Azan wants to make shooting more available

Jamaica Skeet Club president Khaleel Azan wants to make clay shooting a less-expensive sport for youngsters, noting plans are under way to make it more inclusive to allow more high schools to compete at the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) level over the next two years.

Azan is mindful that the sport might not be open and affordable to all young Jamaicans at the moment, but is hoping to help offset those challenges by attracting more sponsorship.

"The goal is to get this (clay shooting) under the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) umbrella in 2017 or 2018, and that is going to get the sport to a different level," he pointed out to The Gleaner in a recent interview.

LOWER COST

He continued; "It's going to open the sport to total Jamaica, because if we can get corporate sponsorship into this sport where we can lower the cost of shooting, then we can open it to all Jamaican Schools."

Azan lauded the Sports Development Foundation, sponsors, and other local organisations, which have helped to make the sport bigger.

"I am going to tell you that with the help of certain associations, the plan is to grow it

more ... if you noticed Mr (Denzil) Wilks was here from the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) and the secretary general Christopher Samuda from the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) was supposed to be here, but extended his apologies," he said last Sunday at the Jamaica Skeet Club in Portmore, St Catherine.

While praising the showing by the young talents there, the skeet club boss wants to open up the floor for even more girls and boys, who he wants to be on the same quality as overseas talents.

"We are achieving a lot from year to year, my dream is where do the boys go from here and where do I view the over-seas tournaments and I think we are getting there, I see us getting closer and closer," he outlined. "The overall picture is very positive."

"The other thing that pleases me is that, we have 12 girls shooting, it's one of those sports that bring girls into it and girls can do well," added Azan.

More than 70 shooters competed at the annual Digicel Inter-School Clay 50 Birds Championship at the most recent event last weekend.