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Marcotte sets sights on summer shoots

She gave it her best shot, figuratively. Literally speaking, her shots were not her best.

She gave it her best shot, figuratively. Literally speaking, her shots were not her best.

Competing in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Championships in Beijing, China last week, Pelly Crossing’s Danielle Marcotte, 16, came up short, finishing near the bottom of the field.

“When we did her pre-training two nights before the shoot, she did awesome—it was almost a personal best,” said Darcy Marcotte, Danielle’s father and coach. “During the competition she was having some technical problems, she was adjusting her sights during the shoot, something she probably shouldn’t have done. But as a junior she’s still learning. And she was shooting against everybody that competed in the Olympics back in August.”

The second-youngest competitor at the event, Danielle was shooting in the Match Score Qualification division of the women’s 10-metre air pistol, so she was not ranked among the bulk of the shooters. However, she did achieve a score of 357 out of a possible 400, just 23 points off from the top-scorer. There are only two MSQ events a year and the points are put towards qualifying for the Olympics and other international events.

“By the time she started to feel comfortable, she was well down the line,” said Darcy. “It wasn’t the best shoot she’s ever done—she wasn’t very pleased about it.

“She wants to learn from the experience and put it behind her.”

Never before had she adjusted her sights during a competition, which is probably the biggest lesson learned.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” said Danielle. “After I finished the competition I was like, ‘Why did I do that?’ I felt like my sights were too high so I adjusted them.

“I learned that I shouldn’t get caught up on my scores because I know what I’m capable of. I shouldn’t expect to get the scores I get in practices because it’s always different in competition.”

With the experience behind her, Danielle can now focus on upcoming events, such as the first ever national Junior Rangers competition, to take place in Goose Bay, Labrador over the May long weekend. There are five Junior Rangers groups in Canada, Marcotte, a sergeant with the Rangers, will be represent both the Yukon and NWT.

“They’ve come up with a rifle competition with all the Ranger patrols, groups, regions throughout Canada,” said Darcy. “The western side here has asked Danielle to represent them, so she’s going to a rifle shoot.

“The cool thing is she’s not even a rifle shooter, she’s a pistol shooter.”

From there Danielle will be competing in Provincial Handgun Championships in Alberta in the first weekend in June.

“She’ll be shooting for the first time a .22 (calibre) competition pistol,” said Darcy.

Finally, Danielle will be returning to Alberta at the end of July for the national championships in Calgary. Danielle won the nationals in 2007 and was the runner-up last year.

“Danielle needs to win this one because it’ll put her in a spot for the Junior Olympics, which will be held in Singapore in 2010,” said Darcy.

Contact Tom Patrick at

tomp@yukon-news.com