Dear Member,
Like last year, this has been sent out as a notification of its being available as a download from the web-site.
Once again, for those not on email, I would ask District Superintendents to attempt to circulate their “e-less” members with hard copies…many thanks. In addition, we would ask any member who has changed his or her address recently and has not alerted the Membership Secretary, to do so immediately and, if he/she is now on email, to inform the Club of this please.
We run the Club with volunteers and so try to make each job as simple as possible. For example, my job as Hon Secretary is greatly helped by having a Minutes Secretary, Carol Painting, who services Council meetings and the AGM. The Competitions Secretary position is vacant once again and until we can find a volunteer, I shall be organising the KGV Heats (please see below).
Ordinary Members of Council
The members retiring by rotation during 2010 are C A White, G P Nelson and S J Comins. While each is willing to stand again, may I thank them for their efforts during their periods of office. However, nominations from other members may still be received. If you have one or more nominations to propose, please fill in and return the tear-off part of this Newsletter below.
Election of President
Besides acting as Honorary Secretary for the last four and a half years, I have continued to have had the honour of being your President. In July of this year, I shall have completed two full 3-year periods of office and while I am more than willing to stand again, nominations are invited using the tear off form at the end of this Newsletter.
The Club Yearbook, 2010
The 2009 yearbook was unfortunately way below the standard that the Club expects its members to receive and the Council and Officers are only too aware of its many shortcomings. Council deliberated long and hard regarding how the Club should proceed and during last year District and Divisional Superintendents were consulted regarding what form future yearbooks should take. Replies from 17 DSs gave a majority who suggested that either we leave the format as it is or we publish names and possibly emails (where available) only; jewel winners’ names would also be included. The former view of continuing as we are was in the majority.
Comments were made regarding the usefulness of the full names and addresses to team adjutants. The option of names (and emails) will almost wholly satisfy this issue. An additional well-supported view to the “names only” option was for each DS and team adjutant to have a full membership printout (hard copy) with district/discipline against names. This will be of use to DSs and the KGV as well as to team adjutants. Two DSs preferred that the Yearbook should be web-based only with only DSs having access to full member details.
Council decided that the yearbook for 2010 should remain essentially unchanged with the following changes:
- All errors in the 2009 and previous editions would be rectified with missing competition results inserted where required.
- Concern over member confidentiality gave rise to the decision that under the “List of members by District” addresses should not be included. (Note that the web-site version of the yearbook will continue not to have this section present). This year under each District/Division, the DS’s name, address and email will to given together with a list of members’ names and emails only (where permission has been given) will be included. This should save a little space and so allow inclusion of reports from the newer Divisions, notably Gallery Rifle.
- The yearbook editor will contact each DS to identify those members who specifically require a printed copy. The number printed will reflect DS feedback and so DSs will be issued only with the number ordered
Heather Webb has kindly volunteered to be yearbook editor for the 2010 edition and with the full support of the club’s officers will endeavour to implement all these changes AND produce the yearbook at the earliest opportunity and hopefully during April at the latest.
After receiving this year’s edition, would all members please check that their entries in the National, Lawrence, Mackinnon, Kolapore and Australia match rolls in the new yearbook are accurate and send any corrections as soon as possible to the yearbook editor.
The Clubhouse
The Armoury: The Armoury has now been cleared of wooden cabinets and, hopefully, will be available for use by members as a separate room when the Club is open during the Spring and Imperial Meetings. Council will also be able to use the room when the main clubhouse is generally open to members.
Armoury Roof has now been repaired but current concerns lie with the general state of the main roof and these are being addressed by Council in terms of potential cost and tenant versus landlord liabilities.
Membership Facilities Committee: This committee has continued to develop the services offered during the Spring and Imperial meetings and I remind you that the clubhouse can be hired for £30 per day for general club and training purposes and anyone interested should approach the Club through the Honorary Secretary or the Chairman.
CSFC and Commonwealth Games, India 2010
The Club wishes to announce that the full-bore squad to represent England at the Commonwealth Shooting Confederation Championships (CSFC), planned to take place between 16th and 24th April is:
Parag Patel
Jon Underwood
David Luckman
Please note that all other shooting events at the CSFC took place over the period 14th to 27th February and the delay in the fullbore rifle championships and their movement to April are because of the failure to complete the new range on time.
The full-bore rifle squad that will represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010 is:
Parag Patel
John Underwood
Reserve : David Luckman
On behalf of the Club and its officers, I wish all squad members successful Championships and Games.
Spring Meeting 2010
This year the Spring Meeting will be held 29-31st May 2009. Tom Rylands will organise the meeting again and HPS ammunition will be issued to competitors. Entry forms will be included in the 2010 yearbook and also be available on the web site and in the Bisley Clubs soon.
On the Saturday morning (29th May) there will a team practice event organised by Dick Winney as captain of this year’s Combined Services Match. This is to give members attending the Spring Meeting with little or no team experience and who aspire to being considered for one of the club’s teams, team experience. For those entering the Meeting and wishing for information prior to receiving or completing a Spring Meeting entry form, please contact Dick
Gallery Rifle
The Club’s Gallery Rifle Division is going from strength to strength with now over 30 members recruited during its relatively short life under the direction of Chris Farr who is now a co-opted Council Member. The Division has teams competing at various meetings and venues against teams from Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The most notable match which is the Gallery Rifle National Match (recognized as such by the NRA) is held during the August Bank Holiday weekend. The recognition of this match as being “international” has prompted Council to consider the definition of Half Colours (see below) and their award to team members shooting gallery rifle for England during this match.
For more information please see the Gallery Rifle page on the club website or follow the “International” link at www.galleryrifle.com.
Division Superintendent Chris Farr: .
Half Colours
In recognition of the growing interest in newer disciplines like gallery rifle and that the Club traditionally has awarded full colours (as the “three lions” badge) to designated TR events, the Council is currently undertaking a review of its colours policy. At the present time it has decided that international matches that are recognised as being such by the NRA and organised by them or within their calendar will be considered by the English Twenty Club Council for award of half Colours to all team members. For such teams, the captain will also have to be officially designated by the Council in the manner that current England team captains for the National and Mackinnon are identified each year.
At the present time, the only match recognised for Half Colour status is the above-mentioned annual. Gallery Rifle international match. The method of captain selection is that the Gallery Rifle Division will present one or more nominations to the Executive Vice Presidents’ Captains Selection Committee prior to their meeting in July. The outcomes of this meeting then inform the July Council Meeting where final selections are made.
Ted Molyneux has been invited to design a suitable blazer badge and this is in hand at the present time. It is planned to have a design agreed by the May meeting and for badges to be available for last year’s as well as this year’s gallery rifle team members.
England Teams for National and Lawrence Matches, 2010
Here is a message from Paul Stevens, Captain of the 2010 England National Match team:
The English Twenty Club Council has honoured me by appointing me Captain of England for the National and Lawrence Matches in 2010. I have asked AC (Andy) Thomson to be my Adjutant. I would like your help in a few respects.
The Lawrence Match will be held at Blair Atholl on Saturday 19th June, on the middle day of the three-day Scottish Championship Meeting. I would like to encourage as many competent English shooters as possible to enter this meeting. I know it is a long way to travel, but you will be warmly welcomed by our Scottish hosts and the scenery is superb. Perhaps make a holiday of it. If you do intend to go, and would like to be considered for the English team, it would help me immensely if you would let me know at the time you enter, so that I can get an idea of the pool of shooters available for selection.
The National Match will be held, as usual, on the final Thursday of the Imperial Meeting at Bisley, on the 22nd of July. It is a condition for selection that you have paid your English Twenty Club subscription for the year and that you have entered the Club Championship, which costs £5 and is concurrent with the short range competitions in the Grand Aggregate. There have been cases in the past where shooters in the running for selection have been ruled out because of failure to meet one or other of these conditions, so please make sure you do not become one of them! There will be plenty of opportunities to enter the Club Championship before the Bisley meeting, or you can do so at the Clubhouse at any time up to the start of the Grand Aggregate on Middle Saturday lunchtime.
The guidelines for selection state that the team should include at least five shooters who have not shot in the National Match previously. We have invited recommendations from District Superintendents and will be keeping an eye on those whose names come forward. This method is not foolproof however, so if you have not shot in the match before, and you feel that you should be in contention, please do not hesitate to contact one of us and put forward your case.
Finally, if for any reason you do NOT wish to be considered for selection (perhaps because you have to be off camp on that Thursday) it is MOST IMPORTANT that you let us know. Selecting someone who then turns out to be unavailable makes trouble for everyone.
To contact us, please use e-mail (preferred) – Paul Stevens or Andy Thomson.
Certificates of Competence
Please note that the Club is not a primary club and so will not be issuing Certificates of Competence for any member who wishes to fire TR, MR, F Class or Gallery rifle disciplines on MOD ranges INCLUDING Bisley. These MUST be obtained from your primary club.
MOD Range access and the KGV Heats
It is evident that given the recent past and continuing pressures regarding civilian access to MOD ranges, the challenges of some regions holding KGV heats within the letter of the rules will prove to be even greater than in previous years. While I am told that the NRA is doing its best to improve civilian access, please note that if holding a Queen’s II match is not possible, then the main issue is whether to consider a match covering at least two ranges between 200 and 600 yds with a total match series per firer of 30 shots can be held.
If you are having problems, please ensure that you let me know the problem and your possible solution in the first instance. In this way, I can officially sanction the planned match.
Child Protection Legislation
The NRA has published its new Guide to Policy and Procedures on The Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults in Target Shooting. All members who deal with the training and coaching of children and vulnerable adults can see the NRA policy on its web-site. The Club is in the process of examining the guidelines and will have to pass a formal resolution at its May Council meeting with regard to its own position and policy with regard to this legislation. This legislation potentially affects all adults who will come into contact via training or coaching of any shooter who is under 18 years of age. This obviously has serious implications for clubs with junior sections.
With regard to vulnerable adults, a vulnerable adult is defined by Section 59 of the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as having ‘…attained the age of 18 and ……has particular needs because of age or have any form of disability…’ It is an altogether more complex definition. Again clubs must respond to this legislation if it considers it to be relevant to its own operation.
Cursory examination suggests that at present the legislation will not have a direct impact on the English Twenty Club since we do not operate training and coaching of minors at the present time – BUT we must have a policy and means of its implementation available if it becomes relevant at some later date. The legislation could have an impact on how the Club uses its clubhouse facilities during the Schools meeting, however.
Best wishes for the 2010 season.
Dick Horrocks, President and Honorary Secretary