Greetings all, I am on the road back to Holland, returning from yet another Israeli Championships. Of course for me, the Israeli Nationals carries special importance, This is not just another level III, this is my home-town match, and the one I really want to win every year. Over the past 2 years, the IPSC shooting is Israel has taken a turn for the better, with a slight growth, against overwhelming odds. This is due in large part to the tireless efforts of a few dedicated people, the likes of Nathum Zarzif our RD, Effi First the "construction man" in the last few Nationals, Hemi and Afic Menachem, and many others who spend long hours to make this match a success year after year. If we only had a few more like them, IPSC Israel would be a lot bigger. This year we had about 160 competitors at the National, who came together at the Imperial Range, in the center of Israel, to shoot the 14 stage, 277 round match. I believe none of the participants were disappointed. This truly was a top quality level-III, with 14 challenging stages, shot over 2 days, followed by a top 16 shoot off for all divisions. The match ran on schedule, even though the stages needed to be changed between day 1 and 2 because of the limited size for the range. This lead to larger squads then some would have preferred, but all in all it certainly was one of the better matches I have shot in the past year. It made me very proud. The Modified division has been growing dramatically in Israel, and some 20% of the competitors chose this division. This is due in no small parts to the efforts of BUL's Hayim Funes, who finished 3rd in this division. Through active promotion and some personal relations, the organizers were able to gain the sponsorship of the Car manufacturer Hyundai, who advertised all over the range, and helped pay for some of the prizes and other expenses, It was really great to see a non-gun-related company get involved in our sport, and I certainly hope to see more of this in the future. BUL came on board as it usually does, donating a Cherokee pistol, which was raffled at the price ceremony - and won, fittingly, by a new shooter in need of his first gun! Congratulation. The rest of us had to settle for trophies, and really beautiful watches donated by Hyundai. In all one would have to say this event was a total success, and I would recommend this Israeli Nationals to any International shooter who'd be interested to come to Israel for a "shooting vacation". The Israeli shooting associations offers great support to our sport, and will gladly help any shooter who wishes to come with his firearms to compete in Israel. Just a thought to keep in mind as you plan your schedule for next year. The match is always held around Easter, in April. As for me, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Spending most of my time away from Israel it was a real pleasure for me to come and compete with all my old friends. The support I receive from all the shooters back home is an honor and a thrill. I shot a clean match, with no major errors, and although I am not at the peak of my training, I was able to shoot well enough to win every stage and the match by 21%. This was my 5th consecutive National title and 7th in total. I had given some thought to shooting this match in Standard, but, since I did not have my guns ready in time, I stuck with what I know best - Open class. The Final overall results were: 1 100.00 1385.0000 50 Saul Kirsh Bul
2 79.75 1104.4778 2 Hemi Menachem Karmey - josef
3 76.53 1059.9939 51 Eli Hutner Bul
4 73.15 1013.1667 56 Avinoam Gurevitz Kfar-saba SEN
5 71.73 993.4459 70 Eli Alkobi Police
6 70.33 974.0594 33 Dotan Toibis Ramat-gan
7 68.26 945.3992 1 Efi First Ramat-gan
8 66.97 927.4898 5 Afik Menachem Karmey - josef
9 62.64 867.6324 16 Ishai Polak Kalaey-hifa
10 60.66 840.1786 20 Yael Dagan Landesman L As Marketing Manager for BUL, I am particularly proud with the performance of the BUL shooters. Some 80% of all the competitors in the match shot BUL! BUL won 1st and 3rd in Open, 2nd and 3rd in Standard, 1st in Ladies and 1st in Seniors. It was a real pleasure to see my long time friends and students do so well, Yael Dagan winning the Ladies Israeli Title for the 2nd time, and Avinoam Gorewits grabbing yet another Senior division title in Open - and finishing 4th overall to boot! You guys make me proud! As always I owe thanks to my sponsors for their generous support, and the great equipment they provide our sport: Arredondo Accessories
Rescomp Handgun Technologies
Vectan (Nobel Sports)
Aimpoint
Bul Transmark Ltd
Drummen Custom Guns
CED - Competitive Edge Dynamics Below are some movies and pics from the match. This coming weekend I'm heading down to the South of France for the Med Cup. For now, I wish you all excellent shooting. Sincerely, Saul kirsch
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