On the next morgning we visited the range and registered. Thereafter we layed on the beach and swam to cool down.

At 6.30 PM the opening ceremony started on time. The Austrian Squad was leading the nations into the arena. Traditionally a cannon shot opens the games after speeches.
The party started immediately thereafter.Unfortunately there was not enough food for all competitors and guests. So we went to bed early to be prepared for the first stage.

The other teammembers shot as well as I did, but some hit worse then I. Anita started the match with a jam and she tried very hard the whole day. Even when you are running behind, the hits are not always there where the should be. Margit was not as fast but she shot like clockwork with good hits. Burgi was a real surprise for me. She shot very steady that day.

The second day started with bright sunnshine and ...... a miss. Damn. The second miss in this tournament. I was sure there are two hits on the bobber. But it wasn´t. Margit was in a good mood and shot not real fast but steady. The following stages I shot very precise to get my confidence back. After the break, I shot a realy good stage and was back in the race. Anita shot the same way as the day before. Burgi was the joker of the day. She shot pretty good and she was in 3rd place during the day.

Because of my lead it was easy to shot good and fast. So I shot a good day with no misses but Margit was in a hurry to catch me and shot a miss today. This was the turning point for me, although I didn´t shot the fastest times. Burgi made a great mistake this day and she shot herself out of the top three ladies with 4 misses on the last stage. On day 4 we shot only long matches the whole day long and the longest at the end of the day. This was the hardest day of the match, 36 degrees and from 8.30 AM on on the range. As we left the range the clock shows a few minutes past 8 PM.

THREE TIMES IN A ROW
IPSC-European Chapion Open Lady.
Roland was the first congratulator but I still could not believe it. Where are the spanish girls? Whats about the quick Fin girl? Was the Swedish girl fast enough? So many open questions that I couldn´t think about my vicory.

During the shot off I was thinking about the winning ceremony. So I shot the last popper first even an other popper is still standing. Anyway. Margit is happy about this victory we showed the whole world that it is no fun to compete against the Austrian ladies.

The ceremony took place in the city of Speyer which is well known for their famous dome. It was very hot in the big tent with many speeches. At the end, the cold cut was ready and I didn´t feel hungry.
And now the awards!
The Austrian ladies takeing the thirst four places. This was an impressive demonstration of DVC in Europe.

My thanks go to the squad I shot 4 days with and to Burgi and Nicole who supported me during the match and I congratulate them to their super performance.
A special thanks to our coach and RD Michael. He did well.




Thanks to my reader John.