Rugeley Captain Richard Hemingway placed fifth at the ESSU Open Championship today, held at NSRA Aldersley near Wolverhampton.
After a slow start in elimination, he picked up the pace to score 616.2, placing third in his squad and qualifying fourth overall for the championship shoot.
After lunch, he opened strong, and shot consistently in a tightly fought contest. Shelbie Marsland of Appleton streaked ahead to win the Open and Ladies Championships with 620.1, but below her was a tight battle for the remaining medals with six athletes within a point of one another. Sean Bett took silver on 616.5, Kosta Loukas placed third in the Open category with 616.3, whilst Simon Green was third in the English Confined on 616.0. Richard placed fifth, a single tenth behind on 615.9 followed by Matt Dixon on 615.7 and Alun Evans on 615.5.
The ESSU Championships were held at Aldersley for the first time in decades following the closure of the Malcolm Cooper Range at Bisley. Although the reorganisation of the facilities in the Lord Roberts Centre do represent a loss of amenity at present, it has resulted in matches seeking new homes outside of Surey. We look forward to seeing more opportunities for smallbore athletes to compete at a high standard in the West Midlands.
