I have just returned to Holland after a wonderful week in Norway. I was there with my girlfriend, Judith, for a week vacation and touring, followed by the Norwegian Open this past weekend. Why not do both? I'd never been to Norway, and since I was heading that way for the match, it made sense to take the time to travel. You can't shoot all the time! :)
I was a little concerned that a week off training would not be a good thing, but I did get to do one practice session the day before the match, thanks to Arad Yanai, our Bul Distributor in Norway, who said "bring extra ammo". So I did, and had a good "warm up" session the day before the match.
Arad - thanks for that advice - and for all your kind support during our visit. You made us feel most welcome.
Day 1 got off to a bumpy start, as we could not find the range, situated out in the woods, about an hour East of Oslo. We thought we knew where it was, and left with enough time, but after making wrong turns, and driving for over an hour and a half, we were very late. We eventually arrive at the range at 8:55, and we were scheduled to shoot the first stage at 9am... Now, I like to be EARLY on the range, and will usually show up at least an hour prior to starting time, so this was not my idea of a stress free start. But the match organizers were great: they had my forms ready and waiting for me ("go to the stage, register and pay later..") and they showed me where my first stage was, further hidden in the woods. When I finally got there, the squad were standing around waiting for me for the briefing. They were all nice enough to offer to allow me to shoot last, so I could catch my breath. Thanks for that guys.
With intense mental focus I was able to shoot very well on that first stage, even though I had to rush my preparation. I shot even with World Champion Eric Grauffel, and the two of us set of for a close run race through the 14 stages of the Norwegian championships. Of the 14 stages, Eric won 7, I won 5 and the other 2 were shared by Swedish top shooters Johan Hansen and Johan Nordberd.
In the end, Eric won another, and I had to settle for another 2nd - but a very close one....
1 100.00 1028.2177 43 Eric Grauffel A FRA
2 98.83 1016.2284 60 Saul Kirsch A ISR
3 86.39 888.2478 123 Johan Nordberg GPS A SWE
4 84.34 867.2036 122 Johan Hansen A SWE
5 82.57 848.9980 34 Hans Petter Lie OKO A OKT
As always I have my sponsors who make this possible for me:
The Makoff-Reifman Foundation
Rescomp Handgun Technologies
