St Hugh’s Junior Dean and DPhil student (Biology), Bethan Wallace, will captain the women’s Blues team at the Clay Pigeon Shooting Varsity on Saturday 7 March in Cambridge. Bethan, who is also President of the Oxford University Clay Pigeon Shooting Club (OUCPSC), began shooting while at Cambridge during COVID-19, and continued with the sport when she moved to Oxford for her DPhil.
Clay Pigeon shooting is where participants shoot clay targets with a shotgun at fast moving targets which differs from rifle, pistol, or archery which use stationary targets. Clays can travel up to 70+ mph and typically up to 45+ meters away. Clays themselves are small – a standard clay is only 11cm across, while midis are 9cm and minis are 6cm.
Bethan said, ‘I like clay pigeon because it gives you the opportunity to get outside every week. It’s also a very social sport and we have lots of wonderful members! I like that clay pigeon can be different every single time, with clays flying in new and varied ways. Different shooting grounds also set their targets up differently, so it’s a good reason to get out and travel to new places to try new things.
‘As a club we run Open Practice sessions for our members on Saturdays, and those on the Varsity teams have practices on a Sunday. As a Blues Performance Athlete, I have also been training in the gym three to four times a week. It is especially important for women in shooting to train their upper body and core. Guns weigh about 4kg, which isn’t much, until you’ve been holding it up in the air out in front of you for a while! The gun rests against your shoulder, and good positioning helps to deal with any recoil.’
We wish Bethan and the Clay Pigeon Shooting teams the best of luck at this weekend’s Varsity.
