The Islands will be represented in Clay Target shooting, with Steve Dent and Gary Clement competing in Skeet - Individual and Pairs, and Saul Pitaluga and Henry McLeod shooting the Olympic Trap and Double Trap - Individual and Pairs disciplines.

Patrick Watts has again been appointed Chef de Mission, while Ron Betts, a most experienced shooter, will manage The Full Bore team. Two of the Melbourne 2006 Volunteer Programme team members, Australians John Elfes, a former Weapons Instructor with the New South Wales Police and Stacey Roiall,a world class clay pigeon shooter, who are currently coaching in the Falklands, have kindly offered to, respectively, Manage and Coach the Clay Target team.

Profiles:

Kenneth Aldridge- 54 year old Foreman Mechanic in the Stanley Power Station. Previously worked in the engine room of a local coasting vessel, and prior to that on a sheep farm.
Represented the Falklands at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada where he established a Falklands Commonwealth Games record In the Queen’s Prize full bore competition with a score of 374. This stood until 2002 when Gareth Goodwin scored 390.39.
Ken has been local champion on 5 occasions – 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
He has represented the Falklands at the N.R.A. championships at Bisley on many occasions, reaching the 2nd stage of the Queen’s Prize and St. Georges in 2005. He won a bronze medal in the 300m UIT competition at the Island Games in Gotland in 1999.
Has a top score of 99 in the Centenary Prize at Bisley, and several 75’s to his credit.

Christopher McCallum – 49 year old Plant Operator. Started shooting full bore at the age of 14.
He represented the Falklands at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia where he scored 367 in the Queen’s Prize. Has also competed in the Island Games in Jersey 1997, where he won a silver medal in the Pairs event with his brother Timmy, and Guernsey 2003 winning a bronze medal.
He won the Falklands championship in 2005 and finished runner-up in 2006. He has a top score of 104 from a possible of 105.

Saul Pitaluga – 38 year old Managing Director of a Finance Company (Tower Leasing) based in England. Will shoot the Olympic Trap events in Melbourne.
His parents own a 55,000 acres sheep farm, Salvador, which runs approximately 12,000 sheep.
He is the Falklands most experienced Commonwealth Games competitor, having represented the Islands in Victoria 1994, Malaysia 1998 and Manchester 2002. Additionally he has taken part in Clay Target competitions at every Island Games since 1993.
His top Commonwealth Games score is 105 ex 125 which was achieved in 2002, which placed him23rd of the 37 competitors in the Olympic Trap individual. Has won Gold Certificates at the Island Games with a best score of 127 ex 150 in the Isle of Man in 2001.

Gary Clement – 50 year old who currently Manages the YMCA in Stanley. Will compete in Clay Target Skeet events. Born in England, he was deployed to the Falklands with a Royal Marine detachment in 1977, where he met his wife Jane. He saw action during the 1982 Falklands War when he was a member of the Task Force sent to liberate the Islands from Argentine occupation.
Returned to the Falklands as a civilian in 1991 and has lived there ever since, being employed firstly as a publican in the Globe Tavern, then as a Road Building Foreman before taking up his present employment at the YMCA.
Only previous international shooting experience was at the 2001 island Games in the Isle of Man where he won a silver certificate in Clay Target Pairs event.

Stephen Dent – 33 year old Recreational manager of the Falklands Leisure Centre. Will shoot in the Skeet events.
Born in England but moved with his parents to Australia when 9 years old. He lived in Melbourne until 1998 when he took up employment in the Falklands as a travelling school-teacher, teaching children on remote sheep farms. Met his wife Janice in the Islands. He calls himself a ‘British born Australian’ and has dual British and Australian citizenship.
Began Clay Target shooting in 2001 and represented the Falklands at the Island Games in the Shetland Islands in 2005. Has a Skeet p.b. of 22 ex 25.
He is Vice-Chairman of the Falkland Islands Overseas Games Association and apart from shooting, lists sailing as a favourite sport.

Henry McLeod – known to everyone as ‘Hank’. The 36 year old works as a handyman with the prospecting firm, Falklands Gold & Minerals Ltd. Began shooting Clay Target in 1998 and represented the Falklands in the Malaysian Commonwealth games of 1998, where he achieved a p.b. of 22 ex 25 in Olympic Trap. Has also scored the maximum of 25 in Down the Line.
Brought up on a sheep farm, he worked as a shepherd for 9 years before moving to Stanley where he joined the Police Force in 1991.
His current employment, on the mountains, 60 miles from Stanley looking for gold, allows him little time to practice.
Shoots left-handed and has recently purchased a new gun in preparation for the Melbourne Games.

Team Officials.
Patrick Watts – Chef de Mission. 61 years old, who worked for 40 years in radio as a reporter, journalist, commentator and producer. Awarded the M.B.E. for work on the Radio Station during the 1982 Falklands War. Played soccer for the National team from the age of 15 until he was 44.
Has attended every Commonwealth Games since Brisbane 1982, and has been Chef de Mission at every Games since Auckland 1990. Now operates his own tourism driving/guiding business.

Ron Betts – 62 years old – Full-Bore Rifle Team Manager. An Islander who now lives in Darwin, Australia.
Started Full Bore shooting in 1958, winning the local championships on several occasions.
Qualified for the final of the Queen’s Prize at the N.R.A. championships at Bisley in 1989, 1992, 1995 & 2005. Also made the final of The St. George’s competition in 1964, 1987, 1995 & 1998.
Has a p.b. of 105 ex 105 in the Junior Overseas in 2003, but lists his 50 ex 50 at 900 yards in the Junior McKinnon as his best long range effort.

John Elfes – Recently retired police officer with more than 15 years experience as a Weapons Instructor and Clay Target Shooting coach. During his time with the New South Wales Police Force, John was a Senior Weapons Instructor. He is the President and founding member of the NSW Police Clay Target Club and is also a member of the Australian Clay Target Association.
He volunteered to visit the Falklands under the Melbourne 2006 Sport Development Volunteers Program and has been advising and assisting the shooters during their preparations for the Games. John offered to manage the Falklands team at the Commonwealth Games - an offer which was gratefully accepted by the Falklands Gun Club.

Stacy Roiall – is a full time professional Clay Target Shooter who is a key member of Shooting Australia’s high performance program. She has accepted an invitation to coach the Falklands team in Melbourne.
For the last two years Stacy has been competing at an International level. She is an A grade shooter with experience in a number of different clay target disciplines, reaching a ranking of 2nd in the world last year. She won gold at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in 2005.
Stacy also volunteered to visit the Falklands under the Melbourne 2006 Sports Development Volunteers Program, and in addition to coaching the Falklands team members, she has also spent considerable time instructing youngsters and ladies who have expressed an interest in the sport.

The Falklands Commonwealth Games Association has received considerable financial assistance from several companies during the build-up to the Games. Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd.(FOGL) financed the air fares of five prospective full-bore rifle shooters to the NRA Championships in England, two of whom have been selected for the forthcoming Games. FOGL are also paying for all the clay target ammunition during the stringent practice sessions prior to the teams departure for Melbourne.

The Falklands Islands Company (FIC) have once again assisted through their sponsorship of the team tracksuits and reduced hotel costs for the two Australian coaches visiting the Islands.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne will offer a welcome return to Australia for the Falklands. The Islands first participated in the Games of 1982 in Brisbane, just a few months after British Forces liberated the Islands from Argentine occupation. The two full-bore rifle shooters received an ecstatic welcome from the many thousands of Australian spectators who witnessed the Opening Ceremony. The Falklands, which has one of the smallest populations (2,500) of all 71 competing countries, have taken part in every Commonwealth Games since 1982, with the largest contingent of 11 travelling to Kuala Lumpur in 1998.