Dear Member,
I have taken over the role of Honorary Secretary from Dick Horrocks who, after 6 years of ‘acting’ in the post, deserves a well-earned rest. On behalf of all of the members I would like to thank Dick for his loyal and unstinting service to the club, which I hope continues for many years in his role as President.
This year will also see a change to the Honorary Treasurer. Geoff Atkinson will be stepping down after 10 years in the post and a willing volunteer has been found in the form of Steven Thomas, who will take up office at the next AGM. I would like to offer my thanks to Geoff for his service to the club over the last decade.
For those without 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 (membership@englishtwenty.org.uk).
Website
The English Twenty website has undergone a major redesign by Paul Sykes to make it more user-friendly. Information about the Club is now easier to navigate and over the coming months historical results will be integrated. There is now a members-only area that can only be accessed after registration with the site.
Your membership fee status will also be checked before full access is granted, so make sure this is up to date. Please make use of this facility as the members’ area will contain council minutes, newsletters and yearbooks as well as allow us to maintain accurate records of members’ email addresses. Work is currently under way to create an online store allowing payment of membership fees and purchase of club memorabilia.
Finally, the site has been integrated with the ShootingResults.org system that we have been using to run the Spring Meeting stats (courtesy of Paul Wheeler) for the past 6 years and this year we are pleased to announce that you can enter and pay for the meeting online at http://www.englishtwenty.org.uk/enteronline. Please see section below for the Spring Meeting.
The Council would like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Beecher for administering the website for a considerable number of years.
Any feedback on the new site will be gratefully received and should be directed to webmaster@englishtwenty.org.uk, or submitted using the ‘Contact Us’ form on the website. We hope you enjoy using the new site.
Ordinary Members of Council
The members retiring by rotation during 2012 are T.G. Rylands (Chairman) and N.W. Penn, both are willing to stand again; may I thank them for their efforts during their periods of office. There are currently 3 vacancies on the Council, if you feel that you can add value to the club and you are willing to offer some of your time, please make yourself known to us.
Nominations from members are invited and if you have one or more nominations to propose, please fill in and return the tear-off part of this Newsletter below.
The Club Yearbook, 2012
The yearbook is once again being produced under the editorship of Heather Webb. During the year Heather will make a record of any changes notified to her and amend the following yearbook accordingly so if you notice any errors in the yearbook, please notify her. Likewise when you send any changes of e-mail addresses or other contact details to Jim Carter, please copy Heather in. The Council thanks Heather for her assistance with this task, which she does in her spare time. Without this kind of support the club would cease to function. yearbook@englishtwenty.org.uk
The Clubhouse
The Clubhouse had wider use last year than it has in the past. It was opened for a number of the Gallery Rifle events as well as the Hog Rally, The NSRA Rifle Meeting and the Bisley Live event. This gave the Membership Facilities Committee the opportunity to assess how much use the Clubhouse might have outside the traditional events of Spring and Imperial Meetings. Some events were more successful than others and we now have a clearer idea about when to open and how many staff we might need. Debbie has taken on the more formal role of Club Steward and will be opening the Club for a similar range of events this year. If members would like to use the Club on other occasions, this can be arranged with some advanced warning; private parties can also be accommodated. However it should be emphasised that any request for the Club to be opened must be properly supported by members so that we do cover our costs. Hiring the Club for a private event or club weekend will incur a £100 charge to cover costs of items such as special bar licences and staff wages.
The painting operation has continued and the kitchen and lavatories have been painted with suitable paint and now look far more clean and fresh. In addition, there has been more work to clear out old junk and make space. Members are requested not to use the Club as a location to dump items that they cannot decide where to put at home. This work will continue when time permits with more to be done in the old Armoury and the store room. Other Clubs are also organising self help weekends to help with cleaning and maintenance, the Facilities Committee will consider doing something similar.
Spring Meeting 2012
This year the Spring Meeting will be held 2nd – 4th June 2012. Tom Rylands will again organise the meeting and HPS ammunition will be issued to competitors. Entry forms will be included in the 2012 yearbook and also be available on the web site and in the Bisley Clubs soon. It will be possible to enter online this year and this is to be encouraged as it assists with the squadding and admin, making the organising much simpler. If you wish to enter online, but still pay by traditional means that is fine, please send your cheque to Tom Rylands and indicate that you have entered on line.
This meeting is the premier Club event of the year and members are encouraged to participate. In recent years, the clubhouse has been well attended especially on the Saturday when a special evening meal is available and a true club spirit prevails thanks to Steve Wilson and his staff. Please do support your club by entering; costs have been kept down as far as possible but it means we do need an entry of 120 plus to break even.
Gallery Rifle
The Club’s Gallery Rifle Division has now just reached 40 members which gives the selectors more scope when looking forward to the new season. This year we will be competing against teams from Germany, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Gallery Rifle National Match is held during the August Bank Holiday weekend during the GR National Championships meeting. A team of ten members competes against the other home countries and they now are awarded Half Colours.
For more information please see the Gallery Rifle page on the club website or www.galleryrifle.com. Division Superintendent Chris Farr: chris@galleryrifle.com
England Teams for National and Lawrence Matches, 2012
The English Twenty Club Council has honoured me by appointing me Captain of England for the National and Lawrence Matches in 2012. I have asked Charles Dickenson to be my Adjutant. I would like to draw your attention to the following:
The Lawrence Match will be held at Blair Atholl on Saturday 23rd June during the Scottish Championship Meeting which runs from 22nd to 24th. 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. (See NRA web site under Upcoming Events for details of how to enter).
The National Match will be held, as usual, on the final Thursday of the Imperial Meeting at Bisley, the 19th 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; you can do this alongside your Spring Entry 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. I have already 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 myself or Charles and put forward your case. A Club team is being selected for a match against the RAF and some other home countries on 19th May which will be shot under National conditions and I hope to use this as an opportunity to try out some new faces.
Finally, if for any reason you do NOT wish to be considered for selection for the National (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.
I look forward to seeing England return to winning ways.
Mike Fugeman
England tour to South Africa in 2013
I am delighted that the English XX Club Council has awarded me the honour of captaining the England team touring to South Africa in April 2013. James Lewis (GM) has accepted my request to be Vice-Captain and the appointment of the Adjutant is imminent. In the current times of austerity and mindful of people’s holiday time, we plan to keep the tour to a minimum duration (no longer than 2 weeks), although individuals could obviously extend their stay as they wish. We are looking to take a team that will contain a substantial amount of youth and energy, but clearly our number one aim is to win the Protea Match in the process of enjoying the tour, and so we will look to include a seasoned core of experienced caps. We will welcome recommendations and nominations from District Superintendents for some of these up and coming stars of the future. Please email me with contact details and a photo if you are not known to us, by the beginning of the Imperial Meeting. We hope to pick the team shortly after that and announce it in August.
Match v Combined Services and Home Countries 2012
I have been honoured with the Captaincy of this year’s team to compete against the Combined Services and Home Countries, I’m also pleased to report that Ron Booth has accepted the role of adjutant.
The Team will have 12 firers and 3 coaches & will be a Queen’s II course of fire, the match will be held on the second Friday of the Imperial Meeting alongside the Kolapore.
I would like to invite members of the English Twenty Club who wish to be considered for this Match either as a firer or coach to contact me or the team adjutant. There will also be the opportunity to submit your name at the English Twenty Clubhouse during the Imperial Meeting.
David Taylor
Certificates of Competence
Please note that the English Twenty 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.
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 may 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 a match covering at least two ranges between 200 and 600 yds, with 30 shots per firer can be held.
Peter Kelly is the Competitions Secretary, and if you are responsible for organising your heat please make sure that you liaise with him.
competitions@englishtwenty.org.uk
Significant Dates, 2012
19-20 May
Matches versus RAFTRC, Scotland and Wales
2-4 June
English Twenty Club Prize Meeting
2 June
Council Meeting, 17.30 in the old armoury at the clubhouse
12 July
English County Rifle Championship for the King George V Challenge Cup, 13.30 (subject to confirmation)
14 July
Aggregates for Club Championship and Varley commence. Entries close at the clubhouse at 12:00.
15 July
Meeting of District Superintendents, 18:45 in the old armoury at the clubhouse
16 July
Council Meeting, 20:15 in the old armoury at the clubhouse
17 July
County Short and Long matches
18 July
H.M. The Queen’s Prize, first stage
19 July
Aggregates for Club Championship and Varley finish
National Match
Annual General Meeting of the Club, 19:00 in the clubhouse
20 July
Kolapore; Combined Services match
Queen’s Prize, second stage
21 July
Mackinnon
H.M. The Queen’s Prize, final
Best wishes for the 2012 season.
Martin Liversage, Honorary Secretary
secretary@englishtwenty.org.uk