(Amelia Derk will be representing Canada at the August 2026 F-Class World Championships being held in England. Amelia has had a fascination with professional shooting since she was seven years old. Photos: provided by the Derk family.)
Local athlete, Amelia Derk, has made her national team debut when she competes in competitive shooting at the August 2026 F-Class World Championships in Bisley, United Kingdom. Not only is she a member of Canada’s national team – she made history at age 16 by being the the first female and youngest person ever to win the Ontario F-Class Lieutenant Governor’s Championship (Long Range Aggregate) this past summer. Amelia will be one of two females competing for Canada and the only team member under the age of 25. She is extremely proud and excited to be representing her country.
Amelia attended A. Lorne Cassidy Elementary School and now attends South Carleton High School where she is an Honour Roll and Silver Medal student. She has always been athletic – swimming, attending camps, wrestling, and she plays basketball in the Western Ottawa Basketball Association league. She also finds the time to play the piano and work at the Stittsville Shooting Range (SSR).
It was at the age of seven Amelia took an interest in rifle shooting when she began shooting for fun with her Dad at the SSR. It was in 2024 when she became more serious and began practicing with her Dad’s F-Open rifle at the range. When shooting and making tiny target groups at 300 yards lost its challenge, Amelia moved on to the long range target shooting sport called F-Class, where participants are shooting at a 5″ bullseye at 1000 yards (900 meters) away. And the gun she uses is the maximum size weighing in at 22 lbs.! Albeit she doesn’t own a gun, she does have her Possession and Acquisition License.
At the 2025 Canada Nationals, she met several members of the Canada F-Open team. They kept track of her progress during the match and invited her to a team practice the day after the Nationals. She fit right in with them and was invited to join the team right there.
Competing against men and women of all ages, 16-year old Amelia has made a few other notable accomplishments:
- At the Ontario Provincial Fullbore Championship, she led the field with the highest v-bull (i.e., bullseye) count in 10 of the 17 events.
- She earned both Top Woman and Top Junior honours for F-Open/F-Class at 3 major competitions (Provincials, Nationals, and Victoria Day) this past summer.
- She was recently selected as the Ottawa Sports Award winner for the city’s top shooting amateur athlete in 2025. (Award ceremony is on February 4, 2026)
An excited Amelia shared with Stittsville Central, “I started practicing in August 2024 just before my first small competition in September 2024. I only started the bigger competitions this past summer. Rising to this level (Worlds) this fast was unexpected. I’m honoured to represent Canada in England and I’m very excited. Going to England this summer will be my first time out of North America and I couldn’t think of a better reason than for my first time competing at the World Championships. My Dad got me into this sport and it has been a great time so far. The F-Class community is full of very friendly and supportive people. I can’t wait to make more memories with my Dad by my side.”
At the 73rd annual Ottawa Sports Awards, being held on February 4th, at which the finest in Ottawa’s amateur sports community are celebrated, Amelia will be honoured as a 2025 Individual Sport Award Winner in Shooting. On the OSA website, they share:
Shooting – Amelia Derk: Amelia made history this year by becoming the first female and youngest person ever to win the Ontario F-Class Lieutenant Governor’s Championship (Long Range Aggregate). At the Ontario Provincial Fullbore Championship, she led the field with the highest v-bull count in 10 of the 17 events. She earned both Top Woman and Top Junior honours for F-Class at the Provincials, Nationals, and Victoria Day competitions.
To assist in covering her costs to attend the World Championships, Amelia is currently undertaking several fundraising activities – ongoing bottle drives, homemade food and handmade personalized pen sales – with more in the planning stages. Her next fundraising event will be puzzle competitions (i.e., participants try to complete the same mystery jigsaw puzzle(s) as fast as they can) being held on Saturday, March 7th in the Upstairs Hall at the Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena (10 Warner-Colpitts Lane).
Congratulations Amelia – Stittsville residents will be routing for you as we watch history being made when you compete in England!
For more information and to support her to attend the World Championships, please visit Amelia’s website at: https://ameliaderkfclass.ca/.
