Police News May 09.indd - New Zealand Police Association

New Zealand Police AssociationPistol shootingPolice Pistol Biathlon proves popularThe second annual Police Pistol Biathlon washeld on 7th March 2009 at Riverhead Forest,West Auckland.The Police Association and the Police Councilof Sport sponsored the event.The biathlon combines cross-country runningwith pistol shooting. Contestants run threelaps of a 1.6km course, pausing to shootafter the first and second laps. Shooting isdone using a Glock 17 pistol at a stationarytarget positioned 25 metres down range.Each contestant fires 24 shots during theirround. The winner is the competitor with thefastest overall race time from start to finishafter the addition of any penalty time from theshooting phases.Open to all Police staffThe biathlon is open to all Police staff. Afirearms licence is required as well as somefamiliarity with shooting a Glock pistol but apistol endorsement is not required.Three newcomers from Henderson Policecleaned up in the women’s section withVanessa Pratt, Catriona McLeod, and HannahGoodburn taking first, second and third spotsrespectively. All three recently obtained theirfirearms licence so they could take part in thebiathlon.Hannah Goodburn said: “I’d never handledany sort of firearm before preparing for thebiathlon but after a number of visits to a pistolclub I was ready to compete.”Impressive effortMatch organiser Cyrus Robinson said ofHannah’s effort: “For someone with only alittle shooting experience, Hannah displayedsome impressive accuracy during thematch.”Twenty-six contestants took part overallwith the guns provided by private owners.Belmont Ammunition kindly providedammunition while spot prizes were providedthe Police Association, GLOCK, and LE & MDistributors.Hawera’s very successful team from lastyear’s biathlon - Mark Wilton, Paul Davidson,and Kelly Povey – were again on hand to seeif they could repeat their success. Kelly Poveyplaced first overall woman in 2008. This yearPaul Davidson kept the Taranaki flag flyinghigh by taking the honours in the men’scompetition.Consistency rewarded“I wasn’t the fastest runner or the mostaccurate shooter but overall my scores• Natalie Heem from Henderson takes aim during her round.• Vanessa Pratt, first overall in the women’s section, takes aim during the competition.averaged out the best,” Davidson said ofhis victory, capturing the essence of thebiathlon.Competitors compete within age groups. Thisyear saw the most senior men’s biathletePaul Macky (Grandmaster Division) turn in afaster overall time (by a few seconds) thanthe youngest competitor, Jeff Brown (OpenDivision). Both were gold medal winnerswithin their age groups.Next year’s biathlon is on Saturday 6thMarch 2010 at Riverhead Forest, WestAuckland. Contact the match organisercyrus.robinson@police.govt.nz for furtherinformation on the match or on how to goabout getting your firearms licence.CorrectionIn the April issue of Police Newsin the feature on new PoliceMinister Judith Collins it wasmentioned that Ms Collins wasonly the second woman to holdthe position of President of theAuckland District Law Societyin 118 years behind DameSian Elias. This was incorrect.Justice Judith Potter was thefirst President of the AucklandDistrict Law Society.May 2009103