie. Most of us did not, so Ian stood at the head of the classroom and had us stand up, put our tie around our neck and then tried to talk us through it. Few, if any of us were successful which made for moments of hysterical laughter. Kyle Fiegel, one of the tallest guys on the team, tied his so short he looked ridiculous. The first week of shooting was the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association's (DCRA) Fullbore Nationals, much like our Camp Perry Nationals. Most of the matches were individuals and as the week went on, a couple of names from our team were frequently on the front page of the results: Sherri Hurd, Josh Harless, Andy Doney, Joseph Kovac and team Big Sister: Michelle Gallagher. My personal first score was a 45-2v, out of a possible 50-10v. Shooting in an international match was very different than shooting here in the U.S. Not only did we pair-fire but we had to score as we were shooting. This is very different when we first started out, but after a few days of doing it, I began to really enjoy shooting alongside others who were shooting shot-by-shot with me. During the course of the Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championships, I shot my first clean, 50-2v, at 800 meters. In Canada, a perfect score is called a "possy," a possible, because no points were dropped. Every shooter who shoots a possy much have their trigger weighed. If the trigger fails to pass, five points are deducted from the shooter's score. This means, even though a shooter may actually shoot a 50-10v, it's possible they may not get that score. This happened to one of our team members and he ended up with a 45-10v because his trigger didn't make weight. He had to carry the paddle for a day. The targets for long range (800-1000 yards or 700-900 meters)
in international matches are also quite different from the standard
US targets. In the U.S., there are "X"s for the center
ring; on international targets, the center ring is a "V"-12
inches across, commonly called a "V-bull". US targets
have 6 rings surrounding the X, going from the 10 ring around
the X, to the outer 5 ring. Internationally, you start with the
dead center V, "V-bull", followed by a 5, "5-bull",
a 4, called an "inner 4", a 3, a "mag-pie",
a 2, an "outer", and a 1, a "hit". Each target
board is 8'x6' in dimension with the farthest ring being 96 inches
across. The August 25 team matches were the Under 21 & Under 25 International Short Range matches. The US Under 21s won the silver medal with a score of 1163-109v with the Canadian U21 Athelings team winning first with the score of 1180-112v. The Under 25 placed first with a score of 1188-131v. On August 26, the morning of the World Championships, we dined on a breakfast of bagels, muffins, juice and granola bars off the tailgate of Ty' s pickup truck. We discussed the strategy for the day and rocked out to "Eye of the Tiger" that was blaring from his stereo. We were so excited and pumped up and proceeded to do a response cheer where the Under 25s yelled, "U -S who?" We responded with "U-S-A!" Ian discouraged our behavior saying, "You can yell, scream, jump, be obnoxious and celebrate your success after we've won. But until then, stay focused, keep your mouths closed, be respectful of the shooters around you, and in your heart know you 're going to beat them." The Under 21 team took an early lead that was extended after the lunch break. After an intense day of shooting and coaching, the Under21 World Championship Title went to the United States Young Eagles U21 Team with a score of 1157-83v, Canada in second with 1135-80v and the Athelings of Great Britain in third with 1030-62v. Ian called all the Under 21 team members together to tell us the good news. "It looks like you've done it," he says. "That was the finest piece of shooting I have ever seen. Now you can be loud, scream and do whatever you want, you are World Champions." The Under 21 gold medal winners, with a score of 1157-83v, were Kelly Bachand, Andy Doney, Amanda Elsenboss, Jeff Mendyka, Brian Landwehr, Kyle Liebetrau, Jennifer Nyberg, Vikki Gaddie, and Steven Joyce with the excellent coaching performed by Andy Doney, Kyle Leibetrau, and David Shank. Once the Under 21 team was finished, we headed over to support the Under 25s who were still battling for the gold medal. With the US 25s still firing, the other finished national teams congregated together with us to watch the scoreboard as each shot was added. The tension was incredible as every shot was vital to the end score. In the end, the Under 25 teams finished with Great Britain in first place scoring a total of 1558-150v, US won Silver with 1556-147v and Australia took the bronze with 1542-123v. The Young Eagles Under 25 silver medalists are: Ty Cooper,
Josh Harless, Sherri Hurd, Joseph Kovac, Curt Leister, Dave Littlefield,
Sam Ohlinger, Logan Montgomery, Kyle Fiegel, Matt Austin, Eric
Eilberg, Drew Wesel, and Samantha Taylor. For additional information about the USA Young Eagles, visit their Web site at: http://usaunder25team.org |
It was
just about 10 p.m. and pitch black when we tried to unload the
bus and sort out luggage. It was a challenging adventure, but
we managed to match people with belongings; except for my shooting
scope-we never did find that.
