The traditional Open Drenthe championship Melkbus carbide shooting, on the fields of football club HZVV, may have Saturday as a fixed day in the future. “The participants were enthusiastic about it this year,” says organizer Cor Timmerman.
Normally the title battle always takes place on New Year’s Day, but because it is a Sunday this year, the organization has decided to hold the carbide shooting a day earlier. “And we liked that,” Timmerman notes.
“Most people usually have Saturdays off. And New Year’s Day also often brings a lot of hustle and bustle in private life, because people are visiting or receiving visitors. So we are seriously considering the last Saturday before New Year’s Eve as a permanent day.”
22 Teams
The HZVV football fields were the scene of the 23rd Open Drenthe Milkbus Carbide Shooting Championship on Saturday. The 22 participating teams, mainly from Hoogeveen and the surrounding area, had to shoot the ball as far as possible from the milk can with carbide.
The beautiful weather, with a slight headwind, played into the hands of participants and organization on Saturday. “Last year it was really bad, with rain and cold,” Timmerman reflects. “Not fun for the teams that participated at the time.”
Winning formula?
A precise job, for which scientists have not yet found a winning formula. Because how many grams of carbide and how many milliliters of water do you use to chase that ball as far away as possible? There were attempts where the ball traveled only three meters, to a winning blast of no less than 110 meters.
In the final, the first prize went to the duo Jordy and Wilco, who scored 782 meters with ten shots. Team Timmerhaas came second with 718 meters and Duo Penotti took third place with 670 meters. Team Middelveld, untouchable for years, had to settle for sixth place this year.
‘Nice to see’
According to Timmerman, a new generation appears to be emerging that is successful in milk can carbide shooting. “That’s nice to see and good for this tournament,” he concludes. The prize money this year was around 400 euros.