subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Sun, Nov 22 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


Rachel Burke, 15, Elysburg, watches to see if a target breaks while keeping score Thursday.
Robert Inglish / The Daily Item


Published June 18, 2009 09:27 pm - Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of times a day, for hour after hour after hour, Megan and Natalie Monroig, of Northumberland, must maintain their focus, both literally and figuratively.


Focus a must for trap shoot scorers


The Daily Item

ELYSBURG — Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of times a day, for hour after hour after hour, Megan and Natalie Monroig, of Northumberland, must maintain their focus, both literally and figuratively.

Good eyesight and keen attention are prerequisites for the Monroigs, among the scorekeepers working this week at the Pennsylvania State Trapshoot Championships at the Valley Rod and Gun Club.

But Megan admits the mind can wander while watching shotgun blast after shotgun blast at the orange discs slicing through the late spring sky.

But the Penn State University junior says it's her professional duty to pay attention. Each shot is recorded as either a kill "” when she sees at least a piece of the flying target, or "bird," blown away "” or a loss.

"Since (the competitors) are so nice, you want to make sure you're not daydreaming," she said Thursday while sitting in the covered scorer's chair during the singles class championships.

Sometimes side bets or purses are on the line, and some of the shooters are very serious about the sport, Megan says.

The only real scoring disputes occur when a shot has come close to a target, and only made the bird change course.

"I had a guy this morning who thought he'd hit a target," Megan said. "A bird can move, but a piece has to come of off it."

When that happens, other shooters in a squad or group often speak up on the scorekeeper's behalf, she said.

Still, Megan says the brain does freeze up occasionally, and shooters usually take a gentlemanly approach and alert the scorekeeper when she's missed a call.

"I've been scoring for eight years," she says, "so it's happened a couple of times."

Natalie Monroig is also in her eighth year of scorekeeping and enjoys the collection of colorful people on hand at the state trapshoot.

"People come from everywhere. This year there's somebody over from England," the Shippensburg University senior said. "It's fun to see who shoots with who."

Natalie says there is also an annual event on the tournament calendar where shooters and event staff switch places for a day.

It's informally come to be known as "flip-flop" day, and it gives scorers a chance to shoot and shooters a chance to sit in the scorer's chair.



print this story    email this story   






Customer Service

Free Coupons to Print



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

Semester Break Work

SEMESTER BREAK WORK
Flex. sched, $17.25 base-appt., conditions apply, all ages 17+
Apply now, start afte
...>MORE

Cardio RN & Tech

Evangelical Community Hospital continues to grow with the needs of our community, providing comprehensive health s
...>MORE

Experienced Roofers
EXP. ROOFERS: Must have own truck, equip., & crew. Ready to start. Call 570-568-0222....>MORE

PT Night Shift LPN for Assisted Living

A faith based organization that has been helping People in need for more than 130 years! We currently have the ...>MORE

FT/PT Resident Assistant

Rockwell Retirement Center
Resident Assistant

The Rockwell Retirement Center, an assisted care co
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index