With his Krieghoff K-80 Trap Special 12 Gauge, local teen Niklas Tebb was able to shoot down and snag the national sub-junior champion title this past summer where he maintained an 89.7 per cent shooting average in all three disciplines.
Tebb competed at both the 2017 Canadian Trapshooting Championship in Edmonton June 28-July 2 and the Provincial Trapshooting Championship in Calgary July 19-23, where he placed first at the sub-junior level.
It was a sense of accomplishment I guess, because I have been working for it,” Tebb said. “To finally win everything at the Canadians and at the provincials, it felt good.”
“It was a lot of fun – a great experience,” he added.
This will be Tebb’s last year competing as a sub-junior shooter, which is age 15 and under, but his prospects are high. His average is already higher than the champions for junior and junior gold, and there is a measly five per cent separating him from the first place shooter on the Shoot Alberta 2017 Alberta All Star First Team.
Tebb competed in the singles, doubles, handicap and high-overall competitions, and he is scored on how many of the clay pigeons launched into the air he is able to hit.
Throughout the shooting season, Tebb and his family travel throughout the western provinces to compete. They qualify for competitions by shattering registered targets at the various competitions. The requirement for participation at the Canadians is having shot 1,000 registered targets prior to the event to qualify for shooter classification.
Tebb began his shooting career seven years ago, and started shooting competitively five years ago.
“Niklas has worked hard, it requires a lot of focus and discipline,” Tebb’s mother Carmen said.
His father, Gary, said this is something Niklas has dedicated himself to.
“It’s something to be proud of. To see him put in the time to be able to shoot at that level of competition and to be able to win all the divisions is something to be proud of,” he said. “It’s not easy, but you put in the time and the effort, it does pay off.”
Shooting has become a family sport for the Tebb’s, with the whole family partaking in trips during the shooting season around the provinces. Next, they plan to compete in the Grand American World Trapshooting Championships, where approximately 2,000 shooters will compete over 10 days next August.
There are only seven remaining trapshooting clubs across Alberta, and Athabasca is home to one of them, which Gary said has allowed the family to practice and hone their skills.
“There’s a lot of travel,” he said. “Having a facility like we do in Athabasca in our own backyard per se is great in it just helps those who want to learn about the sport to participate in it without having to travel a great distance.”
