After winning the shield for the first time in 35 years last year, the Wanaka club backed up that memorable performance by shooting a perfect score of 90 out of 90 targets to win the trophy again at the weekend.
The Bodkin Shield match attracts club teams from as far afield as Darfield in the north to Invercargill in the south. This year, 22 teams of six tried their luck in near-perfect conditions.
Several teams finished the match with a team total of 89, having only missed one target, but the Wanaka team, of Jerry Cray, 15-year-old Cameron Meikle, Phil Studholme, Rex Smart, Denis Nyhon and Ray Anderson, posted the only perfect team score.
"I think that's [a perfect score] happened only a handful of times in the history of the cup as well ... so that's a bit of a turn-up for the books," Smart said.
He believed a strong youth development focus had contributed to the club's renewed success.
Several of the club's young shooters had competed as a team at last year's national schools clay target shooting competition, finishing fourth overall, and their ongoing successes were the "focus of much pride" within the club.
"[The young shooters have] actually been quite a inspiration to the older shooters. We're getting back from them the enthusiasm and we can see how well they're doing and everybody's lifting their game as well," Smart said.
"First-rate" gear had also helped improve the club's fortunes, after it bought new clay-target throwers this year, and the club had "one of the best visual backgrounds" to throw targets against at its club grounds at Horse Shoe Bend, between Albert Town and Lake Hawea.
"It's pretty much just a plane of clear sky."
When Wanaka held the shield about 35 years ago, Studholme competed as a 15-year-old shooter, the same age as present team-mate Meikle is now.
"[Cameron] hopefully won't have to wait another 35 years until we win it again," Smart said.
A trophy match held in conjunction with the Bodkin Shield was won by James Andrews with Alan Thompson second, Shane Kingan third, Geoff Matheson fourth and Peter Armstrong fifth.
The Cotty Burdon Cup for the highest individual score went to Kingan, who shot 60/60 in the handicapped by distance events.
