MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Games team is ready for Melbourne

THE Falklands Commonwealth Games Team starts heading to Melbourne next weekend. Most of the team will leave on March 4 while shooter Saul Pitaluga heads to Australia from the UK a week later.

The Falkland Islands will be represented by a team of six shooters at the XV111 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne which run from March 15-26.

There are various official functions to be undertaken such as a welcome by the Mayor of Melbourne John So, and also a visit to the Mornington Peninsula Shire who have adopted the Falklands as their second team, and to Councillor Brian Stahl Oam JP, Mayor of the Shire.

Two of the team, Ken Aldridge and Chris McCallum will compete in the full bore rifle individual and pairs events in Bendigo, some 90 kilometres from Melbourne.

The Islands will be represented in clay target shooting, with Steve Dent and Gary Clement competing in skeet - individual and pairs, and Saul Pitaluga and Henry McLeod shooting the Olympic trap and double trap - individual and pairs disciplines.

Patrick Watts has again been appointed Chef de Mission, while Ron Betts, a most experienced shooter, will manage the full bore team.

Two of the Melbourne 2006 Volunteer Programme team members, Australians John Elfes, a former Weapons Instructor with the New South Wales Police, and Stacey Roiall, a world class clay pigeon shooter, who are currently coaching in the Falklands, have kindly offered to, respectively, manage and coach the clay target team.

As reported in Penguin News last week, the Falklands Commonwealth Games Association has received considerable financial assistance from several companies during the build-up to the Games.

Falklands Oil and Gas Ltd (FOGL) financed the air fares of five prospective full-bore rifle shooters to the NRA Championships in England, two of whom have been selected for the forthcoming Games. FOGL are also paying for all the clay target ammunition during the stringent practice sessions prior to the teams departure for Melbourne.

The Falklands Islands Company (FIC) have once again assisted through their sponsorship of the team tracksuits and reduced hotel costs for the two Australian coaches visiting the Islands.

Patrick Watts said the 2006 Commonwealth Games will offer a welcome return to Australia for the Falklands. "The Islands first participated in the Games of 1982 in Brisbane, just a few months after liberation.

"The two full-bore rifle shooters received an ecstatic welcome from the many thousands of Australian spectators who witnessed the Opening Ceremony." The Falklands have taken part in every Commonwealth Games since 1982, with the largest contingent of 11 travelling to Kuala Lumpur in 1998. (PN)