Thirteen-year-old trapshooter Niklas Tebb of Athabasca will be packing his rifle to Brandon, Manitoba this week for the Canadian Trapshooting Championships.
Niklas earned his trip to nationals from strong showings at various events over the past year.
Most recently, he placed first in singles, second in handicap and third in doubles at the WC Davis Memorial Shoot in Edmonton. Last month, he placed first in singles at the Bill Vance Memorial Shoot, also in Edmonton.
Niklas has been trapshooting for the last four years and competitively since the age of 10. He got into the sport through his father, Gary, who also trapshoots.
“I used to work the shoots in town,” Niklas said.
“He wanted to shoot more than he wanted to work,” Gary quipped.
Niklas’ shooting has improved over the last year. He qualified for his first provincials last year and this will be his first trip to nationals.
He’ll be competing in all three trapshooting disciplines: singles, with lone targets fired from 16 yards; handicap, with lone targets fired from a range of 16-27 yards; and doubles, with two targets fired from 16 yards.
Of the three, Niklas said doubles are his favourite because they’re faster.
“You don’t know where the bird is going to come out, but the flight path is always the same,” Gary explained.
Niklas practices twice a week at the Andrew Wood Memorial Range just east of Athabasca. Gary said it’s an advantage to have a facility so close, as it’s one of only seven registered trapshooting facilities in Alberta.
Niklas said he hopes his initial experience at nationals helps him further progress in the sport, towards hopefully representing Canada at international shoots and, perhaps someday, at the Olympics.
Following nationals, Niklas will also be competing at the Western Zone Shoot in Edmonton July 15-19 and the provincials in Calgary July 22-26.
