Dean Bale

 Dean has been shooting 9 years; he started shooting with his brother Jack in the 1st North Devon Scouts. He started both air rifle and air pistol, but soon favoured the air rifle. He soon joined Braunton Target Shooting Club and trained in the club two or three times a week. When he was 11 he entered the Scout national competition at Bisley and won the under 12 air rifle competition which earned him and invitation to join the National Scout Squad.

Two months later he entered the British Air Gun Open competition at Bisley with the scouts. He shot very well and was spotted by the GB Junior Rifle Squad Sporter Manager Roger Monksummers. When he got home he had a phone call inviting to join the GB Junior Rifle Squad in the Sporter class. He was the first in the Bale family to join both the Scout National Squad and the GB Junior Rifle Squad.

In the GB Juniors Dean quickly improved his shooting skills and his scores and position in the Squad increased. That year in the August at his first Junior International, he produced some very good scores. With the first taste of a large international Dean took it all in his stride but looked worried when he was summonsed to see the GB Junior Rifle Squad Manager John Kalinowski. This was only to tell him as he was the youngest; he was required to help with the medal presentation.

After approximately two years Dean moved from Sporter class up to Precision Air rifle. He has gained a lot of skill at shooting from hard work and very good coaching from the GB Juniors Squad. He has been to Germany with the squad to compete in Oldenburg twice and in the Junior International he has shot against competitors from the USA, South Africa and Germany.

 
In 2013 he, his brother Jack and two sisters competed in the ESSU championships at Bisley. Both Dean and Jack entered into the junior men’s air rifle competition, with Dean winning the trophy for the junior men air rifle champion; he was also the top junior in .22 3P as well. At the 2013 Junior International he won four medals, an individual medal bronze medal for precision air rifle and three other team medals.

This year Dean was chosen to go with the Great Britain Junior Squad to go to Intershoot in The Hague, Netherlands. This was his largest competition abroad so far. His dream goal is to represent Great Britain at the Olympics and Commonwealth games and go on to win gold medals.