Sport
27 June, 2022
Shooting for the stars
ATHERTON’S Grace Grandcourt has returned to the national stage and claimed her second national championship title after the recent International Practical Shooting Confederation National Championship sheld in Acacia in the Northern Territory at the start of June.
Grace first picked up a handgun at the age of 11 and started shooting competitively just a year later.
Now at 16 years old, she is eyeing off the world stage and more national titles in her career.
Leading up to nationals, Grace was practising six times a week, sometimes twice a day to prepare herself for the challenge.
“The Nationals were very exciting and it was fun to travel so far away – I won but there was tight competition this year as I am in a different category than last year, so I didn't know what to expect,” she said.
“There were over 290 competitors from around Australia shooting 19 stages over two days, some stages included a stationary helicopter, swinging bridge and various other challenges.
“It was hot, exhausting and the days were long.”
Unlike target shooting seen in the Olympics, Grace does practical shooting where she goes through a course hitting different targets on different angles and speeds.
“The fun thing about IPSC is that every stage is different and it is up to you how you shoot it,” she said.
“In a stage there might be doors, windows, moving targets, running and the challenge is to do it quickly and accurately.”
Despite the hot conditions and highly competitive nature of the competition, Grace is excited to return and claim a third national titles as she aims higher and looks to claim her first world title.
