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Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup Brought Action Air Sport To A Wider Audience

OptimusPrime

Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup

After the prizes and trophies have been awarded, after all the stages have been broken down have been shipped out of the NEC Birmingham, there is one thing for the public that visited the NEC Birmingham last 14-16 February 2020 will remember, that there is a competitive shooting discipline called “Action Air”. They have seen it first hand by watching the shooters go for it at the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup during the British Shooting Show 2020.

Arriving at the NEC Birmingham, I thought I was already late but found out that I made it in good time. Going straight to the ticketing officer of the British Shooting Show, Chris Kong of RedWolf Airsoft UK and lead organiser of the event, was there to wave me through the halls as long queues of visitors to the trade show were starting to form up. We went to Hall 9 where the Championship was going to be held and it is massive hall that can easily take in 200 Action Air shooters. Overall, there were around 120 shooters for the event with some unable to make it due to Storm Dennis hitting large areas of the UK, making traveling to Birmingham on wheels difficult.

Just a few minutes after I putting my bags and setting up my equipment, the organisers rounded up the shooters for a quick briefing on their squads, rules, and messages from the organisers. The event was supposed to be opened by, Vitaly Kryuchin of Russia, the current President of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), however he was unable to make it as he got sick before the event and sent in a recorded greeting to all the shooters and officials that was played by the Clarence Lai, the Airsoft Surgeon himself. After a few more instructions, the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup finally started.

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The organisers, who were ably assisted by the X-Site Practical Shooting Club (XPSC), put a lot of thought to building the Courses of Fire. There were 20 stages all-in-all, and with thousands of visitors going to the British Shooting Show, a large number of these visitors will try to watch the action air shooting.

Hall 9 was designed in which the visiting public was able to watch the action really close as they were allowed to enter. Eye protection was made available for those who enter, ensuring it was safe for them to watch.

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The main sponsor of the event, Shield Sights have set up booth to show their various optics for use in many types of guns, whether hunting, pistol, or airsoft. The UK Practical Shooting Association (UKPSA) were there to give a background on the sport to the visiting public, AttackSense Targets was also a sponsor and they have setup a shooting area for the public to try their hands at airsoft pistol shooting with their targets setup that can be used for Action Air. Their range was popular and queues were formed by those who wanted to shoot.

As the shooters went through the various stages, officials were always kept refreshed by the volunteers from XPSC, iWholesales and RedWolf Airsoft UK with a constant stream of coffee, water, and food. Given that a Range Officers job is much more difficult than being a competitor, having these readily available surely helped them through the three days of competitive but fun, airsoft practical shooting action.

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Other volunteers ensured that visitors wore their eye protection and answered questions from those who got more curious about the event. What’s very much encouraging were questions from those who actually want to try Action Air, such as what are the nearest clubs they can join, how to setup, and how much it costs for them to get started. Having FRL Media, the organisers behind the British Shooting Show, agree to having the Airsoft Surgeon Championship take place at the same event was really a major coup for the event. The exposure will be the biggest ever in Europe and the potential in having more new shooters due to this exposure is one of its concrete benefits.

Thus, having Action Air exposed to a wider going public, facilitate a better understanding on what the shooting discipline is all about and that such shooting sport can be held indoors in a very safe, controlled manner.

The conclusion of the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup, follows the same funny tradition ever since the event started in 2013 --- Clarence Lai and Chris Kong’s funny antics. For almost two hours, with raffle prizes given away, sponsors acknowledged and thanked, and the winning action air shooters announced, laughter filled up the Hall 9 and perhaps it seeped throughout the rest of the halls comprising the British Shooting Show as the public looked on. Whilst it is a very serious shooting event, Action Air is fun and even more fun if we have the Airsoft Surgeon host it.

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With the exposure to a wider public, the Action Air and Shooting clubs in the United Kingdom just had their work cut out for them --- how are they going to translate this exposure into an increase of action air shooters and establishment of new clubs. Whilst the Action Air has firmly set its roots in the UK, thanks to efforts of the Airsoft Surgeon, RedWolf Airsoft UK, and the existing clubs, the big task is keeping it nurtured and making it grow. That is always the vision for action air which will benefit airsoft overall.

We hope to see the next Airsoft Surgeon Championship at the British Shooting Show again. For other action air communities around the world this event provides a fantastic blueprint, coordinating with shooting and firearms trade show organisers to have sanctioned Action Air event at their trade shows. By showing the example of the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup, they make a strong case that Action Air and Shooting Shows can have a symbiotic relationship.

Congratulations to the organisers, sponsors, and shooters of the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup, you just had a massive win!

More photos of the Airsoft Surgeon 2020 Championship Shield Cup are on the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page. Recorded versions of the live video of the shooters in action are there as well. More videos to follow and will be posted on the Popular Airsoft YouTube Channel.

Official Results:

Open

1st - Lau, Joe
2nd - Wyborn, Matthew
3rd - Cichecki, Mateusz
4th - Cooper, Justin
5th - White, James

Standard

1st - Wyborn, Paul
2nd - Mustard, Alasdair    
3rd - Santos, Sergio
4th - Lau, Kwok Fai
5th - Meade, Alex

Classic

1st - Lai, Pak Lam
2nd - Tomanek, Rafał
3rd - Vicente, Miguel

Production

1st - Leung, Chong Yiu
2nd - Reed, Matthew
3rd - Venancio, Alexandre

Production Optics

1st - Chan, Yiu Fung
2nd - Miranda, André
3rd - Cheron, Laurent Christophe

Open Lady

1st - Ma, Siu Yi
2nd - Gundayao, Marianne

Standard Lady

1st - Mak, Ching Chi
2nd - Lucas, Jo
3rd - King, Evelyn

Standard Super Junior

1st - Mikhailov, Sasha

Open Junior

1st - Wyborn, Matt

Standard Junior

1st - Wyborn, Paul

Open Senior

1st - Wyborn, Tim
2nd - Yau, Danny
3rd - Chandler, Mark

Standard Senior

1st - Darby, Mike
2nd - Gamin, Clive
3rd - Van de Vyver, Geert

Open Super Senior

1st - Taylor, Steve
2nd - Cull, John
3rd - Humphries, Norman

Standard Super Senior

1st - De Backer, Guy

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