Gee’s in the zone
Simon Gee will be one of the five members of the 2022 Riverina Zone team, to compete at the NSW state titles in Wagga over the October long weekend.
Simon, along with four others from Griffith, Wagga and Leeton, were victorious out of 92 competitors who vied for the open team positions at the recent Riverina Zone carnival at Wagga on the 2nd & 3rd of July.
Simon has been shooting for 20 years, beginning in 2001. Whilst he had no interest in shotguns before, he had been shooting pistols in local competitions.
A friend suggested he come and shoot clays at his house, and he loved it. The same friend then suggested he should come along to a competition, and he loved that too. He went from C grade to AA in eight months, in the same year. He had only been shooting for a few months when he was asked by other shooters to come along to the Nationals in Wagga.
He won the Pre-National Handicap on the first day, scoring $4,500, which bought his shotgun, which he only replaced last year. He then won another two C grade events, and placed second in a third event.
Bug effectively caught, he competed in a lot of events from that point.
In 2002, he won the Hay Sportsperson of the Year, and was a finalist at Narrandera for Regional Sportsperson of the Year, a young 15 year old future champion motorcycle legend Toby Price taking that title. In 2004, he went to New Zealand to compete at the New Zealand Nationals and won the overall Double Rise Championship as one of more than 300 competitors and at the same Nationals won the AA grade single barrel, and in 2009, he won the AA grade minis in New Zealand.
He was selected in the NSW 15 man teams in 2002, 2008 and 2009, as well as being selected to represent the Riverina in 2004 and 2006.
He has worn many different hats for the Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) Hay Gun Club, having previously held the positions of treasurer and secretary and is presently Vice President and treasurer for the last four years. He did take a break from the Hay Gun Club for a few years, shooting sporting clays with the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) Hay Branch.
During this time, he was twice selected to represent NSW and Australia for a trip to New Zealand, but declined due to health reasons. He was president of the SSAA Hay branch for two years, and vice president for four years. Returning to Hay Gun Club four years ago, it’s quite evident that he still has a love for the sport.
He counts his fondest achievements as being voted Hay Sportsperson of the Year, his performance in the Double Rise Championships in New Zealand and being selected to represent Australia in the SSAA team to visit New Zealand, and was very disappointed when circumstances did not allow him to attend.
Incredibly humble, Simon says that anyone can do it, and are always welcome to come up and give it a go.
Congratulations Simon, for your many achievements, and for your most recent selection. We are sure you will tackle this with both guns blazing!
The top five shooters who were successful were: Glen Castellaro from Griffith with a score of 125/125, Kim Nealon from Wagga also with a score of 125/125, Simon Gee with a score of 124/125, George De Paoli from Leeton also on 124/125 and Ben Woodhouse from Wagga also on 124/125.
Image: Hay Gun Club
