Talent Pool 2020

The Event

Southdown Gun Club & Shooting School, are pleased to announce that applications to take part in TALENT POOL 2020 are opening soon! We have a brand new sponsorship line up and are proud to be working with premium German shotgun manufacturer Blaser, who will be providing the guns during the try out stages and an F3 shotgun to the Talent Pool winner; Eley Hawk high performance cartridges are supporting the event with the Eley Select Cartridge, and Laporte, who are sponsoring the event with their clay Targets. We are very pleased to have the endorsement of the CPSA who will be giving the Talent Pool winner a year’s CPSA membership and entry to the 2020 British Open.

 

Who Should Enter?

Have you ever thought about clay pigeon shooting as a competitive hobby and wondered how you would break into the sport? Are you already a novice shooter and want to progress further? If you answered yes to the above questions, then this could be the event for you. Talent Pool was conceived to help a novice or entry level shooter enter the competitive sport of clay shooting and over a 12-month period of complimentary training and mentoring take part in a National clay shooting Championship.

 

Try Out Days

As in previous years there will be several Talent Pool try out days held at Southdown Gun Club & Shooting School, where Talent Pool hopefuls, will be invited to the shooting school for a complimentary clay shooting coaching day. The lucky applicants will be assessed on their raw talent, confidence, enthusiasm and with their capacity to develop under the guidance of Head Shooting School Coach, Simon Arbuckle, CPSA Level 3 Senior Coach, in a world-class training environment.

 

The Final

After the try out days the judging panel will select the best applicants to take part in the 2020 Talent Pool final. On the final day approximately 20 applicants will vie for the opportunity to become the Talent Pool Champion.  The Final will be taking place on Saturday 4th October 2020.

The Prize

Follow in the footsteps of previous Talent Pool winners, Reece Dunne 2016, Neil Gaff 2017 and Sammy Halsey 2018. Take part and win an unrivalled shooting package worth in excess of £15,000.00, which includes…

  • A year’s free coaching and mentoring support by Southdown’s head coach
  • A Blaser F3 competition shotgun for Talent Pool year
  • 5000 complimentary Eley Hawk Select cartridges
  • Talent Pool branded apparel
  • Competition entry fees
  • 5000 Southdown Laporte practice clays
  • CPSA membership including insurance

The Commitment

The winning contender will be selected at the Talent Pool final in September 2020 and then the hard work begins to become a “Clay Shooter” culminating in entering the CPSA’s British Open Sporting Championships. The winner will be part of the Southdown Sponsored Shooters programme and be given a year-long support package as detailed above, aiding their training and development. There are some other responsibilities, such as becoming an ambassador for the event sponsors, being a role model for future aspirational clay shooters, an advocate for the sport and the CPSA. Read about what to expect from Talent Pool here.

 

How To Apply

We’re looking for some really creative entries. Southdown will be hosting several TALENT POOL days (dates below) from which a shortlist of entrants will be selected to take part in the Talent Pool final on Saturday 5th September, where only one person can win the best prize in competition shooting!

You can apply to attend a TALENT POOL selection day by following this link, which will become live on the 1st January 2020 or via Facebook and whilst a short video application is preferred, giving you good brownie points, a personal Bio will suffice, please highlight any achievements or challenges you’ve faced and overcome, why you’re interested in clay pigeon shooting, what the opportunity would mean to you, and how it could impact your life.

Entrants must be able to commit to attending tuition and practice, a minimum of twice a month and work with Southdown Gun Club & Shooting School, be confident enough to develop their own self-promotion in conjunction with the Southdown Gun Club & Shooting School and our sponsors by utilising video, Facebook and other social media channels.

Talent Pool Selection Dates

Saturday 2nd May

Sunday 7th June

Saturday 4th July

Sunday 2nd August

GRAND FINAL – Saturday 4th October

2017 winner Neil Gaff and last year’s winner Sammy Halsey in action.

Sammy Halsey 2018 Winner

Neil Gaff 2017 Winner