Trini sharpshooters triumph at MH Tactical World Shoot

MARKSMEN representing Trinidad and Tobago shot their way to first and second place in the final round of MH Tactical’s World Shoot tournament, beating three other countries on Sunday afternoon.

The tournament is the second annual World Shoot competition for MH Tactical Response Group and was the first to feature foreign sharpshooters at a competition in Trinidad.

It was held at the group’s Mt St Catherine Road, Chaguramas, training resort.

The tournament titled MH2O: Travel Destinations featured obstacle courses styled to resemble locations in Jamaica, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Alaska and Australia as competitors put their stamina, aim and reflexes to the test.

Sharpshooters from the US, Barbados and Guyana competed in the tournament, while St Lucian athletes visited the event to observe.

The obstacle courses consisted of moving platforms, moving targets and staircases as sharpshooters had to keep their balance while adhering to proper safety procedures.

In the final round, of the Last Country Standing category, two teams each consisting of three shooters participated in relay-style qualifying rounds where they had to complete the obstacle course and shoot moving and stationary targets.

Each participant was only allowed to fire three rounds at targets before “tagging in” another team member to hit the remaining targets all within a specified time.

The participants were required to take aim while standing, lying down, perched on bridges and keeping balance on a platform made of tyres and ropes.

Despite a spirited performance, the US team was knocked out of the semi-final round while local teams MH 1 and MH 2 secured first and second place respectively.

The Barbados team earned third place.

Speaking with Newsday, CEO of the MH Tactical Training Resort Anna Marie Metivier-Hernandez said she was pleased with the growth of the competition by attracting foreign shooters.

She said the success of the tournament was a testament to the market for sport-shooting and was optimistic it would continue to grow and flourish in TT with the necessary support.

“When we had this competition for the first time last year it was all locals, and at that time we really did not anticipate we would have an interest from external people so this year we were really quite intrigued putting out the invitations for the first time and getting an immediate interest because it appeared people knew about our range in the other islands via social media.

“I think we will continue to grow and we’ll get bigger every year so we find that it’s very exciting that we can try to promote a one Caribbean group and build a super force so we can go out into other markets with the strongest from the different countries of the Caribbean in the different divisions and be able to compete.

“When I look at the level of competition here today the Trinbagonians have performed superbly so far and it goes to show we have a high skill level in Trinidad that we can really develop on with the support of the necessary ministries.”

In addition to the competition, Metivier-Hernandez said the event was a good opportunity to promote sport tourism in Trinidad, noting the festive mood of training sessions as athletes mingled and exchanged ideas relating to the sport.

For his part head of the US team, Brendan Souder said he was impressed with the quality of competition from other teams and was happy to be a part of the tournament.

After the competition participants and spectators were treated to performances from soca artistes Swappi and Iwer George.