The lead-up to the competition

The Scouts and Explorers have been training hard each week for this competition. We have been able to practice our precision and discipline over the past 12 weeks. We have grown as a group, not only individually but also as a team being able to support one another. We have also become closer over the past weeks becoming a tight-knit shooting family where we help each other though all of our ups and downs.

Each week we learned the stance, how to control our breathing, and how to aim correctly when using the rifle to get a better shot. We also got the chance to shoot a wide range of pistols and rifles as well as using Kaa’s S400 air rifle (competition rifle) to practice using the bolt action when shooting the biathlon targets, the 5 knock-down targets.

During the competition

We asked our Scouts and Explorers for their thoughts about the weekend…

“Where to begin… the unity, happiness and joy we bring as a group is phenomenal cheering each other on from the sidelines to comforting each other when things don’t go so well. This weekend showed that to the greatest extent. Many wonderful memories have come from this: for myself and the group a gold medal which is a massive improvement on my bronze last year but also dancing, singing, making new friends (and investing them) and so much more. All I have to say is I loved it in every way possible and none of this would have happened without Kaa and Sparks to lead the way for us. Hopefully, there will be many more to come!” -Paige S, Explorer

“This weekend has been an absolute blast! The amount of support we were all giving to each other was phenomenal and showed that we are a team. Even if we all may have not won anything we all acted as we did due to the fact that multiple people from our group won awards/ medals.

We made amazing new friends and “invested” them before we left the campsite.
The atmosphere was incredible especially when it came to the song “Dancing Queen” (by ABBA) and we were all singing and dancing to the dance we made. I’m so grateful for the fact that I was able to experience this as it was one of the most amazing experiences ever.” – Catherine W, Explorer

“I’ve not been on many camps with 325 but that was my favourite. Although I’ve only been part of this group for around a year now these people are some of my longest, closest friends and I have had such a great time with them over the weekend and in general! I’ve had such an awesome time shooting over the past couple of days and I’m honestly exhausted from this camp but either way, it’s been brilliant and I’ve enjoyed it so much. When it comes to the competition I feel like nerves got to me but over time I’ve learned to deal with that sort of thing. Despite not getting too far, I still feel like I’ve improved since last year and am so excited to carry on with this journey!” – Lucy T, Scout

“I have been shooting for 3 years now and I’ve enjoyed it so much. When I first went to the Waterloo Shooting Competition back in June 2023 I came last in my team, now after this year I have not only managed to get 16th place in my age group, got 1st in my team but also got 3rd place overall in my scout group. Out of all of my camps that I have done with 325 this camp is my favourite and will permanently be engraved into my memories for years to come. On this camp, we made so many memories and new friends from an Explorer unit in Warrington and maybe made a cheeky little investment with them. We sang our hearts and supported each other through our highs and lows. I could see the joy in everybody’s faces when we saw our other teammates win. We congratulated, supported and cheered on each other. We are a family!” – Dylan H, Explorer

“This will be my 2nd year competing in the Waterloo Shooting Competition, and I have loved each bit of this camp. We have supported each other, laughed, cried and danced with each other. We have grown not only as a group but as a family. The weekend was jam-packed with shooting events keeping us on our toes all the time.” – Tanya H, Explorer

“The weekend was absolutely amazing. I came 18th in total and got a bronze in the 6-yard pistol. I had so much fun participating in this competition and I can’t wait for next year and what I’ll achieve!” – Logan W, Explorer

“This was my first year and I was impressed with myself for getting 2 medals. This was my first year competing in Waterloo, and I loved it. I’ve only been with this Scout group for about a year and joined the shooting team recently and the memories that I have been able to make over the weekend are going to stay with me forever. All I can say is thank you to all of those that came along and made this camp my favourite” – Fin M, Scout

We all have had a great time and owe a massive thank you to Sparks and Kaa for running these shooting sessions over the past few months to prepare us for this competition. We are all looking forward to next year, especially the leaders.

You can read Sparks’ Blog Post about the weekend here: 325th triumphs at Waterloo 2024