RACHAEL Ross is one girl not to be messed with.
This 17-year-old student from St Augustine’s College, Springfield, has become the new Queensland Cup shooting champion, and is on target for a place in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
But she did not expect to win the competition last month, held at Belmont’s James Smith Rifle Range, rivalling an experienced group of adult males in 40-degree heat.
And she was more nervous than usual on the day – with a Lions Youth of the Year interview that night, and having travelled one hour from Springfield to get there.
Rachael explained why nerves are a hindrance in shooting.
“Travelling makes your heart beat quicker because you’ll be looking at things,” she said.
“This isn’t good because we are supposed to take shots between our heart beats, to prevent any movement from getting in the way.
“So you want your heart to beat as slow and steady as possible.”
The young gun, who’s family only recently moved from Singapore to Australia, has come a long way since discovering her potential three years ago.
“I was going to join the school band back home, but the only available instrument was a tambourine, so I thought the air rifle club sounded a bit more interesting,” she said.
Rachel’s coach Garrin Angel, proud of her victory, said he had never met someone so young and with so much ability.
“What Rachael can do with such limited experience is mind boggling,” he said.
“She is still someone we would classify as a beginner and it took me about eight years to get to her equivalent level.”
Despite her natural talent, Rachael has been consistently dedicated to a rigorous training regime, including one-hour runs from 5am to 6am on weekdays and shooting practice on Friday nights.
She has also worked hard at improving her level of mind control and self-discipline.
“Every time I have an exam coming up I shoot slightly to the left,” she said.
“But I am slowly learning to put my emotions in a box while I shoot, and then open it afterwards.
“It also helps me with my study because I can sit down and focus on something without being easily distracted.”
Rachael regularly attends the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Jindalee and has bought tickets for World Youth Day.
She said Catholicism provided her with answers to many of life’s difficult questions, “like why we are here and what we are doing”, which also assisted her ability to relax while shooting.
Her ultimate goal is to achieve a perfect 10-point bullseye with every shot.
This would involve accurately hitting a small dot in the centre of nine rings, on a 10-by-10-centimetre square paper target, usually for 40 consecutive shots.
And, she seems to be on her way.
In the Queensland Cup competition last month, Rachael competed in the male division over 60 shots, scoring 550 out of 600.
“This is something I know I can do and I just want to keep doing it until I can’t better myself anymore,” she explained.
