Get to know the shooters - James & Emily Cane

4 jan, 14:00

Brother and sister James and Emily Cane, competing for their club in Brisbane, Australia, have traveled far to compete in Swedish Cup this year - and with good success with James reaching yesterdays men's finals. They share with us their journey to come here and what their impressions of Swedish Cup are.

The two may be siblings, but they do have their differences. Emily's gear sports bold, bright green and purple while James' are more modestly white and purple. Emily does most of the talking while James sits back and nods in agreement during our interview.

How come you came to Swedish Cup this year?

- It was a recommendation from our coach, as we were already going to be in Europe around the time of the Swedish Cup and in preparation for the Australian Air Tour later in January, Emily explains.

Did it take a lot of convincing?

-No, we just went with it, Emily says with a light laugh.

She goes on,

- Me and James have never been to Sweden, so it's a nice experience to have to go to a new competition.

What are your impressions so far?

- It's a very beautiful country. We saw a lot of it driving over from Denmark. It's been good so far. And the competition and all the competitors have been really nice, and the rest of the team seems to understand what's going on at the Swedish Cup.

How long did it take to get here?

-The flight from Australia to where we were was about 20 hours split into two. And then an hour and a half flight to Denmark, and then a nearly four hour drive to here, Emily explains.

How did you feel when you got here? You must have been tired when you arrived.

- Yeah, a lot. It's more the shock of the cold. As soon as you step out of the heat, it's very cold, says Emily.

-Yeah, a lot colder than what we've ever been to before. So mostly the cold. It was a surprise. I was pretty tired after all the travel, but excited to be here, says James.

How are you feeling about your results so far?

- A little disappointed. I'm hoping to do better tomorrow. It took a while to warm up to the range and get used to it, but I'm happy with my results today. Also looking forward to doing better tomorrow and trying to end the competition on a really good note, says James.

You went to the finals James. How do you feel about your actions there?

- It wasn't great. I really struggled in the start of the final. Hopefully if I do well in my qualifications tomorrow, I can end on a higher note, James says.

How do you feel about the competitors?

-It's good competition. It's been pretty good,

Is it different than what you're used to?

-Yeah, there's a lot more competition, especially in the men's.

Emily continues.

- Yeah, there's a lot higher scores than what we get and a lot more people than what we usually experience in our competitions. Which is very nice because sometimes you know all the people in Australia, but it's nice to meet new people here and make new friends.

It is the elite in Scandinavia that's represented here.

- Which is awesome to see. And to watch some of the adult shooters as well has really been a good opportunity for us, Emily says.

Have you been in international competitions before?

- Yes, we've both been to a few World Junior competitions. And we've been over to Austria and Germany a few times for the HMN and Mekon Cup. We were both in the Junior World Cup in Seoul last year, which was really good. I think we both did well. I think I recognise a few faces here too, Emily says.

In comparison to the other international competitions, how do you feel this range compares?

- It's a nice range, I like it. And it's kind of interesting that you have the two separate ranges, Emily says.

-The two separate ranges is the biggest difference, making sure you know which range you're on. It can be a little tricky and the two notice boards threw me for a bit, says James.

- The changing room is nice and big as well. It can get a bit cramped when there's so many of us, but it is a very large changing room, which is nice, Emily adds.

Are cramped ranges something you recognise from Australia?

- We're pretty lucky in Brisbane, because we've got a bit more space. But ranges in Adelaide and Melbourne can get really tight, especially the Air Ranges. There are only 20 bays or so, and half of them are in Melbourne.I think we need to grow, but that's okay, Emily says.

What are you mainly focusing on in training and shooting?

- I'm really trying to improve my balance, especially in the first mixed pairs competition. It was all over the place and not great. So I've been really trying to hone that down for the matches, James says.

- Probably my mental focus in preparation is getting into the right headspace for a match and staying in the right headspace during the match, even if it isn't going well. And knowing what strategies I need to do before a match and after a match. And if I was to do a final, what I would need to do in the break to make sure I'm ready. And just overall my mindset for the whole competition, says Emily.

Do you have tips for others focusing on the same things?

- Probably to experiment a lot. It takes a very long time to find out what works for you. And I'm still figuring things out and experimenting with different competitions. So yeah, experiment, says Emily.

- Be very disciplined and picky with your hold on the target. If it's not good, don't waste energy trying to make it better and just put it down and reset. I find that helps me the best, says James.

Do you have any certain pre-competition rituals or routines that you always do before you step up?

- Not really, just stretches and warm-up holding, James says.

- I listen to music in the car on the journey in, that's kind of it, just getting my body ready, Emily adds.

That's kind of it. Just getting my body ready. This is also something that's very fun with competitions like this.

Quick-fire questions

Morning session or evening final?

-Morning, they both say in unison.

Music or silence before competition?

-Music, Emily says

-Silence, says James.

Favourite venue to compete at?

-Brisbane, our home venue, they both say.