Jamaica’s outstanding junior shooter Aliana McMaster, created history recently at the Jamaica Skeet Club’s Portmore headquarters when she was crowned HOA (Highest Overall winner) of the Bernard Cridland Memorial Sporting Clays shoot.

McMaster topped the field by picking off 94 out of a possible 100 birds.

It was not the best condition for competing and posting high scores due to the weather before and during the shoot, but that did not deter McMaster, who buckled down to deliver one of her highest scores in any sporting clays competition in Jamaica or overseas.

The conditions, as described by Justin Samuda, president of the club, were very damp, preceded by early morning showers and intermittent rain throughout the day. Conditions like that usually lead to the targets being harder to spot, which makes missing only six targets very special.

The conditions require very good hand-eye coordination and sustained concentration during the average four hours that it takes to shoot a 100-target sporting clay event. In addition to being the HOA, McMaster bagged the Ladies and the Juniors categories. She was ecstatic with her performance.

“The feeling is honestly just an overwhelming amount of happiness, and joy, and relief and excitement, and it’s just a mixture of all of them at once,” said McMaster.

She continued: “It just reminds me of how many times I’ve gotten so close and I felt like I was just not really there yet, and it was just that I was always producing a good score and a good effort. It just seems that it just never would come together, it was just never enough, and that really like takes a toll on you after you go and knock on the door so many times, but now that it finally came around this time, oh my gosh, a sense of relief. I was just in disbelief, really, and it was just amazing. It was just an amazing experience, amazing day. I’m so grateful.”

Mark Desnoes, another outstanding junior shooter who moved into the senior ranks in 2024 was the runner-up. He shot 90 to end on four shots behind McMaster.

President Samuda had high praise for McMaster’s performance and for Desnoes, for continuing to be an outstanding shooter at the club.

“It’s not every day you get to witness history in the making. As one of Aliana’s biggest fans, it was a real pleasure to be there and watch it all unfold. As a result, her HOA win at the 2025 Bernard Cridland Memorial will not only hold a special place in the annals of the Jamaica Skeet Club but will most definitely be one of the more memorable moments of my presidency.

“Congrats to our runner-up, young Mr Mark Denoes, who I had the pleasure of squadding with on the day. Thanks again to the sponsors, the organisers, and the entire Jamaica Skeet Club team for making this opening event a most remarkable one,” said Samuda.

The Bernard Cridland shoot, which opened the 2025-2026 calendar, saw some very good performances by other shooters in the various classes. The top three shooters in the various classes were:

• A Class – Chad Ziadie 89, Alex Cunningham 88 and Gerry Chin who also shot 88. They were separated by way of long run (L/R) which is based on their scores on pre-determined stations prior to the start of the shoot, which are used to separate the shooters who have tied scores.
• B Class – Dominic Simpson 76, Najeeb Haber 74, Winston Quest 73.
• C Class – Lori Ann Harris 89, Kirk Miller 83, Paul Burke 82.
• D Class – Neil Grant 84, Rheis McMaster 82, Chris Fung Chung 81.
• E Class – Anthony Ayoub 81, Denzil Dixon 77, Rueben Carillo 74.
• Hunters – Scott Roman 79, Danica Williams 75, Kimani Holness 73.
• Ladies – Aliana McMaster 94, Lori Ann Harris 89, Wendy McMaster 81,
• Juniors – Aliana McMaster 94, Lori Ann Harria 89, Tyler Grant 76.
• Sub-Juniors – Rheis McMaster 82, Damica Williams 75, Aaron Dawes 65.

Several of the shooters, including class winners, were promoted to higher classes (post-event), including Lori Ann Harris, who will move to the challenging B Class.