Another Atkins clay target honour

There are only four other shooters in the association’s 70-year history that have been in in the Mackintosh Team more times and they are all deceased.

Craig Fitzgerald, from Tatura, and Atkins both made the Australian Mackintosh Team, which represents the best 25 shooters in Australia from the national titles, which were contested at Wagga in March.

It was the 11th time Fitzgerald had been included in the team.

Atkins’ success at national shoots has been renowned through the years and he has also won New Zealand national titles on nine occasions.

Shooters’ results from the doubles, singles and points score events are combined to give them a total, then the top 25 are announced as members of the Mackintosh Team.

Fitzherald, who along with Atkins is a member of the Echuca Clay Tagret Club, was also inducted into the ACTA hall of fame.

Atkins, now 60 years old, was given the same honour in 2012.

They were both also in the Echuca team that won the Allan Brown Teams title, which is contested every year at the championships.

Atkins has been a member of that winning team eight times, where every club in Australia represented at the titles enters a five-member team into the competition.

Atkins and Fitzgerald finished equal 10th in the overall open competition.

Atkins was also a member of the Australian veterans world championship team that travelled to South Africa for a three-day event earlier this month, competing in the world down the line championships.

Australia won the world title and Atkins, though disappointed with his result, was 12th overall in the championship.

He said most of the Commonwealth countries competed in that event.

Atkins will now be content with following to the football every Saturday and, apart from his monthly involvement in shooting competitions at Echuca, was planning to put the gun away for a little while.

He said the Echuca club was at its strongest point ever, having been among the strongest clubs in Australia for the past 30 years.