FITASC 57TH FITASC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTING

Some notes, after my visit of de las Yedras Shooting Range, during the 57th European Championship Sporting.

April is not only an excellent month to celebrate the Semana Santa in Malaga, the Feria in Seville or Athletic Club Bilbao winning the SM el Rey Cup after 40 years of drought.

April is also a wonderful month to celebrate the 57th Fitasc European Championship Sporting, and even more so given the location where it is being held.

It is being held at Las Yedras Shooting Resort, Antequera, Malaga.

LAS YEDRAS SHOOTING GROUND RESORT

Excellent location, unbeatable estate of 800 hectares, just 30 minutes from Malaga International Airport.  With an infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and tourism around the Resort that is difficult to beat for many shooting complexes where continental or world championships are held. And I say this from my own experience.

During the championship, the weather could not be more favourable, 22 degrees, sunny days.

Days in which, after throwing away “your” fifty clays, it is delicious to enjoy a delicious snack on the terrace of the Resort: soft drinks, salads, grilled meat …. can you ask for more?

Perhaps the most unfavourable part of the weather during the championship is the wind. This prevailing wind is making unimaginable clay target trajectories. Beyond those traced by our friend José Manuel Perea.

THE CLAY TARGETS OF THE COMPETITION

“Hard, difficult target” was the most generalised comment from the more than 800 shooters….

No! No, they were referring to the quality of the Corsivia clay target, the official clay target for the competition. They were referring to the difficulty of the course, the excellent work of the tracer José Manuel has been “improved” by the gusts of wind.

At the same time, the performance of the Corsivia target was highly praised by the shooting community and organisers.

While the shooters valued very positively the stability of the flight (even in windy conditions), its excellent paint and ease of breakage, the organisers mentioned the quality of the packaging; it was very much appreciated that the cardboard, the packaging of the target, had perfectly withstood the downpours of the days before the competition.

ALMOST 800 SHOOTERS TOOK PART IN THE COMPETITION

The championship is concentrating almost 800 shotguns. Despite being a European championship, shooters from Brazil, Thailand, Venezuela and the U.S.A. are visiting us, what a resounding success!

Although the list of great shooters would be very long, impossible to detail here, we would like to highlight the presence of people like George Digweed, Beatriz Laparra, Ben Husthwaite…

There is no doubt, all the shooters are enjoying the facilities provided by Las Yedras Shooting Ground.

THE SHOOTING GROUND

According to the words of experts in the sector and shooters who have “traveled” around the five continents, these facilities have nothing to envy to the best in the world. The 8 shooting lanes that host the championship are proof of this. Each firing line is equipped with four stands, each stand with four Promatic machines.

In addition to the 8 shooting lanes, the 800 hectares of the complex also include:

– An area to enjoy a pool. It is beautiful to watch the shooters compete head-to-head for a place in Saturday’s final. This competition area combines clay pigeon shooting (100% natural clay targets of the VIVAZ Clay target brand) with helice shooting.

– Various training stations, where the shooters enjoyed the days before the training.

– 5 permanent compak.

Can you ask for more from a resort like this? But what’s more, it is open all year round, with the possibility of housing the shotgun, making it easier for foreign shooters to travel.

Just imagine! You don’t have to worry about having to travel with your shotgun “on your back”.

DURING THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Apart from the 57th European Championship Sporting itself, there are four aspects of the sporting aspect that have attracted my attention the most.

First, the “open ceremony”

A spectacle. The Antequera bullring served as the stage for the parade of national teams, I lost count of the number of nationalities, 30? 35 countries represented? Few sports concentrate such many nationalities.

After the parade, in addition to the words of welcome from the president of the Fitasc, Mr. Palinkas, we were able to enjoy the best Spanish art; equestrian art of first level and best sevillanas.

The social area

Secondly, the social / hospitality area of the resort. Throughout the championship we have a first-class food and beverage service. I have already mentioned it before, how nice it is to be able to eat a good grilled meat on the terrace, with the Malaga mountains as the main protagonist, a view like no other!

The Gun Shop service

Third, an impeccable armory service. Armeria Percofan not only supplied, in an agile way, any brand of cartridge to the shooter, but has also contributed to providing added value to the shooter, is a guarantor of immediate resolution of any anomaly, a luxury to have their services.

The fact that the Percofan Gun shop is located just 25 minutes from the shooting ground is a guarantee of service for the Yedras Shooting Range; any shooter from abroad will have any need satisfied in little more than an hour. Can you ask for more?

The commercial area

Fourthly, the commercial area. There are few places / championships that, to the agents who participate in this sector, offer us an area in which, in addition to exhibiting our products (in my case the Corsivia shooting plates), we can share good times with our clients, collaborators and competitors, without making an exhaustive list.

A pleasure to greet you, Natalia, Lola, Mamen, Jose Mari, Mikel, Nigel, Ian, Markus, Luc, Marco, Elicio, Alex, Javier, Jose Antonio, Jhon, Beatriz, Nico …. and I am leaving some people behind.

From the satisfaction of having been able to participate in this great event, I want to congratulate the winners of the championship, even with tiebreakers!

Congratulations to all of them.

For me, even more important, and from my heart… I would like to say THANK YOU to Paco Márquez, Manuel Dovado, Celedonio Molina, Paco Piña and José Antonio Raposo. They are the real architects of this championship (and of those to come, I have no doubt). 

Through, I take the liberty of calling him friend, José Miguel Percofán, I had the good fortune to meet the four entrepreneurs, 4 years ago, during a dinner in a hotel near the sports facilities. I shared with them their passion for the sport of trail running, their dreams of shooting, their ambitions, their project to develop the Yedras Shooting Resort. I was impressed and amazed by what they told us. 

. There are few places / championships that, to the agents who participate in this sector, give us an area in which in addition to expose our products (in my case the Corsivia shooting plates) we can share good times with our customers, partners and competitors, without making an exhaustive list … a pleasure to greet you, Natalia, Lola, Mamen, Jose Mari, Mikel, Nigel, Ian, Markus, Luc, Marco, Elicio, Alex, Javier, Jose Antonio, Jhon, Beatriz, Nico …. and I am missing some people …

 From the satisfaction of having been able to participate in this great event I want to congratulate the winners of the championship, even with tiebreakers! Congratulations to all of them.

For me, even more important, and from my heart… I would like to say THANK YOU to Paco Marquez, Manuel Dovado, Celedonio Molina, Paco Piña and Jose Antonio Raposo. They are the real artifices of this championship (and of those to come, I have no doubt). 

Through, I take the liberty of calling him friend, Jose Miguel Percofan I had the good fortune to meet the four entrepreneurs 4 years ago, during a dinner in a hotel near the sports facilities. I shared with them, their passion for the sporting shooting, their dreams of shooting, their ambitions, their project to develop the Yedra Shooting Resort. I was impressed and amazed by what they told us. 

With time, with a lot of work on their part (just like Jose Miguel, I am aware of it) and without asking anything to anyone. They have built their dream, it is already a reality. These days, during the FITASC 57th European Championship sporting I have checked it.

From my heart, thanks to the two Pacos, thanks Manuel, thanks Cele, thanks Jose Antonio! You are not aware of what you have built. What a magnificent economic impact you have left to the city of Antequera.

Congratulations on a job excellently done, keep going!!!

If I can help in any way, I will do my bit… (I recognize that now, after your resounding success, it is easy to say it… I do not want to join your success, it would not be fair on my part… but… I do want to be a humble part of your project… I am there, at your service!!!)

Jose Miguel, my friend, I can’t forget you! Thanks for counting on me in your journey. At your service… always!!!! Proud that Corsivia counts on you.

You know it… Someone told me “give me 9 “percofanes” and I’ll move the world….”. Thank you. Best regards.

Enrique Navarro – Managing Director Corsivia Clay Target