For a young gun who grew up taking inspiration from Wagga shooter Arthur Turner, Young’s Matt Schiller hopes a major investment in the Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) headquarters will open the sport up to a new audience.
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After winning a world championship in Ireland last year, Schiller is looking forward to defending his title in 2018 – at a revamped ACTA national ground in Wagga.
Following confirmation in Monday’s The Daily Advertiser of funding for a new $7 million development, the 23-year old believes next year’s World Down The Line (DTL) Championships will be the perfect event to showcase the sport’s new national clubhouse and offices.
“It will be, with the new facility, we’ll be able to draw a lot more people to events,” Schiller said.
“It’ll be really good for the sport with more people able to get involved. It’s a great sport, a great social sport and there’s no age limit.”
The individual nature of the sport is what appeals to the world champ, competing against himself as much as competitors.
Having learnt from the likes of Turner, Schiller is aiming for the sport’s pinnacle, the Olympic-standard ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation).
The more widely contested DTL (trap) and Skeet events are a stepping stone and Schiller says the Wagga venue is already highly-regarded.
“Most people love coming to Wagga, it’s one of the best places in the country to shoot,” he said. “All the traps are brand new, they’re always set perfectly and everything’s the same from one end to the other.”
ACTA national executive officer Tony Turner says there’s been a “real buzz” following confirmation of the state government grant, with Olympian Russell Mark among those to make contact.
“It’s really about establishing the sport… and this will open opportunities,” Turner said.
He said the long-term options including setting up a live-in training venue for elite shooters, and opening junior academies.
“All of those things are options with a facility like this,” he said. “We’re not just developing the clubhouse, we’re developing the whole ground. It’s part of a 10- to 15-year plan for the venue.”