A Harrogate pupil is taking aim at her next sporting target a place at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games after striking gold in the UK’s school pistol shooting championships.
Lydia Eastwood, aged 14, a student at Ashville College, was crowned the winner of the Intermediate age group section of the 10-metre, single-handed air pistol event.
Organised by British Shooting, the championships attracted a field of more than 200 of the best young marksmen and women from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Lydia’s skills, honed in a range created in the back garden of her home by dad Martin, has now earned her an invite to spend a day with the British Olympic team and their coaches for a first-hand insight into their training.
She said:
“These championship finals are the pinnacle of the calendar, bringing together the shooting elite from schools across the UK in a sport where boys and girls compete as equals against each other.
“As a member of British Shooting’s development pathway, I attend regular training weekends in the Midlands as part of my ambitions to take part in the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Brisbane, as well as the Commonwealth Games.”
Her dad Martin said:
“The whole family is thrilled that Lydia’s hard work has been rewarded on the national stage, scoring top spot in the Intermediate section for pupils in Years 9 and 10 after remaining undefeated throughout.
“I built an open-sided shed and shooting range in the back garden to help Lydia further develop her grip, stance, sight alignment and trigger control – four of the key skills need to be a good shooter.
"The fact that she is firing at a target just feet away from our windows, shows the confidence we have in her ability!”
Rhiannon Wilkinson, Head of Ashville College, said the whole school was immensely proud of Lydia’s championship win and looked forward to supporting her future sporting ambitions.
“We are always thrilled to see our pupils excel at the highest level and showcase their home-grown skills nationally, whether that be academically, on the stage, or in sport.
“The calmness and concentration shown by Lydia in holding her nerve – and an ultra-steady hand – under the pressure of a national championship final highlight the different mental skills that young people now need to match their sporting ability.
“As part of a rounded, sporting education, it is an approach that our team of coaches embrace and is being incorporated across all the different sports that Ashville now offers, from rugby and football to basketball and equestrianism, and everything in-between.”
Lydia’s passion for sport stemmed from being a member of her local Pony Club, which ran competitions in shooting and swimming and even staged triathlons (running, shooting and swimming) and tetrathons (swimming, shooting, running and riding).
Since then, she has also added fencing to her growing sporting CV and become a member of the GB Pentathlon squad, representing her country at two world championships.
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