"Best lady in the event was Maree Rooke from Wagga…" Clay Target News, 4 January 1986

Maree is the daughter of fellow Sporting Hall of Fame inductee Barney Rooke, and the Aunt of inductee Matt Rooke.  She attended South Wagga Primary and Wagga Wagga High schools.

Maree started in competitive shooting after growing tired of being carted around to gun clubs with her father Barney as a teenager. She decided to have a try herself, and the rest is history.

She first picked up a gun for target shooting at age fourteen, and her father coached her from the beginning.  For a few months prior to actually shooting the gun, Maree had to practice every night mounting the gun to her shoulder and watching in a mirror to ensure that it was done correctly.  Barney always emphasised to her the importance of correct posture when shooting.

When Maree finally got to shoot the gun, she had to shoot 20 without missing before she could progress to a more difficult target. By the age of fifteen, she was hooked on the sport.  At her first Skeet competition in 1980 at Tamworth, it was she who came home with the trophies instead of Barney!

Barney coached Maree throughout her shooting career. She competed at Local, Riverina, State, National and International levels until retiring from competitive shooting in 1992, when marriage and mortgage became her priorities.

Like her father, Maree competed in a number of different disciplines.  Her favourite was Skeet and ISU Skeet shooting.  In Skeet, targets are released from each trap house in a set sequence of varying angles.  The targets travel at 100 km/hour and only one shot per target is allowed.  The ISU-Olympic Skeet shooting discipline has the targets also travelling at 100 km/hour and one shot per target, but the gun must be held at hip height and only mounted when the target is released.

In 1985 Maree was placed 5^th Overall in the New Zealand Nationals and 1^st in B Grade in the Sparrows (mini-targets) event.  The following year, she was the first woman in the history of the sport to make the Open State and National Skeet teams, qualifying in 1^st position for the State team.  The Open teams can include a combination of men, women, veterans or juniors, but are generally made up of male competitors.  Maree attained AA Grade status in Skeet shooting, and was the first female to achieve this.

Maree was voted Wagga Wagga Sports Star of the Year in 1987, and was one of the twelve nominees for the title in 1988.

In 1990 Maree won the Open State Qld State Skeet Doubles Title, a first for a female skeet shooter.  At the Victorian State Skeet Championships she was shot 100/100 and after a shoot off, was runner up in Open.

In early 1989 Maree started to learn Olympic Skeet shooting preparing to qualify for the 1991 World Championships where the ACTA put forward the first Australian Women's ISU Skeet team.  In 1991 she was the Open NSW State ISU Skeet runner-up, Women's 1st, Open A grade as well as a member of the NSW Open team and training squad.

In 1991 she completed at the ISU Australian Nationals winner the Women's events and qualifying for the National Training squad- Open and Women's.   Maree was in the Skeet team for the Oceanic Games where she won gold in the women's event and shot the only Skeet qualifying score for the women's team.   At the Australian ISU Grand Prix she was placed 4th followed by the World Championships where she was placed 19th in the individual women's event.
Throughout her career Maree won over 30 titles as Australian Women's Skeet Champion and holds several records.  In 1992 she set a Ladies Skeet Record of 176 that stood for 25 years, when it was broken on 30 April 2016 at the Melbourne Gun Club.

Maree is a qualified Level 2 Coach (Australian Accredited Coaching Scheme), and attends, assists and presents at coaching days and clinics.  She has also gained qualifications as a Trap, Trench, Skeet and ISU Skeet referee.

Her favourite quotes when competing were 'breathe' and 'your score isn't on the board until your final shot'.  Maree liked to compete early in the day, so that she got her score on the board and put pressure on her competitors.  Her greatest challenge in Skeet shooting was being a success in a male-dominated sport.

In 2016 Maree lives in Canberra with her family, and only shoots socially.  In 2003 she was inducted into the National Women's Pioneer Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, which celebrates Australian women who were first in their field.

In 1991 she completed at the ISU Australian Nationals winner the Women's events and qualifying for the National Training squad- Open and Women's.   Maree was in the Skeet team for the Oceanic Games where she won gold in the women's event and shot the only Skeet qualifying score for the women's team.   At the Australian ISU Grand Prix she was placed 4th followed by the World Championships where she was placed 19th in the individual women's event.
Throughout her career Maree won over 30 titles as Australian Women's Skeet Champion and holds several records.  In 1992 she set a Ladies Skeet Record of 176 that stood for 25 years, when it was broken on 30 April 2016 at the Melbourne Gun Club.

Maree is a qualified Level 2 Coach (Australian Accredited Coaching Scheme), and attends, assists and presents at coaching days and clinics.  She has also gained qualifications as a Trap, Trench, Skeet and ISU Skeet referee.

Her favourite quotes when competing were 'breathe' and 'your score isn't on the board until your final shot'.  Maree liked to compete early in the day, so that she got her score on the board and put pressure on her competitors.  Her greatest challenge in Skeet shooting was being a success in a male-dominated sport.

In 2016 Maree lives in Canberra with her family, and only shoots socially.  In 2003 she was inducted into the National Women's Pioneer Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, which celebrates Australian women who were first in their field.

In 1991 she completed at the ISU Australian Nationals winner the Women's events and qualifying for the National Training squad- Open and Women's.   Maree was in the Skeet team for the Oceanic Games where she won gold in the women's event and shot the only Skeet qualifying score for the women's team.   At the Australian ISU Grand Prix she was placed 4th followed by the World Championships where she was placed 19th in the individual women's event.
Throughout her career Maree won over 30 titles as Australian Women's Skeet Champion and holds several records.  In 1992 she set a Ladies Skeet Record of 176 that stood for 25 years, when it was broken on 30 April 2016 at the Melbourne Gun Club.

Maree is a qualified Level 2 Coach (Australian Accredited Coaching Scheme), and attends, assists and presents at coaching days and clinics.  She has also gained qualifications as a Trap, Trench, Skeet and ISU Skeet referee.

Her favourite quotes when competing were 'breathe' and 'your score isn't on the board until your final shot'.  Maree liked to compete early in the day, so that she got her score on the board and put pressure on her competitors.  Her greatest challenge in Skeet shooting was being a success in a male-dominated sport.

In 2016 Maree lives in Canberra with her family, and only shoots socially.  In 2003 she was inducted into the National Women's Pioneer Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, which celebrates Australian women who were first in their field.