This weekend, BSC-Stockerau invited people to the 9th Indoor State Championship in Stockerau.
Of the Para shooters, not only the 2 Lower Austrians, Martin Wegerer and Michael Meier were not only competing , but the field also included two shooters from Vienna, Friedrich Ziegler and Jennifer Hill; Sophie Brantl from Tyrol; and Peter Heimhofer from Salzburg. With five starters, the field was strong, demonstrating the commitment of the parashooters.
This time, it was an exciting and thrilling match between newcomer Michael Meier and "router" Martin Wegerer. Michael took the lead right from the start with his first 30-pointer. Martin didn't get off to a particularly good start, and after the first few scoring rounds, Michael had a comfortable lead of 5 to 6 points. However, Martin was able to apply what he had learned from last year quite well and maintain his focus. Michael Meier shot consistently and made few mistakes, demonstrating his potential. He's certainly a force to be reckoned with in the future.
It's important to remember that this was only his second tournament and his first indoor event. But over the course of the tournament, Martin was able to turn the match in his favor and secured the 2022 Indoor State Champion title, just ahead of Michael. With a score of 280/280, he would have finished fourth in the general category. With these two shooters, HSV Allensteig is demonstrating that a lot is possible even in disability sports with good infrastructure and training opportunities. Inclusion as it should be.
Almost unnoticed, Friedrich Ziegler shot the high score among the Para shooters. With scores of 285 and 280, it was a strong performance from the most experienced shooter.
In the women's competition, Sophie Brantl, the most experienced archer in the tournament, shot flawlessly until a neighboring archer unfortunately hit her in the face with his arrows. Due to this handicap, the first round was, as expected, not the best in terms of score.
In the second round, however, Sophie was able to pull herself together again and almost reached her self-imposed goal, with a very respectable score of 269. Younger Jennifer Hill was trying to gain some tournament experience and, under the watchful eye of her father/coach, shot a flawless tournament.
In the end, it was concentration that was decisive for the score. With 438 points, this result shows that the young archer is heading in the right direction. Last but not least, Peter Heimhofer, the para archer who traveled from Salzburg, delivered a more than respectable tournament and demonstrated that archery can be practiced even with a severe disability.
All Para shooters would like to thank the BSC Stockerau team for their support and the smooth running of the tournament.
Martin Bruder
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