Christina East and Renee Rickhi shattered the glass ceiling on March 9 when they were named the first female president and club captain respectively, of the 16-year old Driftwood Hunting Club.
They are also the first females to be named to lead any gun or hunting club in Jamaica.
Both ladies welcomed the announcement while promising to further the ideals of the club which includes attracting more females to the sport as well as continuing the club’s charities which are based in South St Elizabeth with a focus on improving early childhood education.
They also mentioned continuing their club’s flagship fundraiser, the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays which is normally held on the last Saturday of January at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate in St Ann – overlooking the town of Ocho Rios.
According to President Christina East , “(the) shooting world is a man’s world and when I started learning to shoot over 20 years ago, it was a male-dominated sport with few women, whether it was sporting clays or rifle or pistol and when the influx of women came into the sport it drew a lot of attention and when women started to do better than men in the different classes whether it was JRA (Jamaica Rifle Association) or the (Jamaica) Skeet Club, it made the sport more competitive.
“Women made it more fun and more entertaining and women brought more a flair to the shooting fraternity. Being a founding member of the Driftwood Gun Club for the last 15 years, we have managed a lot of charity and donations events across St Elizabeth.
The aim is to continue to assist those in need from the early childhood institutions in Treasure Beach that we do support and the bird boys to help them personally develop themselves and to continue to grow the club’s membership.
“As the first female president of the gun club in Jamaica, I think that it’s the right time for a woman to start leading and to start to make an impression on the shooting fraternity. Driftwood is a young club but has made a big impression on all the gun clubs. We are considered trendsetters among the shooting clubs and I have been among the group that has brought new ideas, events and vibes to the shooting arena. We host great shoots and other events and we intend to grow the members and to continue to personally and professionally teach them safety and to sharpen their skills.”
She added: “I also think it’s important that women be encouraged to be responsible firearm users and to be able to defend themselves, especially in a high crime area. Under my leadership, we will specifically target women and encourage women to participate and learn to defend themselves and take up competitive shooting and really be great at it.
“It’s great that the club which is predominantly male has chosen two women to hold the two most prominent positions in the club. With Renee as the club caption, it demonstrates that women are highly regarded and respected in this sport.”
Club captain Rickhi said, “I am honoured to be the first woman club captain of a hunting club in Jamaica. I am grateful to the members of Driftwood for having the confidence in me to give me this task. A club captain of a hunting club has a lot of responsibilities, land acquisition, field preparation and shoot management. We have to make sure that our birds are there, we are getting enough rise, they are coming to the field, watching the flight to determine the best position for the members, and the good thing about my club is that we have a lot of fun but you still want them to have a great shoot no matter what. It’s a lot of work, especially closer to the season, but it’s also a great time as well, especially the road trips and I want to commend Driftwood for choosing me as their club captain, as a woman and for choosing Christina East as their president.”
