Orville Henriques emerged winner of the year's first National Street Gun Championships held at the Lincoln range in Manchester on the weekend.

However, his tournament win was not achieved with the predictable ease of previous editions. Clear signs, perhaps, that the gap is closing and hints that there is a competitive environment at Manchester Rifle and Pistol Club (MRPC).

creative positions

This year's six stages provided a stern test for all 17 contestants, requiring shooters to produce angled shots on the run, hit steels masked at distance, and rise from extremely creative positions depicting danger scenarios within the Jamaican context. For example, stage one depicted a game of domino where the shooter awaits the range officer's signal. Scene two depicted a shooter in a lying position as if having a tub bath and was followed by a scene in which he rises from a sleeping posture on his back.

Henriques looked extremely fit and fast, but even he admitted the effect of the testing conditions.

"The stages were tough, but I was focused and I have no excuses (for my performance)," explained Henriques. On Sunday, he also experienced an unaccustomed third place in stage five.

His rising reputation as the top exponent locally in the International Limited Category was also dented in last month's Florida Open when Kingston's Ron Brown's seventh spot bettered his ninth, in a world-class field.

The Street Gun Championship was remarkable also as Sue Ann Henriques, the top female shooter, who, despite toppling all in stage five, was displaced from her customary second place in the overall standings by clubmate Thomas Jones.

Interestingly, Jones did not win any of the stages but remained consistent to finish third with 333 points at 75 per cent.