One of the longest running international action air tournaments, the Airsoft Surgeon Championships, was back after a year in hiatus to give way to the first Action Air World Shoot that took place in Hong Kong last year. It was also a year to give time to RedWolf Airsoft UK to recover after the fire that hit its Tewkesbury office just weeks before the 2017 Airsoft Surgeon Championships. The event took place last 3-4 August 2019, with a pre-match for Range Officers two days before that.

For this year, the Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup (as Shield Sights is the major sponsor), took place at the First Person Shooter (FPS) Range in New Port, Isle of Wight. It was also apt for FPS to host it this year being the biggest Action Air organisation in the UK as far as we know, always bringing the biggest delegation to the Airsoft Surgeon Championship, and at the forefront of nurturing young Action Air shooters.

It was also a change of scenery as well, as the past three Airsoft Surgeon Champions were held at the Strike Force CQB in Gloucester, and for us it was the first time to cover a major airsoft action air event on the island. We were also excited to visit the FPS Range, as the organisation did a magnificent job of converting an abandoned building into a fine shooting range able to host an international Action Air competition.

Arriving on the 2nd of August, me and Master Chief quickly dropped off our bags at our apartment and walked to the FPS range. The place was all set and ready as Chris Kong of RedWolf Airsoft UK toured us around the range whilst Clarence Lai, the Airsoft Surgeon himself, together with the rest of FPS was busy with the other shooters who have started arriving to check the place. For us, it was also a familiarization with the place so we’ll know how to position ourselves when covering the courses of fire when the shooting starts the next day.

We had dinner with the NABV IAPS Shooters from the Netherlands, to catch up on what’s happening in the Netherlands as there are many airsoft events taking place there, as well their preparations for the Dutch Open International Practical Shooting Tournament which takes place every November. After a few drinks we had to call it night as we know that the shooters had to rest early to be ready for the first day of the Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019.

The first day of the Championships went off without a hitch. All of the registered shooters were there by 0800H most of the shooters are familiar with each other, though for this year, more countries are represented as we saw shooters from Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, and Switzerland attending the event for the first time. Chris Kong and Clarence Lai led the ceremonies then handing the duties of briefing the shooters from the range officials led by Justin Cooper and Andy Williams. A little bit past 0900H the Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup was officially on.

For me and Master Chief, we divided our tasks to, leaving the main video taking to him whilst for me it was the photos and doing the livestream on Facebook. There was a total of 16 stages with 8 short stages, 6 medium, and 2 long stages. The FPS range is not a big as Strike Force CQB, so it’s a bit of a squeeze for over a hundred action air shooters. Nevertheless, things went on with just some minor hitches as shooters went about hitting targets and hitting them as accurate and fast as they can.

The first day was wrapped up with a BBQ, as was the tradition of the Airsoft Surgeon, who did attended the grill himself with some help from his wife Katherine and Chris Kong.  Shooters milled around discussing how they did at the stages and anything under the sun which was magnificent when viewed from the Isle of Wight in the middle of summer. From there we moved to the nearby Beefeater to have a few more drinks before we called it a night. We were poofed after a long day of following the shooters through the stages that I guess our eyes were already closed before we our heads hit the pillows.

On the second day, even if it was lighter as the most of the squads just needed to finish a few more stages, the atmosphere was still competitive as it’s the final chance for the shooters to improve their scores and move up the standings. By noon time most of the squads were already done, had their lunch and it was time for the Shoot Off.

Several shooters were part of the shoot off where they had shoot faster at poppers than their opponents. The slower shooters get eliminated after each round and the top shooter gets to be challenged by the Airsoft Surgeon. It was such a fun event as shooters egged on their favourites though it was the Airsoft Surgeon who was the fastest shooter still at the Shoot off. Action Air events can have this side event whilst shooters wait for results, which takes time as scores get calculated and checked thoroughly.

Awarding was quick this time as winners announced, sponsors thanked, and shooters congratulated on their participation and sportsmanship. There were a lot of raffle prizes that many were lucky to bring something home, Airsoft Surgeon custom guns were raffled off and then auctioned off, with the proceeds of the auction added as benefit for Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres with a total of £2,340 raised.

The Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup officially ended around 1600H, which gave enough time for those who needed to be on the road enough time to catch their ferries to Southampton or Portsmouth. For others, it was time to start their planned holidays in the island as it is a place with fine beaches, fantastic views, and great walks. We were early for our ferry at Fishbourne but were able to get to our homes before midnight.

The Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup with Shield Sights as the Main Sponsor. Guga Ribas (GR), Gunfire, Nuprol, Specna Arms, and VFC are the product sponsor. The UKPSA provided the paper targets as well as made it an official sanctioned Action Air event. Airsoft Action Magazine and Popular Airsoft are the official media partners.

Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup Winners:

Open:

1. Matthew Wyborn (GBR)
2. Francisco Javier Honrubia Ruiz (ESP)
3. David Meuken (NLD)

Standard:

1. Alasdair Mustard (GBR)
2. Lee Buswell (GBR)
3. Maciej Wiącek (POL)

Production:

1. Matthew Reed (GBR)
2. David Cragg (GBR)
3. Andrepro Martins (PRT)

Production Optics:

1. Justin Cooper (GBR)
2. James White (GBR)
3. Gerard Timmers (NLD)

Classic:

1. Rafał Tomanek (POL)
2. Andy Williams (GBR)
3. Javier Honrubia (ESP)

Open Lady:

1. Polina Runova (RUS)
2. Marianne Gundayao (GBR)
3. Ysabella Toquillo (GBR)

Open Junior:

1. Matthew Wyborn (GBR)
2. Francisco Javier Honrubia Ruiz (ESP)
3. Michael Downard (GBR)

Open Senior:

1. Tim Wyborn (GBR)
2. Victor Riubrugent (ESP)
3. Tadeusz Wiącek (POL)

Open Super Senior:

1. Jon Cull (GBR)
2. Steve Taylor (GBR)
3. Trevor Sinclair (GBR)

Standard Junior:

1. Lee Buswell (GBR)
2. Maciej Wiącek (POL)
3. Miguel Guerrero Duran (ESP)

Standard Senior:

1. Marco Van Der Meulen (NLD)
2. Mike Darby (GBR)
3. Clive Gamlin (GBR)

Standard Super Senior:

1. Guy De Backer (BEL)
2. Ronnie Graham (GBR)
3. Dave Rossiter (GBR)

Shoot Off:

1. João Costa (PRT)

All photos of the The Airsoft Surgeon Championships 2019 Shield Cup can be found on the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page.