winter training in the sun

I keep seing various teams from different countries including our own on fb having what looks like a very nice jolly out in the sun with there coaches.As the comp season doesn't get going for a good while yet,why are they blowing so much cash on something that cant realy help in any way because the momentum will be lost by the time the comps start.

They do it because they can.  AND if they don't blow the $ in the budget then some twit beancounter will decide that next year they could take a cut and not suffer any.  'Cept for the fun in the sun of course

It's a bloody farse, get them shooting well in the wind and rain over here and they'll shoot well anywhere! 

Let them train at pilford, it's mostly horizontal rain, with occasional vertical rain! ?

Mike L, they couldn't have trained at Pilford recently, the mask and snorkel would affect their eye dominance and their stance would be degraded by the flippers...

Being the husband of one of those shooters who took part in the "farce" of going abroad to shoot this winter.

For the record it came out of our own pocket - we chose to spend some of our own income in going to shoot abroad in the winter - we spent no-ones budget.

Reasons for doing so:-

i). Because we can and its fun

ii). Better weather - mean a better quality of training (our theory / choice)

iii). Different experiences of differing grounds abroad - as the olympic disciplines are about quota places and experience abroad not shooting in miserable conditions here in Jan / Feb.

And in reality the competition season is not that far away and YES it is time to start that ramp up in training and practice. Testing any new equipment / gear etc.

1st OT training day with GB academy is 6th March

Cypriot Grand Prix is 7th - 14th March

1st World Cup is 17th - 25th March

1st GB selection shoot is 9th/10th April.

Even away from the "trap" scene - my skeet season build up has already began about 3 weeks ago - gentle practice - slowly now moving into proper weekly training with a purpose each weekend, Todd Bender arrives 6th/7th March for that real begin pushing hard practice, 1st small competition 19th March, then 1st major NSSA shoot 2nd/3rd Aprl.

I used to spend two weeks at Vilamoura most winters, that two weeks solid training was worth a whole years worth in the UK, targets are different as the light is different, its warm so you are not bulked up with clothing you would not normally be wearing. Its relaxing, you get to shoot a lot of targets that are quality and hopefully get some comps in as well....

Would I still do it, yes if family time allowed it...   Oh and I was 30 years younger.....

Skeetfreak said:

Being the husband of one of those shooters who took part in the "farce" of going abroad to shoot this winter.

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So how was it??

DT

Training in miserable weather is all well and good but it has a time and a place. On the run up to the season you would rather be training in consistent conditions because you will have consistent results which in turn will be good for your confidence where as in miserable, variable weather you could have a really good day/round then be utterly disheartened the next day/round when the weather gets worse. 

It is as much about confidence in your abilities when you compete abroad at a World Cup as it is about your technique. In fact I would say that confidence is the biggest factor, you can be sure that the likes of Alexi Alipov, Michael Diamond, Vincent Hancock and so on are 100% confident in their own shooting ability when they go away to compete. 

Dog Tyred said:

So how was it??

DT

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She thoroughly enjoyed it and shot well - came back full of beans for the season ahead.

Constructive and scheduled daily training plans with a big element on building team spirit. By all accounts not as warm as hoped but none the less still not as cold as here and not battling conditions and clothing just to make a few shots. Plus with quite a few international teams choosing to do the same a great experience in squading and competing with an international flavour.

Well worth the financial sacrifices we have made this year to do this kind of stuff.

Qatar open ?competition got to better training than a trip to spain surely?

It's also probably cheaper than staying in this country too.. 

paul b said:

Qatar open ?competition got to better training than a trip to spain surely?

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The Qatar Open is quite a pricey event. The last time I was there the cartridges were coming in at $10 a box of 25, more if you wanted the better shells. It is far cheaper to go for a week to Spain training than it is to go to the Qatar Open currently. 

Cyprus GP soon......

Skeetfreak

She thoroughly enjoyed it and shot well - came back full of beans for the season ahead.

Constructive and scheduled daily training plans with a big element on building team spirit. By all accounts not as warm as hoped but none the less still not as cold as here and not battling conditions and clothing just to make a few shots. Plus with quite a few international teams choosing to do the same a great experience in squading and competing with an international flavour.

Well worth the financial sacrifices we have made this year to do this kind of stuff.
Worth every penny then   I must say we really enjoyed the OT Grand Prix event at Jarapalo and will certainly try and do it again next year, just to break up the winter a bit.

Not sure the budget will spread to warm weather training camps as well but you never know what's around the corner. Time off work (studies for Harry) is the main hindrance for such activities. Oh and getting SWMBO to agree to it as well !! 

DT

I shoot in some really good conditions down here during the winter. It can at time be like shooting in the late spring because the temperatures are so high. The main issue I have with it though,and the reason why I don't tend to shoot as well as in the summer, is the sun is still low in the sky and goes down early. I shoot at one club where shooting starts at 2pm but effectively,for me at least, is all but finished by 3.45pm because the ground starts to shadow up as the sun get lower... but it s great to get conditions worth shooting in all year round. Nearly all of the clubs down here close sometime around mid September.