Long range shooting- the competition year for Ida and Marcus Tengvall

The long-range shooters certainly had an eventful year in 2023. Their new training plan resulted in them qualifying for the 2024 World Championship in Colorado. Here, they share their experiences from their competition year.

Our competition year in 2023 has been eventful, fun, and developing. Leading up to 2023, we implemented a new type of training plan, which has allowed us to train more frequently throughout the year. We have noticed a positive impact from this during our competitions this year. We are pleased that we had the opportunity to use NORMA's products and are proud to be part of NORMA's ambassador portfolio.

We began the first quarter of 2023 with some smaller competitions, which we see as valuable training opportunities for the larger and more important World Championship qualifying matches. We believe that participating in competitions has been and continues to be the most beneficial for our development, as it also increases our confidence in competing.

In May, we participated in two out of the four World Championship qualifying matches, held on consecutive weekends. The first match took place outside Umeå - Botnia Long Range, a two-day competition. We truly enjoy two-day matches as they create a great atmosphere and maintain high quality. Having two days of competition also allows some room for improvement if the first day doesn't go as planned. This competition was a promising start to this year's World Championship qualifiers, with both of us finishing second in our respective classes, and Ida also earning the title of best junior in this event.

The weekend following the Umeå competition, we headed to Östhammar for the next World Championship qualifying match, the one-day Östhammar Long Range competition. This is an annual event that is well-organized and enjoyable to participate in. This year, the competition was particularly challenging due to the high temperatures. Nevertheless, we were content with our performances, with Ida securing the title of best junior and second place in the women's class, while Marcus finished third in his class.

The next competition was the PRS Swedish Championship, held just outside Haparanda in mid-June. We found this competition to be exceptionally well-organized, with challenging and fun shooting stations, and the overall event was top-notch. Ida once again stood out as the best junior and second in the women's class during this competition. Unfortunately, Marcus did not perform at his best and finished 24th out of 70 participants in the overall standings.

The last World Championship qualifying match for 2023 was the Tyfors Steel Open in July. This annual competition always offers a fantastic sense of camaraderie and fun, along with challenging and enjoyable shooting stations. Ida had her best performance in Tyfors and finished 14th overall while also securing first place in both the women's and junior classes. This marked the first time in Sweden that a 17-year-old junior placed so high in a major World Championship qualifier, competing against Sweden's elite. Marcus, on the other hand, landed second in his class and 17th overall. It was a competition that left us both satisfied.

We ended the summer season with the Kristinehamn PRS Open in September, organized by the Shooting Association in Kristinehamn. It was one of the best competitions we have ever attended, with well-planned stations and an overall excellent event. The season-ending competition couldn't have ended better in terms of results. Ida made history by winning the overall title. She is the first woman and the first junior to win the overall title at any PRS competition in Sweden.

Our goal for 2023 was for both of us to qualify for the 2024 World Championship in Colorado, USA. We achieved this goal and are proud and satisfied with our performances in the 2023 matches and the progress we made together. We believe that the key factor behind our successful 2023 competitive year was consistent training and a purposeful training plan throughout the year. As we prepare for the 2024 competitions, we will continue with an enhanced training plan, participating in as many competitions as possible, and deepening our knowledge of various shooting conditions.

Our goal for 2024 is to have the most flawless World Championship participation possible. We believe that the aforementioned training and competition plan will help us in our preparations for the World Championship in Colorado.