Blind Carol's perfect as she fires her way to win title

From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:50:03 -0400

This is Exeter (UK)
Saturday, September 15, 2007

A remarkable blind sharpshooter has stunned the gun world after scoring an
amazing 60 bull's eyes in succession to beat her own British record.

Blind since birth, Carol Brown, 47, from Tiverton, was joint holder of the
national title with 599 points out of a possible 600 with 60 shots.

Now she has gone one better, taking the Scottish blind shooting championships
with an amazing 600 out of 600 scored with 60 shots from 10 metres.

Carol used a .177 calibre air rifle with laser sights that transmit an audible
signal via headphones to tell her when she is aiming at the target's centre.

She took up shooting six years ago after a friend encouraged her to visit a
smallbore rifle club.

Her prowess at the sport quickly developed and she became British champion in
the year she took it up.

After losing her title in 2002, she won it back and has held it ever since.

She is so dedicated to practice that she travels from Tiverton to Okehampton
twice a week, taking two buses to get there.

She said: "I enjoy the sport a lot. It gives me a great buzz and it is very
good for my self-esteem."

Her coach, Mike Phill- ips, said: "Carol really is exceptional and to score 600
was a magnificent effort. The championships were in Aberdeen, so it meant an
11-hour train trip for her even before she started. She really is gifted and
determined."

Carol said: "I was a premature baby. I had a growth in my right eye which also
affected my left eye. My eyes are pear- shaped and I have a false right eye.
It's like seeing out of a telescope: I can't read and I can only see things
close up.

"Acoustic shooting works by sound and light reflecting on a target 10 metres
away. There is a laser in the gun and the sound travels from the laser into
your headphones. It seemed a bit weird to start with but with practice you get
used to it."

Carol was born and raised in South Molton. At the age of five she was sent to a
boarding school for blind children in Bristol - the nearest one in the days
before Exeter's West of England School for child- ren with little or no sight.

Further disruption came when Carol was nine and the school closed.

She was sent to another boarding school for the blind in Worcestershire and
then left school when she was 17.

The turning point in her life came when her parents moved to Tiverton in 1987.

Then, aged 28, she went with them, enrolling in adult learning classes to
improve her English and spelling.

She became a student at East Devon College and passed her GCSEs before
completing an 18-month business studies course in Hereford.

Carol had also joined a blind club and was trying out new activities, but it
wasn't until many years later, in October 1999, that she discovered people with
little or no sight could participate in shooting.

A friend told her that a demonstration was being held at the Okehampton
Smallbore Rifle Club.

Carol joined the club in January 2000 and the following autumn her training
stepped up a gear.

With the help of Mr Phillips, she became British Shooting Champion 2001 and
repeated the feat in 2003, by which time she was being coached again in
Okehampton.

She also achieved great success abroad, winning the Dutch Open Championship
over three consecutive years from 2002.

At this year's competition, she came home with silver and a team gold.

As well as a collection of cups for various leagues she has won, Carol also has
around 40 medals.

"To be a good shooter takes dedication, concentration, being aware of the
sound, and a lot of training," she said.

11:40 - 15 September 2007

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Blind Carol's perfect as she fires her way to win title

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