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The Airsoft Surgeon European Championship 2015 Was Another Big Success

OptimusPrime

It's just getting bigger and even more successful each year. The Airsoft Surgeon European Practical Pistol Championship 2015 held last 11- 13 September 2015 at the StrikeForce CQB in Gloucester, United Kingdom saw over a hundred airsoft practical shooters shooting it out for the top spots in the various divisions and categories.

Friday, 11 September, saw the opening of the championship with the various shooting squads moving to their assigned stages by 1300H. For the whole weekend, all shooters will be going through 16 stages with the courses of fire in various sizes and configurations. These stages range from easy to difficult, from small to big and tested each shooter to bring the best out of him or her.

StrikeForce CQB, located in the Morelands Trading Estate in Gloucester is good pick for a venue. All the stages were able to fit inside the facility and sheltering the players and targets from the elements. It has good facilities such as the lounge area that can accommodate all the players and their shooting gear, it has its own reception/bar, and not far from restaurants where the shooters and airsoft players can get to choose where to eat and go out at night. Many of us were fortunate enough to book at Travelodge which was just a short walk from the venue and also a short walk to the Gloucester Quays Centre where good bars, restaurants and shops are located.

Since the Championship started by 1300H, whatever stages that can be finished for the first day was pushed hard as the organisers have the objective of ending early on Sunday to give time for participants to travel home earlier and safe. It was already a bit dark when they called it a day, by around 1800H as the visibility was already poor for the shooters to aim properly.

After resting a bit at  the hotel, I met up Luuk, Gerard, and Dionne from the Dutch delegation NABV and Alpha Maniacs where we did some catching up at Fridays. The Dutch shooters are some of the biggest delegations amongst European shooters for the European Championships. The Finns were not represented this year as there was a conflict in schedules as they had to compete in an international shotgun competition that took place in Italy on the same weekend.

We called it a night early as the shooters had to rest early as Saturday will be exhausting, being the longest day of the Championships. Shooters will have to start shooting by 0930H and with some short breaks, will have to shoot on to complete as many stages as they can throughout the day. 

Right on  the dot, Saturday saw Jim Septhon, the Chief Range Officer, immediately did a short briefing for the players by 0930H and saw off the squads to start going through the unfinished stages for the day. For the Range Officers and us from the airsoft media, it will be a grueling day as we try to follow almost each and every shooter go through the course. But it was worth it seeing the shooters try to best the times of others and their own times as they pile up the points to get up on the leaderboards in the different divisions and categories.

Near the entrance leading to the stages, Champion Real Steel Practical Shooter Saul Kirsch of Double Alpha setup shop where the shooters can get their shooting supplies from him. Also on display were the self-setting targets he invented and shooters who were on their breaks can try to give their best time shooting at them and the shooter with the best time gets to bring home one of these self-setting targets.

The challenge for the shooters got harder as hours went as it is now more of stamina and endurance to give their best times in the stages that they went through especially in the late afternoon. But that's how it goes in the Airsoft Surgeon European Championships, you need all the strength and will to finish all the 16 stages in three days. And with over a hundred shooters for this year, it was not that quick to go through the stages as each squad had to wait for the other squads to finish the stages before they can. It was only by 1830H that the organisers called it a day.

Unfortunately, the planned BBQ night with the Airsoft Surgeon supposed to be doing the BBQ was more a cocktails night as doing some grill inside an indoor facility would be hazardous. Still, it was great to see the smiling faces of tired practical shooters as they helped themselves with the food prepared by the organisers.

Day 2 of the 2015 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship ended by 1900H.  We again took the opportunity to spend a portion of the evening at the Gloucester Quays Centre for dinner. It was hard to find a restaurant that night as it seemed like the whole of Gloucester was out here. Since I was with the whole of the Dutch delegation, who numbered around 12, it was hard to find a table for us. Eventually, we found a table though it was already a bit late. Luuk, Gerard, Jeroen, and I separated from the group after dinner and  capped the night with some beer and Long Island Iced Tea at Fridays.

With most of the stages completed by Saturday, Sunday or Day 3 was the lightest day for the shooters, but there were some big stages that they still had to go through and this meant a lot of running and going around obstacles.  For all the players, the remaining stages were their last chances for a slot in the top three positions in the categories and bring home a trophy. By around 1400H, all the shooters have gone through the stages and what remained was for the results and winners to be announced to conclude the 2015 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship.

The host of the 2015 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship, RedWolf Airsoft UK, led by Chris Kong and the Airsoft Surgeon himself, Clarence Lai, and ably assisted by Danny Yau and Chris Pun, started the closing ceremonies thanking all the shooters for their participation and cooperation. This year, there were lots of raffle prizes awaiting the winners, and with more airsoft pistols and highly customised (read: expensive) race pistols given away, apart from the prizes from Viper Tactical and Double Alpha.

The tandem of Chris Kong and the Airsoft Surgeon is always comedic with their antics that make the closing ceremonies of the Championship much colourful and memorable. For us from the airsoft media, it was a busy photo session as each raffle winner, as each category winner, and as each sponsor were called to the stage by Chris and Clarence. But the after three tiring days of competitive airsoft practical shooting, the smiles from the participants were all that mattered for the organisers. Most, if not all, were happy with how the 2015 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship was conducted and are looking forward to next year's Championship.

Chris Kong, the Airsoft Surgeon, and the rest of RedWolf Airsoft send their thanks to MadBull Airsoft, Sky Blue Kangaroo, Strikeforce CQB, Viper Tactical, Elite Shooting Centre and Double Alpha for supporting the event. They also thank the airsoft media as represented by the Airsoft Action Magazine, Airsoft Media Ops, and Popular Airsoft for covering the event.

But very important was their appreciation for the officials and staff: the Scorers, Range Officers, CRO Jim, RedWolf Rob and Double Tap members taking on full responsibility building the stages. Without them, the event would never take place.

Congratulations to all the winners, shooters, and organisers 2015 Airsoft Surgeon European Championship. Photos are now at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page with videos soon to follow.

Here are the winners:

Super Seniors Standard Division

  • Guy De Backer

Super Seniors Open Division

  • Paul Van Den Bosch

Seniors Standard Division

  • Rene Hoeck

Seniors Open Division

  • Gerard Timmers

Juniors Division

  1. Matthew Wyborn
  2. Dave Chan Chun To
  3. Paul Wyborn

Juniors Open Division

  • Benjamin Farrar

Ladies Open Division

  1. Maria Christina Palmones
  2. Dawn Williams

Ladies Standard Division

  1. Dionne Reugebrink
  2. Paulina Wolyniec
  3. Barbara Rosłanowska

Classic Division

  1. Andrew Inglis
  2. Herman Mok

Open Division

  1. Cyrus Lai Pak Lam
  2. Maciej Piwowarski
  3. David Meuken
  4. Jeremias Palmones
  5. Paul Courtney

Standard Division

  1. Samson Chan
  2. Joeri De Haes
  3. Justin Cooper
  4. Matthew Wyborn
  5. Dave Chan Chun To

European Champion

  • Joeri De Haes -Belguim

The organisers are currently working on plans and dates for the next tournament and they look forward to everyone again at the 4th Championship.

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