Lloydminster Gun Club members Ed Wald, Debbie Ardeneau and Paul Lamberchts pause for a photo during a sunny Monday-night shoot at the Club’s range just south of the Border City. The three shooters, along with Frank Good, not pictured, recently competed in the Canadian Trapshooting Championships in Calgary over the Canada Day long weekend. Wald and Lamberchts shot well enough to earn themselves championship buckles. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
The Lloydminster Gun Club is locked and loaded for the future after a successful weekend in Calgary for the Canadian Trapshooting Championships.
Club members Ed Wald, Paul Lamberchts, Debbie Arseneau and Frank Good travelled to Cowtown over the Canada Day long weekend to compete against 122 shooters from across Canada, with Wald and Lamberchts earning themselves championship buckles.
“For the first time in three years we were allowed to get together as a group because of COVID, and being able to gather again was the best part of it, I think,” said Wald, who is also the Club’s president and self-titled maintenance man, the guy that cuts the grass, the target setter, the cashier and the banker.
“I think we had 122 shooters in all, and we shot 1,000 rounds over the course of five days; 200 rounds a day.”
This wasn’t Wald’s first championship buckle, but it was Lamberchts’, who started shooting with the club a year ago.
“Well, that was my first Canadian championship buckle, and I guess I was lucky enough to win a buckle,” said Lamberchts as Wald shook his head from across a table saying “it wasn’t luck.”
“I was fortunate enough to take home a buckle and I was sleeping with it for the first three days,” said Lamberchts with a laugh.
“As well you should be because there’s very few people that win buckles at Canadian championships,” added Wald.
“It was quite an experience to shoot with world-class shooters,” said Lamberchts. “There were people shooting there who have won Olympic medals, and for a guy that only started shooting a year ago, wow, shooting against guys who have shot for Canada in the Olympics, it’s hard, but it feels so much better winning a buckle against people like that.”
Always having a love of guns, Lamberchts explained he initially got into trapshooting after driving by the club’s range multiple times. He finally stopped to see what all the excitement was about, and it stuck.
“The first few months I was just coming out and seeing what they were doing, but then I bought a gun, fired the first shot, and once you break that first clay you’re just hooked, it’s all downhill from there,” he added with a laugh.
“It was a great feeling and now I just want more.”
Despite the shiny hardware, Wald, Lamberchts and Arseneau all pointed out the best part of competitive trapshooting is the camaraderie between shooters and clubs.
“Any time you win something, that’s your little bit of gratification for shooting well,” said Wald.
“For me, it’s more about associating with my friends again. You see all your buddies at the shoot, and the camaraderie that travels around with the shoot group is way more important than the buckles, but the buckles are a nice recognition to say ‘today, you were the best.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
Wald started competitive shooting roughly seven years ago, proving it’s never too late to try something new.
“I was over 60 years old when I started; it’s never too late,” he said.
“We have shooters out here that are well into their 80s that are very competitive.”
The Lloydminster Gun Club held an open house on June 4 with the youngest shooter being 13 or 14 years old. The open house also saw many couples, as well as full families, attend to see what it was all about.
“It was very good, and Sask Sports also has a nice program. If you’re a first-time shooter you pay for one round and they’ll give you a round for free, but we actually give newcomers the first round free and Sask Sports reimburses us for it,” said Wald.
“You get to burn gun powder and you get to break things; it’s great.”
Arseneau may only have three years of competitive shooting under her belt, but once she started, she too was hooked.
“It’s a sport anybody can do and my favourite part of the sport is the camaraderie, there’s some great people,” she said. “I’ve never shot in Calgary before and it’s a great spot.”
