News | Sporting Weekends Return in March
- Wairarapa Clay Target Club
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
2026 Season Kickoff – Sporting Clays Weekend
21–22 March | Wairarapa Clay Target Club
The 2026 season begins.
On Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd March, we’re opening the sporting course for a relaxed, welcoming club weekend focused on skill-building, coaching, and giving new shooters a proper introduction to clay target shooting.
Whether you’re a gamebird hunter preparing for the winter season, someone who’s always wanted to try clays, or a regular shooter looking to sharpen up, this weekend is built for you.
The Format
We’ll be running the same proven layout used during our 2025 sporting events:
English Sporting – 50 targetsClassic pairs. Clear, repeatable presentations. Ideal for building consistency.
Super Sporting – 70 targetsMore variety and technical angles. A step up in challenge while still accessible to all levels.
You can shoot either discipline, or both.
Re-enter if you’d like another go.
Or simply spend time on the course practicing and refining your technique.
Course open:9:00am Saturday through to 3:00pm Sunday.
The format is flexible. Come when it suits across the weekend.
A Genuine Advantage for Your Gamebird Season
If you’re a gamebird hunter, you know the typical format.
Turn up.
Shoot a round.
Get a score
Go home.
What you often don’t get is clarity on why you hit or missed.
This weekend gives you something different.
On a sporting layout, you can work deliberately on a specific presentation — crossing, quartering, rising — and repeat it with small adjustments.
You can:
Refine your hold point
Adjust your break point
Experiment with lead
Reset and try again
Ask for feedback
Watch someone demonstrate it
That repetition is where the light bulbs switch on.
Instead of guessing, you start understanding.
Sporting clays provides controlled repetition.
Coaching provides insight.
Together, they build real confidence heading into opening morning.
If you want to arrive at the maimai knowing what you’re doing differently — not just hoping — this is the weekend to put the work in.
New to Clay Shooting?
You don’t need to own a shotgun.
You don’t even need to hold a firearms licence.
We offer supervised introductory sessions with experienced club members. We can provide gear, walk you through safety procedures, and coach you through your first targets in a low-pressure environment.
There’s no expectation to “know what you’re doing.”
That’s what we’re here for.
Families, first-timers, and those simply curious about the sport are all welcome.
Thinking About Joining the Club?
These early-season weekends are a perfect way to:
Meet current members
Understand how club days work
Learn the different disciplines
Decide whether membership is right for you
Non-members may attend up to two shooting days per calendar year before choosing a membership option.
We’re building a sustainable, welcoming club culture for 2026 and beyond — and that starts with opening the door properly.
Coaching & Guidance Available
Throughout the weekend, club members will be available to:
Run guided introduction sessions
Provide gamebird-focused tuition
Offer technical feedback for regular shooters
Help with stance, mount, eye dominance, and target reading
If you’ve been stuck on a particular presentation, this is a good weekend to sort it.
Entry & Fees
Ground Fee: $10 per day
Practice Targets
Members: 50c per target
Visitors: 70c per target
Official Rounds
English Sporting (50): $37
Super Sporting (70): $49.50
Ammunition available on site (club stock permitting).
All official rounds are scored in the normal format. Complete each discipline in one go. Re-entries welcome.
Registration
All shooters must register online for safety and planning purposes.
Walk-ups are welcome, but you’ll still need to complete the registration form at the clubhouse. Registering beforehand makes things much smoother.
👉 Registrations will be available here soon for the 21-22nd March
A New Season, Done Properly
From March through June, we’ll be running consistent sporting weekends with a strong emphasis on:
Welcoming new shooters
Supporting gamebird hunters
Building skill and confidence
Growing the club in a sustainable way
No major prizes.
No pressure.
Just good targets, good people, and steady improvement.
If you’ve been thinking about giving clay shooting a go — this is the weekend to start.
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