Ray Bassil is Lebanese Trap Shooter who recently won the ISSF World Cup held in Cyprus Olympic Shooting Range of Nicosia, Cyprus. It is her first ISSF World Cup Gold. Already qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics, ranked 3/104 among international women shooters by ISSF for 2016, this ace shooter spoke to us through an International .
Acknowledged as Top Trap Shooter by ISSF, 6 international Gold medals, 7 international Silver medals, 4 international Bronze Medals and 29 qualifications into Finals, Nicosia ISSF World Cup Gold, what’s next in your “to get” list?
I have always had two main goals, becoming no1 worldwide, and winning a medal at the Olympic Games.
My next objective is quite naturally giving my best for an Olympic medal.
It is a very hard goal to achieve, but with constant hard work, determination and fortitude, I believe that this can be achieved.
Initial motivation and different phases of your career…
My initial motivation is my father, who was a shooter himself. He used to take me with him on hunting trips, and it is him who noticed first that I had a talent in the sport.
My first big accomplishment was becoming the youngest Arab female trap shooter in history, at only 15. From then on, it became a full time focus on getting better and better.
Managing a business versus pursuing a sport…
Competitive elite sport is by far, one of the most demanding and difficult things to do. But the reward of achievement and success is worth more than everything.
Hurdles…
The main hurdles were combining my education and sport programme, as both required long hours of dedicated work. Today though, as a professional shooter, my main challenge is the financial charges related to my training and competitions. Lebanon is unfortunately passing through some rough time, and it is quite difficult to find financial support, to a sport that is quite expensive.
Sacrifices…
I can tell you that the sacrifices are huge, and the difficulty to become part of the elite shooters worldwide is the most difficult challenge I have had so far. This has taken me years and years of daily training while following a very strict and overcharged yearly programme, to get to where I am today.
Role of your personal coaches Anthony Rzik, Jack Bassil and national coach Danielle Di Spignio…
Every person that has come into my career has been of great help, support and benefit. I have to also mention coach Roberto Scalzone and the Qatar shooting federation, who have taken me under their wings for many years, and have helped greatly in developing my performance to its peak level.
As for the names you have mentioned, each and every one of them has specific expertise that have been catalysts in helping me get to where I am today.
I am greatly thankful to each person that has helped me in bettering my shooting career.
Training for game readiness & criticality of infrastructure, support system and facilities…
My training is quite complex, and covers all aspects for my readiness, year long, which means that I take very little time off.
My support system is critical, and I am lucky to be surrounded by the support team I have. My team is composed of a manager, a coach, a strengthening and conditioning coach, a physiotherapist, a mental coach and a nutritionist, with whom I work almost daily, in order to ensure that our annual plan is being applied to its best.
Availability of equipment and the cost…
The resources in Lebanon are quite modest, especially when it comes to international expertise, as Lebanon is still mainly a country for amateur sports.
There is however constant work to make things better, and I can only respect the persons behind this. As for me, I’m having to travel abroad for specific training camps, where I work on perfecting specific skills, with international experts.
Training techniques a trap shooter should follow to be match/game ready & key things related to performance management for beginners in trap shooting…
Techniques may very from athlete to athlete, from country to country, and this for many different factors. To be game ready however, one has to be fully dedicated to the sport, and give all the time and effort needed to achieve ones goal.
Shooting sport over the years…
Shooting is an ancient sport and has started with spear throwing and archery in ancient times.
With the development of technology and the science of sport, we have today the availability of superior quality shotguns, fabricated following the most up to date technology and science. As for athlete specific matters, science has been able to develop specific programmes dedicated to the specific needs of every individual, and athletes today have the availability of precise softwares that help in monitoring and enhancing individual performance, based on science.