Phil Chapman-Sheath
Captain, England Rifle Team 2026
Now that I have had time to catch my breath and reflect a little, having packed away my rifle in my locker at the NLRC. My first thoughts are ‘what a whirlwind of a tour!’
I have been so very deeply honoured by the Council of the English Twenty Club, firstly to be appointed Captain, and secondly to have both the privilege and opportunity to tour with such a wonderful team of amazingly talented individuals. The whole team bonded quickly over such a short space of time during training, working closely together with themselves and with my superb management team ensuring that this would be one of those ‘tours to remember’.
We had a fabulously busy week in beautiful Guyana where we were so well looked after by the Guyana RA members, the police, and the Guyana Defence Force. I am also grateful to the Deputy British High Commissioner, Liam McShane, for his generosity in hosting us at his official residence and for the tremendous support that he gave the team at the final presentation evening. All the team wish to send additional thanks to the Chief of Staff, Brigadier Khan of the Guyana Defence Force for his generosity in allowing us to use the Timehri Range, for officially welcoming us to Guyana, for opening the event with the ‘first shot’, and for his generous gesture in arranging our personal military ‘grey-tail’ plane for our trip to the beautifully stunning Kaiteur Falls.
Thank you also to the whole team for giving the management such a difficult time in picking the two teams that delivered a high standard of shooting in both the individual championships and in securing a gold and silver result for England in the Demerara Cup team matches in Guyana.
Having therefore earned ourselves time to catch our breath in Antigua, the team took to the ‘acclimatisation’ phase of the tour with renewed vigour. We all thoroughly enjoyed a fabulous week of team bonding activities on land and in or on the water, interspersed with enough time for personal reflection and giving everyone the ability to ‘recharge’. This made sure we were ready for the final hectic week of the West Indies Championships, that were officially opened by the Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Benjamin of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force and The Hon. Daryll Matthews, Minister of Sport & the Olympics.
Team England once again doing us proud with very strong performances dominating the individual championships and again making life very difficult for management to choose the final teams for the inaugural English Twenty Club Short Range International Trophy.
Match day once again went to England ‘Red’, securing the gold medal position over some very strong West Indies teams with the England ‘White’ team very closely behind in 4th position. My personal thanks to Mr Thomas Greenaway, President of the Antigua and Barbuda RA who hosted and organised the event, the range staff of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, the Antigua Police Force, and to Major John Nelson (President) and Mr Ryan Sampson (Secretary) of the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council for their kind invitation to participate in the Championships.
Finally, any successful tour is only possible with the dedication, friendship, support and enthusiasm of those touring individuals who come together as a team. Thank you also on behalf of the team for all the support and encouragement from the wider international shooting community, our very generous sponsors, and perhaps most importantly from our own friends and family who have encouraged us to pick ourselves up when we have fallen short and enabled us all to participate and succeed in this most wonderful of sports .
Thank you to everyone involved who made this tour a happy, successful and enjoyable experience that I will certainly remember and treasure for years to come.
Message 10 – with compliments.
Phil Chapman-Sheath
Captain
England Fullbore Target Rifle Team to the West Indies 2026