Pictures supplied and written by Brian Arevalo, Slingshot World’s Las Vegas Reporter.
The 1st Las Vegas Spanish Slingshot Tournament was finally happening with all the challenges in the desert causing some tournament delays due to high winds.
The weather on tournament day was in the mid 70’s (F) with very little wind. The competition was relocated to a private property in South West Las Vegas since it was brought to our attention that local laws forbid the use of any slingshots, arrows and guns in public parks. (Coulda been impressive, if the LV SWAT team had arrived by helicopter Ed!)
Participants came from all sides of the Las Vegas valley to enjoy some fun and camaraderie during this free event.
Upon arrival competitors warmed up their skills, finely tuned their equipment, made compensations for the wind/temperature and prepared mentally for approximately an hour on various targets prior to the start of the Spanish Slingshot Tournament.
There were a variety of slingshots being used by the participants, as every competitor’s hardware was carefully admired and examined by the competition.
Friendly banter amongst competitors is always a joy to witness and hear as each shooter tries to gain a mental edge on the competition prior to the tournament. Unsolicited advice pertaining to unique/poor form and technique is often heard in order to gain any advantage.
As tournament time drew closer, you can see the shooters composure change to one of a very competitive nature.
The specifics and rules of the Spanish Slingshot Tournament were explained and easily understood for all the shooters. Official shooting distance was 10 meters (33ft.) Projectiles being used for the tournament were 9.5 mm steel balls. The tournament consisted of a total of four rounds in which there will be seven targets of various sizes and each target with a corresponding score. Each shooter will have only seven shots per round in which the score for each round will be totalled.
Spanish Target sizes and corresponding points were as follows:
12.5cm target = 2 Points x 2 Targets (4 Points Total)
11.5cm target = 3 Points x 2 Targets (6 Points Total)
9.5cm target = 4 Points x 1 Target (4 Points Total)
7.5cm target = 6 Points x 1 Target (6 Points Total)
4.5cm target = 10 points x 1 Target (10 Points Total)
Max Total Points per Round = 30 Points
Max score for the Tournament = 120 points
All shooters agreed prior to the start of the tournament that in order for a target to score points, the target must be knocked down versus merely hit. Shooters also agreed that the order of shooting per round would start with the highest scorer in the previous round shooting first and the lowest scorer shooting last. This would provide shooters with a lower score the opportunity to focus their allotted seven shots per round on more high-valued targets.
Competitors volunteered on the shooting order of the first round to get things started. One at a time, each individual shooter stepped up to the ten meter mark with his allotted seven shots in an attempt to score a maximum of thirty points.
You could have heard a pin drop as each shooter prepared for his next shot. Various breathing and relaxing techniques were observed prior to each shot as the shooter took aim at his intended target. It was quite evident after the first round that shooting for fun and warming up was very different when compared to the pressure of actual competition shooting.
After the second round of shooting, there were three shooters that stood out with enough points to win this event. Myself, (Brian) versus the Moreno brothers Eric and Oscar of California. All three of us are very competitive in nature. Didn’t matter if we were playing a friendly round of golf, fishing or cards.
Competition was competition.
After leading the first round and shooting conservatively at the easier targets, it was quite difficult to gain a significant lead on Eric and Oscar as they were focusing on the smaller high valued targets. Every time Eric and Oscar knocked down that tiny ten point target, it was always followed by a loud cheer and fist pump to indicate this game was far from over. It felt like the opposing team sinking a three point shot at the buzzer. I continued to shoot conservatively focusing on the easier targets while sadly missing the smallest ten point target on the last two rounds.
When all the dust settled and the slinging of metal projectiles finally ceased, I ended the competition with a total of 100 points which was just enough to edge out Eric and Oscar for the win.
Although this was a free event, it was obvious these gentlemen were shooting for pride and honour in order to claim their momentary fame on being the current “Big Kid on the Block”.
Besides the marksmanship and the joy of competition, the fun and camaraderie is what truly makes the sport of sling shooting special!
Til the next event, Shoot Safe from all your friends at the Las Vegas Slingshot Association!! ☺ Brian Arevalo – Organizer
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