Congratulations to Rugeley shooter Olivia Beech, who claimed a Bronze medal at the July leg of British Shooting’s 50M Series on Sunday. The series – new for 2023 – is being held at the West Midlands Regional Shooting Centre at Aldersley, near Wolverhampton.
After a hard fought qualification round, six athletes qualified into an adapted Final, which allowed Para-athletes to compete alongside the able-bodied competitors on an equal footing. Olivia eventually placed third, behind silver medallist Wesley Cann and gold medallist Beth Edwards.
Wes Cann, Beth Edwards & Olivia Beech celebrate their medals Photo courtesy:British Shooting3-Position Final underway Photo:British ShootingOlivia training Photo courtesy: Shannon Davies
Rugeley member and Staffordshire County Captain Richard Hemingway won the Welsh Confined Prone Championship this weekend. Shooting at Tondu Target Shooting Club near Bridgend, Rich saw off strong competition from GB & Commonwealth shooters.
Qualifying mid-table on Saturday in difficult conditions, Sunday saw a calmer outlook and strong start for Richard as he clocked up a significant lead in the first half of the match. Rising winds saw scores fluctuate in the second half, but despite a difficult finish he had done enough to claim his first Welsh Championship title. Sian Corish was runner up, and Liam Webster – formerly of Rugeley and friend of the club – placed third.
Congratulations to Rugeley member Megan Bamsey, who earned national honours when she was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2023 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. The team of five competed across Air Rifle and Air Pistol disciplines. Megan placed 91st in the Women’s Air Rifle, between teammates Rhona Love and Seren Thorne. In the Mixed Pairs, Megan placed 35th with Bertie Galloway.
Rugeley member Rich Hemingway claimed Bronze in X-Class at the Torfaen Open on Sunday. With light winds, Simon Green of Appleton led the field with 624.3. Sam Harris of Chippenham followed closely with 623.0 for Silver whilst Rich scored 620.2.
Former Rugeley member Liam Webster placed third in A-Class with 614.2. The Torfaen Open is held annually at Long Ashton Rifle Club near Bristol. The match consists of an ISSF Prone Rifle 60-shot course, shot on Megalink electronic targets.
Rugeley shooter Paul Watkiss claimed a Bronze medal at the Swadlincote Open Airgun Meeting on Sunday. Shooting Air Pistol in A-Class, Paul scored 548, tying for Silver but losing on inner-tens to Lucy Evans of the West Midlands Regional Squad (and just selected by GB for the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl later this year).
Mick Chaganis placed 10th in B-Class for Air Pistol, and 3rd in Air Rifle B-Class. Congratulations to both.
Rugeley enjoyed international success, with three members representing Home Nation teams at the Bisley 100 Meeting.
On Friday, Club Chairman Martyn Buttery captained England – an historic double after he also captained the team at Scotland 100 in 2019.
Rich Hemingway and Ryan Williams were both selected to represent Wales. They were joined by friend-of-the-club Liam Webster who earned his first Welsh cap. Liam shot at Rugeley for many years before moving to west Wales some years ago.
England ultimately won the match, scoring 3799/4000.
Rugeley members made their mark at the Centenary edition of the NSRA’s Bisley Rifle Meeting, which returned after a two year hiatus. A strong contingent, the club sent 10 shooters down, competing over the weekend and full week.
Rich Hemingway places third in the Weekend Aggregate photo: Martyn Buttery
Richard Hemingway finally broke his run of middling Bisley performances to earn promotion to X-Class, joining Martyn Buttery and Ryan Williams in the top tier. Finishing third in the Weekend Aggregate and equal-fourth in the Grand Aggregate, either result was sufficient for promotion. Rich also won the incidental Prince William of Wales match and placed third in the Centenary Competition.
Vic Tyne placed third in Class for Competition 10 – the 100Yard portion of the Weekend Aggregate.
The meeting was opened by Michael More-Molyneux (Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey), on behalf of the Queen, who is patron of the NSRA. Lord Lieutenants represent the monarch in their county. The week included a number of 1922-inspired competitions, including deliberate and rapid-fire matches using targets from the period.
Michael More-Molyneux DL, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey at the Bisley 100 Opening Shot Ceremony with NSRA President Geoff Doe (left) and Chief Range Officer Jon Leech (centre).
Rich Hemingway – Rugeley member and Staffordshire County Captain – was runner up in the Welsh Confined 50Metre Championship on Sunday.
Shooting at Tondu Shooting Club near Bridgend, Richard qualified for the Confined after placing 5th in the Welsh Open Championship on Saturday. Improving on his score from Saturday, he was pipped to the win by Alun Evans. Dave Phelps placed third. Conditions were bright, with the tricky light but gusting winds that Tondu is known for.
Friend of the club, Liam Webster placed fifth in the Confined. Liam shot with distinction at Rugeley for many years before moving away from the West Midlands.
Rich Hemingway placed second in A-Class on Saturday at the NSRA National Long Range Rifle Championships. Qualifying via the North-West Regional Championship, Rich fended off finalists from five other regional heats at Sywell Ranges in Northamptonshire.
The Long Range Rifle Championship is a new competition for 2021. The NSRA introduced the contest to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the National Meeting, typically held every August at Bisley.
Meant as a stopgap, the Championships have been well supported, with praise for regional events. The NSRA have often been accused of a Bisley focus with all NSRA events and matches (other than the Scottish Meeting) taking place in Surrey. Making the Association more regionally relevant is a very welcome step and the NSRA have plans to expand the series in 2022 alongside the Centenary Bisley Meeting, first held on the Camp in 1922.
Congratulations to the seven Rugeley members who helped Staffordshire to victory in Division 5 of the 2019/20 Inter-County Reserves League.
Although scores have been very slow to emerge as most of the NSRA’s Competitions Team were furloughed through lockdown, we now know that Staffordshire went undefeated with nine wins and one draw across the ten rounds.
Congratulations go to Graham Delaney; Vic Tyne; Jimmy Hibbert; Lee Featherstone; James Tyne; Shane Adams and John Kemp.
Also on the team were Richard Tilstone of Market Drayton RPC; Jeff Hickson of Crewe RPC and Gordon Abbotts of City of Stoke RPC.
