Area 6 doesn’t disappoint. Hosted by the South River Gun Club, the competition has always been top notch. Honestly, this match could be a national level championship. There are certainly enough competitors. A whopping 384 shot the match!

The event started out with 12 stages, but Stage 4 – Bridge of Death was thrown out. That still left 11 challenging courses of fire with plenty of props, steel and moving targets. This was a tough match with targets that could be seen from multiple positions and moving targets with critical activators. The fun factor was still high though with a good blend of short and long courses of fire.

There are some matches where you see just a handful of women on the range. Not the case with the Area 6 Championships!  At the helm, Cindy Noyes was once again the match director. There were women working at every level from Chief Range Officer Beth Wingfield and 15 lady range officers to 7 women serving roles in Stats and Registration. Thank you ladies for all your hard work!

I had the pleasure to shoot with two other women in my squad, Randi Rogers and junior shooter Tierani Hendrix. I have enjoyed competing with Randi many times, but it was the first time I had a chance to meet Tierani. The NHL Atlanta Thrashers sponsored a stage where competitors had to activate a swinging target with a hockey stick. An ice hockey player, Tierani showed just how handy she is with a hockey stick on Stage Five – “Face Off.”  She activated the swinger and grabbed her gun from the table with perfect timing.

I also had a chance to catch up Jessie Abbate and Tori Nonaka as they scoped out the stages before their Saturday shoot times. Fresh off teaching yet another successful Babes With Bullets(TM) Ladies Action Shooting Camp, Kay Miculek and Lisa Munson stopped by for a quick hug and hello. I also had a nice visit with Tammie Bordwell after meeting her at the USPSA Nationals last year.   (Click here for a our interview with Tammie on her first nationals.) Katie Harris took the time to introduce herself early Friday morning. Katie is another talented young shooter in Production Division. I just love seeing all the junior females participating in the sport!

I wish I could have stayed to meet and chat with the rest of the women at the match.  I encourage you to take a moment, like Katie did, to introduce yourself to another lady shooter. Strike up a conversation with your fellow female competitors about their match. It could lead to a wonderful friendship. Celebrate the success of the talented and very special women who compete in our sport!

There’s been plenty of coverage on the first Area Championship of the year. Check out Women of USPSA on Facebook for links and in depth ladies results! In closing, a huge thank you to Match Director Cindy Noyes, Area 6 Director Charles Bond and the hard working range officers on another fantastic Area 6 Championships.

Check out these photos taken by Marla Hendrix (Tierani’s Mom) and Paul Erhardt with many more posted to DownRange.TV.

Continuing coverage of the 2009 Back to Back USPSA Nationals with the Top 8 Women in Production Division…

8th Place – Cindy Noyes
3-Time Area-6 Limited-10 Ladies Champion & 4-Time Area-6 3-Gun Tactical Ladies Champion

WoUSPSA – Congratulations on making the Top 8 Women! What was your goal for the Production Nationals?

Cindy – To finish in the Top 8.

WoUSPSA – How do you feel you performed in the match?

Cindy – Not as well as I should have.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I had a tooth going bad and had to get an emergency root canal the Wednesday between the matches.

WoUSPSA – That’s no fun, way to hang in there.  What was your best stage?

Cindy – Stage 14, Swing Around.

WoUSPSA – What was your favorite stage and why?

Cindy – Stage 14, because I shot it well and I enjoyed all the activated targets.  Plus, it was ‘Run ‘n Gun’.

WoUSPSA – What did you think of the stages?

Cindy – I thought the stages were fun and required a good mix of skills.

WoUSPSA – Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! Is there anything you would like to add about the match?

Cindy – The Nationals are always fun for me because I get to renew old friendships and see so many people that I don’t get to see otherwise.

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7th Place – Tammy L. Sharp
Tammy shoots both USPSA and IDPA:  2009 High Lady Badlands, Carolina Cup, AR State, and NV State IDPA Matches

WoUSPSA – Congratulations on making the Top 8 Women! What was your goal for the Production Nationals?

Tammy – My goal for the nationals, after I tore my calf muscles, was to finish the match and do the best I could without causing further damage.

WoUSPSA – We’re sorry to hear about your injury.  How do you feel you performed in the match despite it?

Tammy – I did not perform to my best abilities physically, but mentally I excelled because I had to look at it from the limited standpoint of my left leg.

WoUSPSA – What was your best stage?

Tammy – My best stage was stage 11 (Quick But Not Easy) because there was not a lot of movement and I was mentally there.

WoUSPSA – What was your favorite stage and why?

Tammy – My favorite stage was 14 because you had to be on the game both mentally and had to break down the stage just right or it could go so wrong.

WoUSPSA – What did you think of the stages?

Tammy – Some of the stages were great because they had so many different ways to shoot them, but then there were some that just felt like they were just there to fill the match. I know every match has couple of stages just for this purpose or they are there to give the shooter a mental break – something that is not expected at Nationals.

WoUSPSA – Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions.  Congratulations once again!

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6th Place – Julie Williams
2008 Area-3 2nd place Production C Class & 2007 Area-5 2nd place Production C Class

We’ve contacted Julie and as soon as we hear from her, we’ll be sure to post her responses. In the meantime, check out Julie’s profile at WomenofUSPSA.com.

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Stay tuned for remaining interviews from YOUR TOP 8 WOMEN in Production!

The dust has [temporarily] settled in Las Vegas. The 2009 USPSA Open & Production Handgun Nationals are history! Congratulations to our 2009 National Victors!

2009 USPSA Open National Champions are:
Megan Francisco & Max Michel Jr.

With the USPSA Handgun Nationals just a few days away, we’re recapping the top shooters of the year, based on the previously hosted USPSA Area Matches around the country.  Unfortunately, Area 2 & 4 aren’t scheduled until later in 2009, but we still have plenty of Area Champions to put upon our pedestal!  Congratulations to all of our Area Winners!

We are also sending well wishes and good luck to each and every woman who is headed to Las Vegas this week for our USPSA Back-To-Back National Championships! And remember, what happens in Vegas …  stays in Vegas!   (Except for what happens at the range.  We’ll proudly be posting updates and results for all categories of each match via Twitter, Facebook, WomenOfUSPSA.com & right here on the blog.)

If you ever get a chance to compete at one of these top-notch Area Matches, by the way, grab it! The experience, effort, creativity and organization that go into these events are practically unmatched!

2009 USPSA Area Match Championship Results – to date:

AREA 1 – Held June 18 through 21 in Parma, Idaho at the Parma Rod & Gun Club. Match Director – Tim Egan
LIMITED – Lisa Munson 1st, Christie King 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Dorrie Davis 1st
OPEN - Jenny Chu 1st,  Carrie Homburg 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Jamrogowicz 1st, Irina Ionescu 2nd
SINGLE STACK – Laura Seurer 1st, Nancy Marrs 2nd

AREA 2 – Begins November 12, 2009 at  Rio Salado Sportsmans Club in Mesa, Arizona.  Match Directors – Paul Caudill & Bob LaMarca

AREA 3 – Held July 30 through August 2 in Omaha, Nebraska.  Hosted by the Eastern Nebraska Practical Shooters.  Match Director – Chris Davies
LIMITED – Nancy Huspek 1st, Gail McLean 2nd
OPEN - Sue VanBlaricum 1st, Bobbi Wagner 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Jamrogowicz 1st, Lisa Johnson 2nd

AREA 4 – Begins October 8, 2009 at the Double Tap Ranch in Wichita Falls, Texas. Match Director – Ken Cobb

AREA 5 – Held June 19 through 21 at the South Kent Sportsmans Club in Dorr, Michigan.  Match Director – Carl Provan
LIMITED – Gail McLean 1st, Susan Powel 2nd
OPEN - Doni Spencer 1st, Sarah Irish 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Carlson 1st
REVOLVER - Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK -TD Roe 1st, Alma Lenard 2nd 

AREA 6 – Held April 17 through 19 at the South River Gun Club in Covington, Georgia.  Match Director – our very own Cindy Noyes!
LIMITED – Jessie Abbate 1st, Tracy Iradi 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Randi Rogers 1st, Kay Miculek 2nd
OPEN - Megan Francisco 1st, Kaci Cochran 2nd
PRODUCTION – Beth Wingfield 1st, Melita Ellington 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK – Nancy Huspek 1st 

AREA 7 – Held August 5 through 9 in Fulton, New York at Pathfinder Fish & Game (which is Julie G’s original home-town range).  Match Director – Milford Lovett
LIMITED – Donna Major 1st, Kathie Sierpina 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Caron Brooks 1st, Evelyn Freeman 2nd
OPEN - Rebecca Jones 1st, Sheila Brey 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Jenks 1st, Jacqueline Scott 2nd

AREA 8 – Held August 27 through 30 at the Fredericksburg Rod & Gun Club in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia. Match Director – Lew Walker
LIMITED – Jessie Abbate 1st, Tracy Iradi 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Caron Brooks 1st
OPEN - Rebecca Jones 1st, Megan Francisco 2nd
PRODUCTION -Randi Rogers 1st, Tori Nonaka 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK – Tracy Deegan 1st

Well, that’s a wrap!  We’ll close our Road to the Nationals coverage by congratulating the 2008 USPSA Ladies Handgun National Champions:

• Open National Champion – Rebecca T. Jones
• Limited National Champion – Jessie Abbate
• Limited-10 National Champion – Jessie Abbate
• Single Stack National Champion – Lisa Munson
• Production National Champion – Randi Rogers
• Revolver National Champion – Annette Aysen