Congratulations to Rugeley member Mike Bamsey who won the STS Men’s 10m Air Rifle Championship at Napier University this weekend.
After qualifying with a six point lead, Mike led for much of the final. He briefly ceded the lead with a poor 11th shot, before stringing together a strong second half and climbing back past eventual runner up and Scottish Confined Champion James Paterson. Tom Diggle finished third.
Rugeley’s Zoe Perkin found gold on day one of the Welsh Airgun Association Championships, held at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff.
Qualifying third, Zoe led the final from the start with two outstanding strings. Holding her nerve as Braunton’s Emily Bale drew level with her in the middle section, Zoe delivered a strong series of inner tens to finish, winning by a clear two points. Zoe also qualified for both her other finals, narrowly missing out on a medal with a fourth place finish in her Day 3 match.
Also from Rugeley, Megan Bamsey qualified for two finals from her three matches. Her brother Mike Bamsey won his day three match, becoming the confined Welsh Men’s 10m Air Rifle Champion.
The Welsh Airgun Championships are held as a series of three open matches – one per day – from Friday to Sunday, each independent and with its own final. One match is nominated as the confined “Welsh Championship”.
Rugeley members carried away a table full of silverware at the County Championships on Sunday 4th August, winning all four divisions.
Richard Hemingway was the top Staffordshire scorer in Class A, winning the Association Cup and becoming County Long Range Champion as well as taking the 50Metre Trophy for County 50M Champion. Along the way he also claimed the Miniature Rifle Club (Class A Winner), Michelin Cup (Best 100yds, Class A) and Greatrex Cup (Best County Badge Holder). Rugeley Chairman Martyn Buttery picked up the Bronze Medal in A Class and the two of them won the Pairs Competition.
Paul Baron won the Swynnerton Cup for Class B, with Phil Knight as Runner Up. Phil also won the K. Madeley Rose Bowl for Champion Veteran. Paul Watkiss won the Moat Cup for Class C, and also the NSRA County Silver Medal (Highest Scorer who hasn’t previously won one).
Brian Parker won Class D with Graham Delaney picking up Bronze.
On the Open Teams, Rugeley’s Team-of-4 placed second behind a strong team from Appleton.
Rugeley enjoyed great success today at the Staffordshire Short Range Championship Finals – postponed from March when snow stopped play.
Karen Dillon kicked off, taking Bronze in Class C, followed by Vic Tyne picking up Gold in Class B.
Finally Richard Hemingway and Brian Tonks took Gold and Silver respectively in Class A, Rich’s 393 making him the Staffordshire Short Range Champion for 2013.
As a club, Rugeley also claimed the Pidduck Shield which is based on each club’s best 5 scores from Round 1. Round 1 results are available on the SSRA website, with finals results to follow soon. In the meantime the outdoor season is well underway with Round 1 of the National Summer Postals already submitted and shooters preparing themselves for the summer opens, with Appleton’s 1200 Shoot in July as well as the County Championships and Bisley in August.
Class A
1 – Richard Hemingway: 393
2 – Brian Tonks: 384
5 – Will Morgan: 374
Class B
1 – Vic Tyne: 383
Class C
1 – Karen Dillon
Pidduck Shield Team
B. Tonks – 392
R. Hemingway – 390
V. Tyne – 386
G. Kershaw – 385
W. Morgan – 382
The Isle of Man Easter Shooting Festival is now in it’s 57th year. Featuring rifle, airgun and cartridge pistol events, it’s status as a GB selection match draws many shooters of national repute hunting for qualification scores, alongside the local shooters and those competing in classes.
Although the timing of the festival varies between mid-March and mid-April, the cold years have rarely gone so far as to offer snow. It was with regret then that the organising committee cancelled the Cartridge Pistol events when the 25 metre and 50 metre Pistol Ranges at Slieau Lhost (on the A18 Mountain Road across the valley from Snaefell) were buried under several thousand cubic metres of the white stuff – the first time an entire block of events has been cancelled in the history of the competition.
But then what can one expect when your range is at 1300ft ASL? Fortunately, the (by comparison) tropical rifle range is 1000ft lower, and as such was bitterly cold, but not buried. Safe too were the Air Rifle and Air Pistol shooters in a snug indoor temporary range hosted at Onchan Community Centre.
So it was with bags full of thermals that Rich and Simon boarded the Ben-My-Chree at Heysham bound for Douglas on Thursday 28th March. With a sheaf of paperwork in hand, they were whisked through security and made it onto the island with rifles and ammunition intact. For Rich the trip was almost routine, this being his 5th visit to the island. Simon was embarking on his very first Open Competition.
Friday morning brought the chance for an open training session, with people not only familiarising themselves with the range but working out what clothing combinations worked best for keeping warm on the firing point!
With training done, and the shooters prepared (or as prepared as we were going to get), the afternoons were left free for exploring the island. The event is run so training and competitions tend to be in the morning, leaving the afternoon for sightseeing. The famous mountain road was closed, but we went as far as the snow barriers, getting to the legendary Creg Ny Baa pub, and tooling down the back road, which afforded a fabulous view south back towards Douglas.
Saturday afternoon was spent exploring the West-Coast town of Peel, with Sunday covering the South of the island, as far as the Calf of Man and Langness.
But enough of the sightseeing, how was the competition?
Saturday dawned (as every day did) sunny with a biting cold wind. Sheltered in the valley floor, the early shooters were treated to gentle but inconsistent winds, with Rich slotting in a 584, placing him 12th overall and a credible 7th in A-Class – his first competition since being promoted from B-Class last year. Having drawn the second detail, Si faced stiffer winds, placing 64th overall, and 16th in class, putting in a solid shoot for his first Open Competition and substantially bolstering his outdoor shooting experience. Although not earning any medals for their Day 1 efforts, Rich did place second in the light-hearted Blind Pairs competition (where competitors are randomly drawn with another shooter and their individual scores combined), having been fortuitously matched with Manx shooting legend and Commonwealth Medallist Harry Creevy. The Easter egg prizes went down very well!
Day 2 dawned with the wind coming around ever so slightly, blowing into the firing point and giving the shooters a harder time than on Saturday. After a 99 first string, Rich struggled with the cold, shooting a poor middle section that ended on 574, sliding down the rankings to 41st overall and 21st in class. Simon actually managed to improve his score – unfortunately it wasn’t enough to stop him slipping to 65th overall, although he held at 16th in class.
The Easter shoot is billed as competition and holiday rolled into one, and it certainly delivers. With the picturesque island to explore, the chance of doing some pistol shooting, and an ISSF-rules competition that the organisers have succeeded in keeping fun whilst also providing a serious shoot for those seeking qualification scores, we’d heartily recommend it, and hope to have a few more club members join us next year (April 17th-21st. One would hope no chance of snow!). More photos are available here.
