Shooting as a hobby of many young and old has a long tradition in Rogatica, and one of the doyens of this sport is Zdravko Šubara, who has been with the air rifle for more than half a century.
Written documents show that the people from Rogatica were engaged in archery during the time of Royal Yugoslavia, as well as after the Second World War, and the golden years for this sport, as Šubara tells, were those before the Defense and Fatherland War.
In the early 1950s, a shooting group was organized to eventually grow into a club called Rogatica with more enthusiasts, including my father, Maksim, or Makso, as everyone called him – says Šubara, sixty-one, who is also president of the Rogatica Shooting Club.
He points out that it was thanks to his father that he fell in love with the sport.
– I started hanging out with an air rifle when she was bigger than me. And so it has been for over 50 years. I would not brag, but I have to say that I have had remarkable results in this – says Šubara, who is employed in Dr. Zoran Mitrović Health Center. He successfully defended the colors of the club and Rogatica in many competitions, from which he brought various awards.
– My favorite competitions were my former inter-republican and now inter-municipal youth sports games (MOSI), as the biggest amateur sports events held every year in a different municipality on the border of Serbia, Republic of Srpska and Montenegro. I made my debut at these games in 1974, as one of the youngest participants, especially shooters, to be one of the oldest last year. Otherwise, they are the love of my youth, and I have been a part of them since 1974, except during the last war in BiH – says Šubara, who was one of the initiators of the revival of the shooting club after the last war.
He says he has used his years of experience and the licenses of coaches and referees, which he has previously acquired.
– The reason we did not achieve more noticeable results, especially in terms of mass membership, was the lack of adequate shooting and accompanying rooms. The ones we used at the former school and improvised inside the gym were unconditional, but we still followed the events in the field of archery and participated in most competitions organized in the region and at the level of Republic of Srpska – Šubara tells and adds that a special problem the departure of young, and more recently older, lovers of shooting in Rogatica. Zdravko and the other shooters are hoping for better days. Thanks to the understanding and support of the Mayor of Milorad Jagodić, they were given new premises for the club.
– They are also located within the sports hall, but they are much larger and more functional. We have at our disposal a space of 70 square meters, from which we have, by our own effort and money, made a firing range with four automatic targets and created conditions for holding even the biggest competitions of shooters – proudly points out Šubara.
Zdravko Šubara says that already with the announcement that they have been given new practice rooms and shootings, fellow citizens interested in joining the club have begun to report to them.
– That is our main goal – says Šubara, who is assisted by Braco Ostojić, also a long-time shooter, who has been entrusted to work with old and new members of all ages.
TST
