By Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter
Corporal Valrie Newman, the only woman in the 20-member West Indies sharpshooting team. - Contributed
JAMAICA'S OWN William Tell, Corporal Valrie Newman is unique in the world of sharpshooting.
Blessed with an enormous amount of talent, the slim, bright-eyed woman is a shooting star, streaking away and garnering success with every move she makes and every shot she takes.
A beacon in the male-dominated military, Newman is not content to be just another woman embedded in its midst so she undertook and conquered a sport which many woman are too timid to attempt rifle shooting.
ONE OF THE MOST COMPETENT
Newman's outwardly calm demeanour belies the aggression which lies within her but it is through her art this is best demonstrated. When she takes her place among the members of Jamaica's rifle shooting team, she not only stands out as a woman but as one of the most competent.
In Jamaican parlance, Newman was a feeble, 'dark country pickney' growing up. So she described herself.
The 'dark country pickney' from Christiana, Manchester has now matured into a strong, determined woman with an aim in life.
"I was picked on a lot growing up and because of that I learnt to be aggressive," she said. "I realised that in life there will be a lot of challenges and from these may come opportunities but it is up to you as a person to do your best not to be left out," she added.
The former DeCarteret College and Holmwood Technical high school student undertook rifle shooting three years ago, acting on encouragement from Dr. Keith Hammond, a member of the rifle shooting team.
SMALLBORE SHOOTING
Starting out with smallbore shooting, she soon got bored and undertook the challenge of fullbore and very soon became a fixture at the range.
At her first in-house competition, Newman placed third and soon earned a place on Jamaica's team to the Caribbean Championships in Trinidad.
Shooting as a tyro, she won two medals, a gold and a bronze, and as a result was invited to shoot with the Bermuda team.
"It was very difficult shooting on my own in a big competition but once I got the first shot off, I was comfortable. As a young shooter, you're not expected to do well so quickly but with the support I had, I was able to do well," she said.
INDIVIDUAL MEDALS
The following year in Barbados, Newman was still apprehensive about competing but she shot on par with the men, winning a number of individual medals and two trophies, including one for the best O class shooter.
Newman was recently promoted to the X class from O because of her performance in local competitions. At the just-concluded Caribbean Championships in Guyana, top-scored for Jamaica in the team shoot competition with 145 with 9 V bulls to help them retain the BWIA Cup.
Guyana is regarded as one of the most difficult places to compete by shooters but Newman stuck to the task and her performance secured for her a place on the 20-member West Indies team to compete at the renowned Bisley range in England in July.
She is the only female on the West Indies team along with seven Guyanese, six Trinidadian and seven Jamaican marksmen.
The topscore also placed her third for the Hogarth behind Guyanese marksmen Ransford Goodluck and Mahendra Persaud, a significant achievement as it is the first time in regional shooting history a woman had placed so high.
Although she did not win an individual medal in Guyana, she says she was made to feel like a winner when at the presentation ceremony, Jamaica's captain Major John Nelson gave her one of his two medals because she shot well.
"I was so touched I cried," she said. "It is this kind of support that encourages me to stay in the sport and do well," she pointed out. "No one expected me to join the army, much less shoot rifle so these are major accomplishments for me."
TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY
To date she has 26 medals and three trophies and still aiming for more. Through rifle shooting she has travelled extensively and represented the country at the CAC Games in El Salvador last year, the first time in more than 20 years Jamaican shooters were competing.
Off the range, Newman can be found playing any defensive position on the Jamaica Defence Force's netball team, attempting to play squash or photographing everything and everyone in sight to fill her many albums.
Her family, she says, is proud of her accomplishments, so much that her nine-year-old brother cannot wait to follow in her footsteps.
"Mommy saves every clipping and although she doesn't have a clue about shooting, is still proud of me," she said.
