ESTEVAN - The Estevan Oilfield Technical Society hosted a wet, but fun and successful second annual Top Gun Trap Shoot on May 14.
The event was held at the Estevan Wildlife Federation's range. With rain on and off Friday, the OTS lost a few participating teams, but president Tony Sernick said they still had a good turnout and a great day.
"Other than the weather, everything went perfect. In the morning it was raining but wasn't so windy. And then thankfully, when the wind came up in the afternoon, the rain quit. So it was definitely the best of both worlds for everybody … All in all, it was a good day," Sernick said.
Despite the weather, 110 participants accepted the challenge and showed up for the event. Shooters were coming from all over Saskatchewan, as well as Alberta and Manitoba.
"[OTS events] bring three provinces together," Sernick said.
Derek Fichter of Lampman was named the 2022 OTS Top Gun champion. His score was 82 out of 100 shots. Fichter tied for first place last year but lost in the countback. He was the outright winner this year, five shots ahead of second place.
Based out of Estevan, Certified Energy Services won the 2022 OTS Top Gun team champions title. It was the second year in a row Team Certified won the team event. Estevan's Skylift Services claimed second place in the team event, and Kobold Completions out of Calgary came in third.
The original plan was to have the second edition of the OTS Top Gun Trap Shoot spread over two days, as the interest last year was high enough. However, when it came to registrations this year, the numbers were just right to fill one day of the schedule.
"Last year, it was the first year we did it, and the event filled up very quickly. This year, one day filled up quickly and that was about it. So instead of making it two days, we just stuffed it all into one," Sernick said.
Due to weather and/or other circumstances, several participants didn't make it to the shooting range. But fortunately, others were able to cover for them to keep it going.
"Honorable mention to our two trap shooting celebrities – Logan King and Sam Meek – that shot multiple times during the day to fill in for teams that were short. Always a treat to watch these young men shoot traps. They are good and don't miss too often," Sernick said.
The EWF provided the range and the warm clubhouse, where shooters could dry out, and have some refreshments and a meal.
"[The EWF] were absolutely fantastic. They do all the hard work, they set up everything. They get the guns and the bullets and obviously they keep the score for us. We just do the registration part and line up the lunch," Sernick said.
He added that the OTS puts a lot of effort into bringing sporting events like this one and, of course, their golf tournament and curling bonspiel to help the local facilities.
"We like to do it to help everybody in town. The curling rink benefits, the golf courses benefit and, in this case, the trap shooting club benefits. We have a broad list of participants, basically every event we have 100 to 200 people in it. And when we bring those events to those organizations, that keeps their clubs going. So we are proud to do that," Sernick said.
The interest in the event was high, so Sernick said they plan on keeping it in the future.
"It brings out a different crowd from the oilpatch and everybody appreciates it. It was a good day."
Now the OTS is getting ready for their annual oilmen's golf tournament at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course, slated for June 3-5, which is going back to the more traditional format, where the event is spread over three days with a choice of going 18 or 36 holes.
The registration is now open.
On July 9, the OTS will also bring in a new event – a mixed golf tournament at Hidden Valley's Hideout Golf Course.
The mixed tournament would get women involved, whether it be the women who are working in the oilpatch or the spouses of oilmen.
Sernick said they have a really good committee, and they are excited to bring in new events and get more organizations involved.
"There's definitely a good team, the OTS committee right now, where each person chairs an event and they get support from other people, but it's as simple as just bringing everything together and helping all the organizations out," Sernick said.
