Dear Member,
Firstly, and on behalf of all of our members, I would like to formally congratulate David Luckman and Parag Patel for their successes whilst representing the Club and their Country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The excitement for those unable to travel to the games was brought to life by the newly formed Barry Buddon Broadcasting Corporation, who kept over 1,000 subscribers updated as events unfolded.
Results
Pairs
300 500 600 QII total 900 1000 QIII total Grand total Medal Position
England 100.13 100.16 100.14 300.43 150.20 145.-14 295.34 595.77 Gold
David Luckman
50.9 50.9 50.8 150.26 75.9 72.4 147.13 297.39
Parag Patel
50.4 50.7 50.6 150.17 75.11 73.10 148.21 298.38
Individual
QI total 300 500 600 QII total 900 1000 QIII total Grand total Medal Position
David Luckman
104.11 49.8 50.5 50.8 149.21 74.6 74.4 148.10 401.42 Gold
Parag Patel
103.13 50.7 49.5 50.5 149.17 72.3 70.2 142.5 394.35 Bronze
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 ).
Officers of the Club
The Club President, Prof A.R. Horrocks, will be stepping down from his post at the 2015 Annual General Meeting. On behalf of the club I would like to thank him very much for his service.
Nominations for this post are sought, for which there is a form towards the end of this newsletter.
The members retiring by rotation during 2015 are T.G. Rylands and G.R. Trembath, may I thank them for their efforts during their periods of office. There also exists a vacancy for an ordinary member on Council.
If you have a member you wish to nominate please complete the form at the end of this newsletter.
Notes from the Retiring President
It is with regret that I have decided to not stand for re-election in 2015, but then again, I have been President of the Club for 12 years and such a time span is long enough (if not too long) for one person to occupy this position. It is time for a change and a fresh brain, I guess. I shall, however, continue to work for the Club as a “Past President”.
“What is the Job Description?” one might say. Well, when I took the job on, there wasn’t one and still isn’t, but generally the job of any President is to provide a source of advice and a steering hand to the officers and members when needed. When I became President, unfortunately we were in need of a new Honorary Secretary at the same time and not being able to find a willing candidate, I filled this post for about the first 6 years and so my presidential role became somewhat blurred with that of Hon Sec! However, since the appointment of Martin Liversage as Honorary Secretary, I have been able to take a more “overseeing” role for which I have to thank him.
One of my first acts as President was to persuade Council to merge the former Hut and Bar Committees with the current Facilities Committee to manage the clubhouse and its activities as a whole, and Toby Lehmann has ably chaired this for the last 10 years or so. During this time the services to members including meals provided by Debbie during the Spring and Imperial Meetings have become a standard item which many members enjoy. The Club has attempted to widen its fullbore shooting interests and two new sections for F Class and Gallery Rifle were created, with the latter now having over 40 members. This has enable total club membership to remain in excess of 900 – a very healthy level.
During my tenure I have been helped by some very experienced and able Council members and District Superintendents and I would like particularly to thank our Chairman, Tom Rylands, for all his efforts and especially for his running both the Spring Meeting and Club Championship during the Imperial. Carol Painting and her eye for detail and concern for the Club’s operations and the Club archive should be mentioned, as should also the experience and knowledge of the Club’s history and its rules offered by our Past President, Robin Pizer. The Club also has a very active group of Executive Vice Presidents who now operate a formal procedure for the selection of England team Captain shortlists for Council to consider at the July Council meeting. Peter Merry, as secretary of the DSs’ meeting during the Meeting is always able to present “grass roots” opinion to both Council and its officers, for which we are all thankful.
One piece of unfinished business is the future of the clubhouse and how the Club may continue to afford its maintenance and running costs – we have obtained a statement from the NRA which now allows us to consider sharing it with another organisation and our Chairman is in discussions at the present time with a possible third party. We do have a break clause in our lease in 2017 which will enable us to relinquish the clubhouse if it proves to be unaffordable. Current calculations show that the annual cost per member of maintenance etc., was almost equal to the old membership fee and so it is not a minor financial item. I hope that we find a way forward that enables the Club to increase both clubhouse use and to reduce the direct costs.
I shall look forward to working with the new President whoever that might be, and also for the Club to continue to prosper in spite of the ever rising costs facing us and the reduction in availability of ranges away from Bisley.
The Club Yearbook, 2015
The yearbook is once again being produced under the editorship of Heather Webb, without this kind of support the club would cease to function. yearbook@englishtwenty.org.uk
Heather has declared that this will be her last year producing the yearbook and I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank her for her tenacity, generosity and attention to detail. With this announcement in mind, the English Twenty Club is seeking a volunteer to take on responsibility for the yearbook.
The Clubhouse
The Club will be opened for the traditional periods of Spring Meeting and Imperial Meeting as well to support members during section events such as Gallery Rifle. The Club is opened for specific events or when there is a requirement to support members for events such as the Inter Counties if counties require supper or the Ages match. Given sufficient warning and planning the Club may be booked for events such as training weekends at a £100 charge to cover costs of special bar licenses, staff wages and other overheads. Full catering can also be arranged.
The Club continues to benefit from the efforts of a few willing members and will only survive if this continues.
Spring Meeting 2015
This year the Spring Meeting will be held 23rd to 25th May. Tom Rylands will again organise the meeting and ammunition will be available for purchase by competitors if they so designate on the Entry Form. Entry forms will be available on the web site and in the Bisley Clubs. Online entry is 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.
Online entry can be made at https://www.shootingcompetitions.org/
Please note that competitors may use hand-loads that conform to NRA Rule 151, rather than the ammunition being issued by the Club. Members wishing to use hand-loads will have to sign a declaration on the Entry Form that their ammunition conforms to Rule 151. Issued ammunition will still be available for purchase.
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 Debbie and her 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 2014 season was busy for England Gallery Rifle shooters. Three head to head matches were organised in 2014 which took the team to the North of England and the West of Wales. as well as the annual Home Countries National Match (HCNM) taking place at Bisley. Derby Rifle and Pistol Club and Haverfordwest Target Shooting Club played most excellent hosts to the teams.
This was the best and most committed season for the England Team and thanks go to all the shooters and fellow competitors who put the time and effort in to provide varied and excellent competitive environments. We have still to travel to Scotland to officially compete but 2015 hopes to break that duck.
Derby’s range facilities are excellent and the club holds a well-attended annual Gallery Rifle Open meeting at the height of the summer. This was enough to tempt a Scottish team down for the weekend and partake a three way England, Scotland, Wales three nations match.
The Welsh Gallery Rifle Championships are held in picturesque Pembrokeshire. The old wartime airfield ranges on the northern outskirts of Withybush provided us with some range time for a Wales v England head to head. In both cases five man England teams travelled and competed in the usual Timed & Precision and Multi-target events – both shot with centre-fire and small-bore Gallery Rifles.
So how did the England tourists do? Well shot I’d say but we were actually outshot. The Welsh were on top form in 2014 and managed to better us in both contests. Their key strength lay in the ability to keep absolutely consistent and high scores in the small-bore elements of the contests. Full results of all the matches can be found in the yearbook.
The season was not a complete Welsh walkover however. The HCNM match at the Gallery Rifle Nationals did see the trophy come back England’s way. This was a solid victory for England and captain, Sophie West, who after tanking the team for their commitment throughout the season announced her retirement for family reasons.
So – some changes of personnel for 2015. Sophie West has stepped down as captain and Morné van Dalen has taken over. Many congratulations to Sophie and her husband, fellow England and GB shooter Chris West, who had a baby girl in February.
As usual we have websites which are to be bookmarked if you have anything more than a passing interest in the Gallery Rifle discipline.
Http://galleryrifle.com is the main website with Facebook sites of the same name. We also have a
Facebook page and twitter stream of the England Gallery Rifle team. Find the former at EnglandGalleryRifle and the latter at EGRifle. Follow both and keep up with the news.
England Teams for National and Lawrence Matches, 2015
Message from the Captain, Tony de Launay
Dear Members,
I am honoured to have been appointed by the Council of the English Twenty Club as captain of the England teams for the National Match and for the Lawrence Trophy Match. I have asked Andrew Lothian to be my Adjutant and Nick Tremlett to be my main coach.
As you will know the English Twenty Club sets selection conventions for the National Match (this year on Thursday 16 July), requiring five shooters that have never fired in the match before and five that have only shot once in the match. In addition the five reserves must not have shot in, or been reserves for, the match in previous years. We do have historic records, but they are not infallible and it always helps enormously to be reminded of potential candidates. So we are on the look-out for first-timers with confidence and self-belief and an excellent shooting record. The same applies for potential target coaches who have demonstrated success at Under 25 international, county or equivalent level in the last year or so, and for those that have shot just once.
It is impossible for us to know every up and coming star and we would welcome an approach at any time. Contact details for Andrew and myself are set out below.
In addition to their performance during the July Bisley Meeting, there are two other occasions on which aspiring individuals have the opportunity to show their skills. The first is the RAFTRC match scheduled for Saturday 16 May. If you would like to be considered for a place in the English Twenty Club team please contact Andrew to register your interest now.
The second match is at the Scottish Open meeting at Blair Atholl in Scotland, scheduled for 5-7 June , at which the Lawrence Trophy is contested (on 6 June). Could anyone planning on attending please let Andrew know when they enter (or before if possible), so that we have them in mind when it comes to the selection process. The Scots are always thoroughly welcoming hosts and the experience of shooting on the Blair Atholl range is well worth having.
Please let us know of your interest in either or both of these events. Individuals should let us have their email address and a telephone number (home and/or mobile). Email is preferred but a telephone call is fine, or button-hole any of the three of us if you see us on the firing point.
The other very important point worth a reminder is that anyone aspiring to selection for the National Match must have paid their membership subscription and have entered the English Twenty Club Championship. You can do so through your district superintendent at any time or with your entry for the English Twenty Spring Meeting, or at the July Bisley Meeting over the bar at the English Twenty Clubhouse up to the start of the Grand Aggregate. We cannot select you if you have not done so. It will help the Adjutant enormously if potential candidates check now that they are up to date with banker’s order or alternative payment!
Last year Nick Hinchliffe said that he would have a hard job following his predecessor: Nick then set a new National Match record score! Are you up to the challenge?
Tony de Launay
Match v Combined Services and Home Countries 2015 – message from the Captain, Dave Allen
I have been honoured with the captaincy of the English Twenty Club team to compete against the Combined Services and the other Home Countries this year. I am pleased that Dick Winney has accepted the invitation to be my Adjutant and that Stuart Comins has agreed to be my Chief Coach. The team will consist of twelve firers and three coaches. The course of fire is as for the Kolapore: one sighting shot and ten to count at 300, 500 and 600 yards. The match will be held on the second Friday of the Imperial meeting, alongside the Kolapore match.
I invite members of the English Twenty Club who wish to be considered for the match as a shooter or a coach to contact me or my Adjutant at the earliest opportunity. I am keen to include a mixture of the ‘old and bold’ with up-and-coming shooters and coaches. A sheet will be posted on the notice board on the veranda outside the clubhouse, inviting members to submit their names for consideration at the start of the Imperial Meeting.
Captain: Dave H Allen
Adjutant: Dick Winney
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
To encourage the widest possible participation in the KGV please note that if holding a Queen’s II match is not possible, then a match covering at least two ranges between 200 and 600 yds, with 21 shots per firer can be held.
Please also note the ruling for the heats regarding ammunition, which is to allow ammunition as agreed within the group, rather than it be issued by the organising DS. This is only when all teams agree, if not then the organising DS must supply ammunition in the traditional manner.
Peter Kelly is the Competitions Secretary, and if you are responsible for organising your heat please ensure that you liaise with him.
Significant Dates 2015
16 May
Short Range Match v RAFTRC, Scotland and Wales
17 May
Long Range Match v RAFTRC, Scotland and Wales
23 – 25 May
English Twenty Club Prize Meeting
23 May
Council Meeting, 17.30 in the clubhouse
9 July
English County Rifle Championship for the King George V Challenge Cup, 13.30 (subject to confirmation)
11 July
Aggregates for Club Championship and Varley commence. Entries close at the clubhouse at 12:00.
12 July
Meeting of District Superintendents, 18:45 in the clubhouse
13 July
Council Meeting, 20:15 in the clubhouse
14 July
County Short and Long matches
15 July
H.M. The Queen’s Prize, First Stage
16 July
Aggregates for Club Championship and Varley finish
National Match
17 July
Kolapore
Combined Services match
Queen’s Prize, Second Stage
18 July
Mackinnon
H.M. The Queen’s Prize, Final