The Broadland Community at Heart Awards
The Broadland Community at Heart Awards celebrate the region’s community heroes. Eighteen-year-old Olivia Hill, who is sponsored by Pellpax, was among those nominated for the outstanding sporting achievement award. As you can imagine, the whole Pellpax team is tremendously proud of our protégée for being the winner of that award.
The judging panel included Mick Parker of Parker Communications, who organised the event, and Chairman of Broadland District Council. Also on the panel were two representatives of Price Bailey Chartered Accountants, regular sponsors of the Broadland Community at Heart Awards. Matthew Hector (Business Development Manager) and James Elvin (Manager) were hugely impressed by Olivia’s attitude and achievements.
“The Outstanding Sporting Achievement category was incredibly hard to judge,” Mr Elvin told me. “Olivia was crowned the winner due to her outstanding achievements and commitment at such a young age. To compete at her level must have meant some sacrifices, and to have overcome so many hurdles, whilst continuing her studies, is commendable.”
Mr Hector added, “Well done Olivia. We look forward to watching your continued success”.
South Norfolk Air Rifle and Pistol Club
Having followed Olivia’s shooting career for some time now, we thought it was about time we saw her in action. So, on Sunday 10th November, Gary Mitchell and I set off to the South Norfolk Air Rifle and Pistol Club in Attleborough. It was the final day of the Norfolk County Rifle Association’s Open 10m Air Rifle and Air Pistol Meeting, incorporating the Norfolk County Championships.
In preparation for the competition, Olivia had checked every one of her RWS R10 flathead (wadcutter) pellets for imperfections. Nevertheless, before loading each pellet, Olivia looked it over carefully, paying attention to the skirt, where a nick or an indentation might affect the pellet’s trajectory. Pellets can become corroded as a result of contact with each other in the tin.
“If it doesn’t look right,” Olivia explained, “don’t shoot it.”
Norfolk County Champion
Just a few minutes into the shooting time, Olivia felt that her rifle sight needed to be adjusted. However, even after carrying out work on her kit, Olivia wasn’t totally happy. Other competitors were also struggling with vision, and it soon became apparent that the problem was due to the changing natural light that was coming through the opaque skylights. As nothing could be done about this, they pressed on, adjusting their eyes as well as possible to the fluctuating brightness on the range.
Despite scoring a little below her own expectations, Olivia won Gold in the Open, and Gold in the Confined, meaning that she’s the overall 10m County Champion.
What’s next for Olivia?
To round off another fantastic year, Olivia will be travelling to Luxembourg, where she’ll compete in the 37th RIAC and IBIS CUP. The competition, which will run from 11th to 14th December, is an annual international event organised by FLTAS (Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Tir aux Armes Sportives). Last year, at this competition, Olivia performed very well in her first mixed doubles event. Her impression of Christmastime in Luxembourg, though, was mostly about the hot chocolate!
