Cambridge and Oxford Clay Pigeon Shooting Societies met for their annual Varsity Clay Pigeon Shooting match on the 5th May at the Cambridge Gun Club near Cottenham. Nine shooters from each University took part in this year’s championship.

Shooting over 12 stands at 100 clay targets in total, both Blues teams started strongly. After the first half of the competition was completed, the scores from both teams were neck and neck. Cambridge’s contingent of Andreas Koltes, Teddy Cosco and Paul Saunders were consistent throughout the competition and were able to pull ahead in the second half as Oxford began to miss more frequently. Cambridge’s Gold team, consisting of David Godwin, David Nicholson-Thomas and Jack Fleet also began in fine form. Missing only a few targets in the first stands between them, all three shooters took advantage of the lead they had garnered, stringing together many 100% scores on stands to strengthen their position.

Weather conditions were nearly perfect for the competition. The bright light and largely cloudy sky meant that targets were easily acquirable. Gusts of wind though meant that quick reactions, adaptability and mental resilience were absolutely necessary for success, a challenge Cambridge met with ease.

When the final scores came in, Cambridge had convincingly won all sections. The Cambridge Blues scored 234/300 to Oxford’s 194/300. Cambridge Gold team scored 222/300, 38 targets ahead of Oxford’s 184/300. The Cambridge Ladies’ team, consisting of Alice King, Helen Atkinson and Iona Loveridge scored 109/225 to Oxford’s 69/225. Cambridge also topped the individual categories. Andreas Koltes’ excellent 85/100 was the highest score overall and Helen Atkinson had the highest score in the Ladies category.

President of the Cambridge University Clay Pigeon Shooting Society, Guy Simon, commented: “Oxford have proved more than a match for us in recent years, taking home the Blues trophy every year since the match was restarted back in 2009. However we've successfully built on our long standing victories in the Gold and Ladies matches and are incredibly pleased with this year's result. The quality of shooting from both teams has been exceptionally high today which resulted in three very competitive matches.”