The National Secondary Schools' Shooting Championship - better known as The NZ Triple S Champs - is New Zealand's newest shooting competition and is now in its 14th year. It is open to all NZ secondary school students. This is aimed at giving secondary school shooters the chance to compete nationally for both individual and team glory and recognition.
The SSS Champs for 2024 is over and the winner this year is... Pippa Taylor from Queen Margaret College.
As expected, the final round went right to the wire. Isaac had set the scoreboard on fire with his opening score of 100.4, putting pressure on every other shooter to try and catch him. Pippa had chipped away at his lead until the final round when Isaac was leading by just 3 inners. With Pippa and Isaac both shooting 198's it was their inner count that would decide the winner and Pippa's 198.16 gave her a 6 inner advantage over Isaac Junc's 198.10, earning her the overall win by 3 inners. Eliza McKenzie's final round 199.13 rewarded her with a well deserved 3rd place overall.
The A Grade champion is Isaac Junc (Heretaunga College) 5 points ahead, but 2nd and 3rd were soooo close with Phoebe McKenzie (Ashburton College) beating Madi Tourle (also Ashburton College) by just a single inner.
Eliza McKenzie (Ashburton College) was the clear winner of B Grade, 25 points ahead of Bree Greer (Ashburton College).
Pippa Taylor (Queen Margaret College) won C Grade, but Nate Woods (Ashburton College) shot an incredible 199.11 to leap into a well-deserved second place, with Alexandra Christie (Heretaunga College) keeping a strong hold on 3rd place.
In D Grade, Chelsea Bau (Cambridge High School) was the decisive. Katelyn Wilson continued her strong form (having jumped from 13th to 3rd place in the 3rd round) to secure 2nd place just a point ahead of Elliot Percy (Waimea College).
If you thought you were seeing the name "Ashburton College" a lot in these results then you were right. They have an incredible depth of shooting talent and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Teams event where their Ashburton College Gold team won, an amazing 36 points ahead of Cambridge High School 1 who were a further 28 points ahead of Ashburton College Red.
Congratulations to all the winning individuals and teams on yet another incredibly competitive year's shooting and we look forward to seeing a large number of you back next year.
Round 3 is over and it's getting sooooo close among the top shooters. Isaac Junc's 2 point lead after the 1st round dropped to be a 1 point lead after the 2nd round and now he's leading by just 3 inners from Pippa Taylor. These are brilliant scores but with Eliza McKenzie just 3 points adrift and a final 20 shot round everyone will have to be at the top of their game if they're to take the overall win. If the long history of this competition has shown us nothing else, it's that it's never over until the last bullet is shot.
In A Grade, Isaac leads Madi by 4 points with Phoebe McKenzie keeping her third place by a mere 2 inners ahead of Annabel Goodrich.
In B Grade Eliza McKenzie has extended her lead over Bree Greer.
In C Grade Pippa Taylor now holds a 9 point lead over Luke Rhodes whose last round 97.2 has put him a single inner ahead of third place Alexandra Christie.
In D Grade Chelsea Bau has held onto her first place with Elliot Percy moving up to second place, but the biggest mover of all was Katelyn Wilson (Ashburton College) whose 96.3 catapulted her from 13th to 3rd place.
In the Teams competition Ashburton Gold has taken a firm hold on first place with a 19 point lead over Cambridge High School #1 who are in turn 12 points ahead of Waimea College #1.
Round 2 has just finished and the scores are looking great with a number of 99's causing some reordering of places. Isaac Junc is maintaining his 2 point lead over Pippa Taylor, with Madi Tourle just a single point behind. In A Grade, Isaac leads Madi by 3 points but Phoebe McKenzie has moved up into third place. In B Grade Eliza McKenzie continues to hold a lead over Bree Greer. In C Grade Pippa Taylor still holds a 2 point lead but there's been a shake up and second place is now Alexandra Christie's (Heretaunga College) with Luke Rhodes (Ashburton College) in third place. In D Grade Chelsea Bau has jumped from third into first place with Leilah retaining second ahead of Elliot Percy (Waimea College) who is sitting in third place. In the Teams competition Ashburton Gold has strengthened their grip on first place with an 11 point lead over Cambridge High School #1 who are in turn five points ahead of Heretaunga College #1.
Round 1 has just finished and once again it's very close among the top shooters as the competition gets off to a flying start
Isaac Junc from Heretaunga College posted a fantastic 100.4 to lead from Pippa Taylor (Queen Margaret College) on 98.6 and Madi Tourle (Ashburton College) a mere inner behind on 98.5. With a 2 point lead from round 1, all Isaac has to do is make sure the next 40 shots are all 10's or 10.1's to secure the overall win, but with a lot of good shooters not far behind him he sure won't be able to rest easily!
In the grades, Isaac is, of course, leading A grade from Madi Tourle with Annabel Goodrich (Cambridge High School) a close third on 97.1. In B Grade it's the Battle of Ashburton with Eliza McKenzie's opening 96.3 putting her just an inner ahead of Bree Greer. In C Grade Pippa Taylor's (Queen Margaret College) 98.6 is in 1st place ahead of Aria Whiteman (St Kevin's College) and Liana Peychers (Waimea College) who both scored 96.4. D Grade looks to be as competitive as ever with Connor Nelson (Waitaki Boys High School) leading with 97.4, Leilah Tahuaroa (Whanganui High School) a single inner behind on 97.3 and Chelsea Bau (Cambridge High School) in third place with 96.5.
In the Teams competition, Ashburton College once again looks to be the dominant force with their Gold team's 384.14 putting them 3 points clear of second place Waimea College Number 1 team's 381.13 with Waitaki Boys High School's Number 1 team two points back on 379.12.
Round 1 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 9th June
Round 2 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 7th July
Round 3 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 11th August
Round 4 20 shot card Completed by Sunday 8th September
2023 Results
Oh! My! Goodness! The tension was unbearable this last round as we were watching the scores come in. Would Blake continue his fantastic form? Would Megan win for a record-breaking third time? Or would someone else overtake both of them and claim the glory? And the results are in....
The SSS Champs for 2023 has finished....Congratulations to Megan Brodie from Queen Margaret College - our Secondary Schools' Shooting Championship winner for 2023.
Megan's second round 96.4 had put her on the back foot and she was always playing catch up as Blake Allison continued his fantastic winning streak, but it all came down to her brilliant final round of 198.14 - the highest score of the round and one which propelled her to the win with a total of 492.26. A mere 4 inners behind (on 492.22) was second placed Charlotte McKenzie from Ashburton College who was then just a single inner ahead of Caley McNair (on 492.21) from Dannevirke High School. I don't think we've had a final three so close in the entire time this competition has been running. This is a real testament to the shooting talent that we've seen this year.
Charlotte McKenzie (492.22), Caley McNair (492.21) and Ryan Booth (490.23) are the top 3 in A Grade taking it to the wire with each of them managing to hold onto their positions from the 3rd round.
In B Grade, Finn Darrall's 197.10 allowed him to overtake Blake Allison's final round of 192.06 to win by B Grade by a single inner, with Phoebe McKenzie's 196.09 putting her a single point behind Blake for 3rd place. Again, a single point separating our top 3 B Graders. Awesome stuff!!!
In C Grade, Bryn Blacklaws (488.18) was under pressure from Zach Wood (485.18) who clawed back 3 points in the final round, but Bryn's lead from Round 3 was enough for him to take the C Grade win by 3 points. Eliza McKenzie follwed them into 3rd place with a respectable final score of 481.16.
In D Grade it was Toby in front, then Tyler and then Toby and.... congratulations to Toby for hanging on for the win with the top D Grade score of 195.07, finishing 8 points clear of second placed Sophia Clifford (476.09) who managed to leapfrog Tyler Kerr whose final score of 475.11 gave him 3rd place just a single inner behind.
In the School Team's event, AshburtonCollege Gold team delivered just that - gold - with an outstanding shoot throughout the entire competition (total: 1954.94) to take first place by an incredible 14 points. Cambridge High School 1 took a well deserved second place with 1940.71, a clear 20 points ahead of Ashburton College Red's 1920.57.
Deadlines for each round were:
Round 1 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 4th June
Round 2 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 2nd July
Round 3 10 shot card Completed by Sunday 6th August
Round 4 20 shot card Completed by Sunday 3rd September
And Round 3 for 2023 has finished....
Blake Allison's fantastic run of 100's didn't last, but then again it didn't have to! His 99.3 extended his lead by another point to be 4 ahead of Charlotte McKenzie whose 100.5 saw her storm into second place, 2 inners ahead of Caley McNair on 295.11.
Charlotte McKenzie (295.13), Caley McNair (295.11) and Ryan Booth (294.15) are the top 3 in A Grade so a single point separating them will make for a gripping final round. Madi Tourle's been improving through the whole competition and her brilliant 100.4 has lifted her to 4th in A Grade.
In B Grade, Blake Allison (299.13) is now 5 points clear of Phoebe McKenzie (294.18) who holds a slim lead of 5 inners over Finn Darrall (294.13). Will Finn overtake Phoebe? Will Phoebe keep ahead of Finn? Or will both of them beat Blake? We'll know soon enough.....
In C Grade, Bryn Blacklaws (293.11) has continued to extend his lead to be 6 points ahead of Eliza McKenzie (289.10) whose solid 98.4 moved her into second place. Luke Rhodes (288.10) rounds out the top 3, a single point behind Eliza. Bryn's lead would look safe, if it wasn't for the final round's 20 shot match where anything can, and usually does, happen!
In D Grade it was Toby in front, then Tyler and now Toby again and with a single point separating them (289.10 vs 288.07) who'll come out on top is anyone's guess, but with Courtney Parlett (285.03) just three points behind them they'd better keep an eye out for the competition too!
And Round 2 for 2023 has finished....
Well, if you thought Blake Allison's 100.4 in the first round was just a fluke then you'd better think again! He just shot a brilliant 100.6 to extend his lead to 3 points over Ryan Booth on 197.13 and Caley McNair on 197.08. Fantastic shooting!!!
Ryan's still leading A Grade, but Caley McNair has closed the gap to be a mere 5 inners behind so Caley's keeping the pressure on Ryan for sure!
In B Grade, Blake Allison's 100.6 puts him on 200.10, four points ahead of Finn Darrall's 196.10 and Phoebe McKenzie's 195.12. Again, excellent scores for B Grade!
In C Grade, Bryn Blacklaws extended his lead to be 2 points ahead of Chris Duff's 192.08, with Chris just a single inner ahead of Luke Rhodes. C Grade remains as competitive as ever!
In D Grade, Tyler Kerr has swapped places with Toby Gyde. Tyler is in 1st place on 191.05 with Sophia Clifford and Toby Gyde equal on 191.04, a mere inner behind Tyler. D Grade is really shaping up to be the most competitive of all the grades!
Round 1 for 2023 has finished....
The top shot this round was Blake Allison (Cambridge High School) with a fantastic 100.4 (the only 100 in this opening round). Well done Blake. Just a single inner separates the 99.5 from Ryan Booth (Darfield High School) and the 99.4 from Megan Brodie (Queen Margaret College), so the competition is looking tight at the top of the leaderboard.
Ryan's leading A Grade, but with Jack Jones and Caley McNair both on 98.4 Ryan won't have much of a chance to relax!
In B Grade, Blake Allison's 100.4 puts him two points clear of Finn Darrall's 98.6 and Phoebe McKenzie's 97.5. These are great scores for B Grade!
In C Grade, Bryn Blacklaws' 97.3 is just a single point ahead of Zach Wood and Chris Duff who are both on 96.3. It looks like the competition in C Grade is also going to be really tight.
In D Grade, Toby Gyde's and Sophia Clifford's scores are separated by just 2 inners (96.3 and 96.1 respectively) with Tyler Kerr just another point back on 95.3. Well done on a great first round!
It's all over for 2022 and what an amazing final round it was. Megan Brodie had left the door open a crack for Emmily MacLean to have a chance of winning, but Megan's 198.17 (a 98.7 on the first card and, yes, a 100.10 on the second!!!) was enough to seal the deal and win by just a point and two inners. Congratulations, Megan Brodie - our overall Champion for 2022 (and Master Grade Champion as well).
Emmily MacLean took 2nd place overall, clear of D Grader Sama Sooialo whose incredible final round of 200.10 rocketed her from 11th into 3rd place. Brilliant shooting from all of you.
Congratulations to our A Grade winner - Piper Benbow, finishing 4 points ahead of Madi Tourle whose great final round lifted her into 2nd place, just a single point ahead of 3rd placed Ryan Booth.
Congratulations to Emmily MacLean who led B Grade from start to finish. If our calculations are correct, her 494.31 is the highest ever shot in B Grade in the history of this competition! Caley McNair and Finn Darrall both had great final rounds to lift them to 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Congratulations to Matilda Panchaud who continued her winning form into the final round to secure 1st place in C Grade. Phoebe McKenzie's final round 194.06 lifted her to 2nd place with Harry Newrick jumping up from 5th spot to take 3rd place.
Congratulations to Sama Sooialo who absolutely crushed it with a 200.10 in the final round to take a well-deserved 1st place in D Grade. Alesha Alexander was another shooter to have a great final round to go from 4th to 2nd place and Zara Shannon similarly made the jump from 5th to secure 3rd place.
Darfield College's run in the top spot of the Teams event was brought to an abrupt halt by Ashburton's Number 1 team that outscored Darfield by an incredible 20 points to take 1st place, with Darfield coming home ahead of Ashburton's Nr 2 team.
We hope you enjoyed this year's competition as much as we did. It was amazing to see those scores coming through each round, with so many shooters achieving personal best scores under the competition pressure, even with the continuing interuptions caused by COVID. Well done to all you shooters and your coaches, your schools and your families who have supported and encouraged you throughout this season.
Best wishes for a relaxing Summer break (unless you're continuing with your indoor training or trying your hand at outdoor in which case keep working on your form and the results are sure to follow).
Kind regards,
The SSS Champs Coordinators
Round 3 is done and the pressure is ratcheting up. Megan Brodie (Queen Margaret College) posted a 100.5 - the first 100 of this year's competition to take the lead from Emmily MacLean by one point, though Emmily has an incredible 20 inners to Megan's 16. Amelia Swann remains in third place, but with a 20 shot final round it's still anyone's for the taking. Last year there were four 198's and a 199 in the final round... who knows how this year will end?
In A grade, Piper Benbow has stretched out to a 3 point lead over Ryan Booth. In B grade, Amelia Swann is 2 points behind Emmily MacLean with Caley McNair just another 2 points behind. Matilda Panchaud is out to a 4 point lead over Blake Woolley in C Grade with Alex Thomas and Analin Rudd 2 points behind. Lexi Thomson-Hall has a 2 point lead over Sama Sooialo in D Grade with Luke Rhodes another point behind.
Darfield High remains in first place in the Teams event with Ashburton's Number 1 team still leading their Number 2 team.
Well done to all shooters for maintaining such great results. With the competition scores being so close, and with COVID continuing to impact on clubs and competitors, please make sure that you get your final cards shot before the deadline (Sunday 11th September).
Round 2 is over.
The top shot this round was Emmily MacLean (Craighead Diocesan School) with 99.7. This has moved her into first place (198.13) ahead of Megan Brodie (Queen Margaret College) and Amelia Swann (Mt Hutt College) both just a point behind on 197.11.
In the Teams event Darfield High have overtaken Ashburton College to lead by just 1 point. Ashburton College #2 are in third place just 4 points ahead of Dannevirke High.
That's Round 1 done, and some great scores right from the start. Amelia Swann (Mt Hutt College) and Megan Brodie (Queen Margaret College) both shot impressive 99.8's but they can't afford to relax with Emmily MacLean (Craighead Diocesan School) a mere 2 inners behind them.
In the graded section, Megan Brodie is leading Master Grade. Piper Benbow and Ryan Booth (both from DarfieldHigh School) are leading A Grade, separated by only 3 inners. Amelia Swann and Emmily MacLean are certainly going head to head in B Grade with their 99's. Kate Yu (Samuel Marsden Collegiate) posted a fantastic 98.7 to lead C Grade. Luke Rhodes (Ashburton College) shot a great 98.4 to lead D Grade.
In the Teams event, four teams shot in the 380's and are separated by just 4 points so it's definitely too early to start to pick any winners!
The results after Round 4:
Is this a team or an individual thing?
Both! Every shooter enters an individual category first. Then, if 4 or 5 individual shooters at a school want to, they can put a team together. Schools can enter as many teams as they wish (of course, one shooter can only shoot for one team!).
What are the categories?
Master Grade
- A Grade
- B Grade
- C Grade
- D Grade
- Ungraded
Teams can be made up of shooters from any grades (including ungraded). The winning teams will be the one with the highest scores.
The prizes
At the end of the competition, badges and certificates will be awarded for:
- the top 3 shooters in each individual category, and
- the top 3 teams, and
- the top 3 individual shooters.
Certificates will also be awarded to the top 3 schools in the team event.
If you have any questions, please email Evan Little.
You can also download the entry form here: 2022 SSS Champs Entry Form (right-click and download)