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It is a great honour to be asked to captain a representative team from one’s country and I was really pleased when the English Twenty Club invited me to lead a team to Guyana to join in their 150th anniversary celebrations, as ambassadors from English rifle shooting. The West Indies Full-Bore Shooting Championships were first inaugurated in 1928 and are held every year with the venue rotating around the ranges in the Caribbean.

Shooters are always seeking to use the best equipment available. In individual competitions, however, the most important element to consider is the ‘nut’ behind the backsight. In team matches it is the combination of shooter and wind coach that matters. We have had to select a really good crew, because we know we will meet stiff opposition in the West Indies. Our team of 16 combines a few hardened ‘oldies’ with a solid core of ‘up and coming’ shooters. To be precise, we have four ‘Veterans’ (over 60s) and three under 30s; eight GB Shots and six new ‘caps’ for England. We know, however, that the matches will be very friendly, as the West Indies are renowned for the fact that their disposition reflects the local climate – warm and sunny! We can look forward to renewing old friendships and making permanent new ones, lubricated by the finest agricultural products from Angostura and Demerara.

I wish to thank my wife Helen and, indeed, all the other spouses and partners for their unstinting support; we wouldn’t be able to achieve the desired standard without them.

Dick Winney
Captain
England Rifle Team, 2017