Yukoner Danielle Marcotte to defend title at junior Canadian shooting championships

Yukoner Danielle Marcotte is set to defend her title at the 2008 Canadian National Pistol Championships.
The 15-year-old will compete in two shoots this week on Wednesday and Thursday in Calgary. If her scores are high enough then she will join the top eight shooters in a shoot-off to determine first, second and third, which would also be held on Thursday. 
Marcotte has proven she is a natural shooter and has numerous accomplishments in the two years she has been using the air pistol.
Currently she is a sergeant in the Junior Ranger patrol out of Pelly Crossing, which is where she got her start in the sport, shooting the air rifle. Recently Marcotte was awarded by the Junior Rangers, recognizing her success in the sport.
The award was well deserved as Marcotte has had a stellar season, which has included a number of highlights including shooting in four world cup events, which began in March in Brazil. At the competition in Rio de Genaro she finished in 19th place.
In April, she travelled to Beijing for the second event in the world cup circuit. The circuit concluded in May at two back-to-back competitions, starting in Munich, Germany and concluding in Milan, Italy.
After the conclusion of the four world cup events, she ended up in 25th place and is presently ranked at a senior level 45th in the world.
A couple of years before Marcotte made her debut as an air pistol shooter, she was using the air rifle. At the 2007 Canada Winter Games she tried out as a rifle shooter, but she ended up as an alternant.
By chance there was one position left for the air pistol category and after she scored an eight on her very first shot and then hitting the centre on the following shot, shooting coach Ken Speiss said she made the team.
Since then Marcotte has developed a rigorous training routine that includes three days of practice each week at the Gray Mountain Rifle nd Pistol Range with Speiss. She also works out at Better Bodies three times a week for an hour to an hour and a half each time.
Last year, Marcotte won the junior Canadian Championships. What makes winning the event even more impressive was the fact that Marcotte competed in it for the first time. The 2007 championships were held Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
Air gun competitions are all shot at a fixed distance of 10-m and athletes have choice of shooting with either an air rifle or air pistol.
Participants have a set amount of time to fire all their rounds and have to change targets after every shot. Each competitor shoots twice over the course of two days and their final score is tallied up.
The targets are round rings, numbered one to 10. One is the largest, while 10, being the smallest is worth the most points. The size of the 10 ring in an air pistol target would be smaller than a dime.