This is a photo of all the USA pistol shooters at the World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia. The photo was taken after the completion of competition.
Left to right: Jeffrey Bromberger, Tom Fletcher, Steve Locatelli, Paul Messina, and Dmitriy Shteyman. Don Williams, a rifle shooter, is missing from the pic.
The facilities at the Sydney International Shooting Center were world class, and the dozens of volunteers did a great job. It was great to meet many of the Australian members of Target Talk. It was a little windy during 50 M pistol, but it would be considered a calm day at Camp Perry. Yes, Spencer is a real person. But I am disappointed that I did not see any of the dreaded drop bears.
Start planning for the next WMG in Torino, Italia in 2013.
It was great to meet you in person at Sydney.
As you say, it was a great competition, in excellent surroundings, and well organized, too.
It was a pity our plans to go with Christine and Liz to the City did not eventuate, but it was nice to have a good chat on the range, and in the Club room.
You are a great bunch of Guys, and we really enjoyed your company.
It is too bad that there are not enough competitions like this where we can meet more often.
I hope you all enjoyed your trip Down Under, and have taken home happy memories.
Liz & I are hoping to take a trip to Seattle next year (and a side trip to Portland for a Lace conference!! - Liz)
I think I was the oldest male competitor there, so I am happy with my silver and bronze medals!! Liz is happy with her silver, too!!
Steve, - you have my private email address, and I will be happy to chat with you any time. Regards to Christine, too.
Best wishes to you all from a very hot Melbourne.
Alex L. and Liz.
It is hard to see the photo with all that jewelry sparkling from under the neck of that Colorado cowboy with the down under hat! Congratulations to all and thanks for representing us (U.S.)!
The World Masters Games was a really class act and I enjoyed myself throughout the entire tournament. Altough I managed only an 8th place finish in air pistol, I learned a great deal as a result of the experience. In terms of our hosts, the Australians are clearly the friendliest people I have ever encountered on the planet, and I have been to many, many places.
For those who are interested, I spoke with the organizing staff at the International Masters Games Association and they confirmed that there will likely be a Pan-American Masters Games in 2012 (they had hoped for an earlier version but the economy had a play in that). While the host city has not been selected it seems that Denver, CO is one of the possible candidates so be on the lookout for any official announcements that will llikely come out during the Spring of 2010. It would be nice not to have to travel 17 hours :-)
Next up for me is the USA Shooting Winter Air Gun Championships and the Canadian Air Gun Grand Prix so I am hopeful that I will see you guys at these events. If you are ever in or near San Antonio, TX let me know.
