Back at Nationals

I'm excited to share that I recently competed at the Canadian National Pistol Championships for the first time since 2019 and scored high enough to take home silver in the Master class in 10m pistol and gold in the Expert class in 50m pistol! 💪🇨🇦

It feels amazing to be back in competition mode, and I’m proud of how things turned out. Shooting 10’s feels just as good as ever!

Here are some shots from the event:

Back at it! - Team Gold in the Netherlands

Reflecting on the recent international shooting competition in the Netherlands, where I had the honour of representing Team Canada alongside Michele Esercitato and Stuart Burns, the overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment is hard to put into words. Our team's gold medal victory, triumphing over Belgium and Germany, was a testament to our individual skills and a powerful reminder of the strength of collaboration and shared goals. This event marked my return to international competition after a four-year hiatus, largely due to the pandemic, and it was the first time I had competed at this level since deciding to pick up my pistol again after a two-year break. Returning to the shooting range, training at the Sunshine Coast Rod & Gun Club, was filled with doubts and challenges. Yet, the support from my community and the relentless pursuit of excellence drove me forward.

Allan Harding, Stuart Burns, and Michele Esercitato

Team Canada takes gold in the men's team event!

This competition was more than a return; it reawakened my passion for the sport. Despite the physical toll and the mental hurdles, standing on the podium with my teammates, knowing we had achieved something remarkable, was incredibly rewarding. The thought of retiring had crossed my mind, with a focus on coaching and contributing to the sport off the range. However, this experience has reignited my competitive spirit, and I'm now looking forward to the possibilities, including the 2028 Olympics. The road here hasn't been easy, but it's been worth every moment. As I continue this journey, I'm reminded of the resilience, dedication, and love for the sport that has brought me this far.

Wow, it's already Fall again! ...bye Summer!

Summer was a challenging time with my hand breaking and needing to recover from that. I missed Nationals for the first time in a long time. 

 

Next up will be a competition in BC in November.

Interview with theGunBlog.ca

Here's an interview with Nicolas from TheGunBlog.ca

Bloopers at the end.. 🤣

Slam Fire Radio - Episode 444 - National Champion Allan Harding

Thank you for having me on Slam Fire Radio! Here's the video from my interview with Mo, Kels, and Heff! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjQDMz-F5io

My 2022 competition schedule coming this week!

Hey everyone,

We are back to competing and travel so I'll be posting up my 2022 competition dates up later this week!

Thanks,
Allan

"What does it feel like when each shot counts?"

Canada's Gun Store has this great story that they put together about me and shooting. Go have a read here:

"What does it feel like when each shot counts?"

53 days until Pan Am Shooting CHampionships in Peru!

Confirmed: We're heading to Lima, Peru in October!

The Shooting Federation of Canada will send our Team Canada shooting team to Lima, Peru this October for the 1st PanAmerican Shooting Championships (currently limited details online). My first international competition since Intershoot at The Hague in February of 2020.

Competing in 10m pistol event at Intershoot 2020
Photo credit: Arno Brinkman

Despite international travel opening up it's still a challenge coordinating flights to a different continent. My travel to Peru takes me from Vancouver to Toronto first where I'll meet up with my teammate Stuart Burns, then we take a redeye to Bogota, Columbia, have a 14 hour layover then fly to Lima Peru and arrive that night. It's about a 40hr duration for me flying there and same coming back. Although my return trip has me travelling from Lima -> Panama City -> Bogota -> Toronto -> Vancouver.  

We'll have lots of updates from our shooting team while there. We've got a good sized team travelling down and competing in rifle, pistol, and shotgun events.

Let's do this!

Cancelled: Canadian National Pistol, Rifle, & Trap Championship

The 2021 Canadian National Pistol, Rifle, and Trap Championships have been cancelled for 2021. The Skeet National Championships will still happen. Official message from the Shooting Federation of Canada be found here.

It looks like my next competition will be the 1st Panamerican Shooting Championships to be held in Lima, Peru in October.

CUSF - Down The Barrel episode 15 - "Competitive Pistol Shooting with Allan Harding"

I had a fun chat (and 🍻 !) with Swally and Michael over at CUSF. My teammate Stuart Burns also joined the podcast. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQknkm1q0JM 

Spring 2021 Update

Well travel restrictions continue in BC and domestically around Canada so I've been mostly at home doing some self work and completing some projects. I finished up an app which I'll make a bit more noise about in the summer. A couple other projects on the go. It's an exciting time anyway.

I was hoping to compete in Changwon, South Korea in April but that ISSF World Cup was postponed TBD. Our Team Canada high performance team trials were also cancelled that were scheduled for June and the ISSF World Cup stage in Azerbaijan is out for me.

I'm now focused on the Shooting Pan Am Championships in Peru this October which I'm hoping I can piggyback a trip to Mexico on my return to visit family in Mexico.

I'll do a training update in June and will do a live stream from the range while I'm shooting 50m pistol. 

2021 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! 

I'm looking forward to getting back to some competitions this year. I'm hoping the ISSF World Cup Series will all move forward as scheduled. My first ISSF World Cup since 2019 will be in Changwon, South Korea in April. I love competing in South Korea and was there in 2018 for the 52nd ISSF World Championships.

The return to sport internationally has many challenges during a global pandemic. We've already seen many limitations with travel. I'll go into more details on the various protocols in place to keep everyone safe. For now, it's good to be back to training and wanted to wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year. :)

Stay healthy everyone!