Regular visitors will be aware that a research into the history of Scottish representation in Home Country, Commonwealth and other International Matches has been underway for some considerable time now.  This project is now nearing completion, with a little further research needed in the NSRA and CSF(ED) archives.  In order to speed this up, if anyone has access to the results of the following events, the webmaster would be keen to either borrow, or obtain a copy, of them:

SMRC Meetings 1907 (and anything earlier), 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1915 & 1939.

NSRA Scottish Meetings 1950, 1953, 1956, 1971 & 1972.

NSRA National Meetings 1947, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 & 1976.

NSRA Air Rifle Championships 1975 & 1976.

CSF(ED) Championships 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979 & 1980

Please note, for National Meetings, all that is required is a copy of the results from the Home Countries matches.  Many thanks to Brian Woodall at the NSRA who has helped fill many of the gaps to date.

Round 2 of the NSRA Short Range Standing & Kneeling League appears to have produced a new British & Scottish Record for Glenrothes - subject to ratification by the NSRA.  The team of Donald McIntosh (194), Shirley McIntosh (191) and Robin Law (186) added four points to the record previously held by an E U Alumni team that also included Donald.

The second Airgun Grand Prix event of the 2003/4 season produced some of the best shooting by Scotland's female air rifle shooters for some years.  Between them, Emma Cole-Hamilton and Heather Rudd - the latter shooting in her first 60 shot match - shattered almost every Scottish Junior Women's record on the books.  Emma increased the sixty shot match record by nine points to 577, Heather also beating the old record by six points.  Emma increased the forty shot match record by one point to 383, Heather increasing the forty + final record by over seven points to 479.5.  These results secured second and third place in the Grand Prix for the two young women, with only Robin Law able to beat them.

In the pistol event, Don Robertson was a comfortable winner, however a close fight for the minor places saw Lawrence Cooper come out on the top, while Mark Joyce picked up sufficient points to stay ahead in the series.

The next event will be held at Glenrothes on 18th January - please get your entries in now to avoid disappointment as these events are now proving very popular.

The Scottish Target Shooting Federation (STSF) wishes to appoint a Team Manager for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Melbourne in March 2006. This appointment will be made in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland.  Applications are sought from candidates with strong people management skills and knowledge of the sport of target shooting is desirable.  Candidates should be able to work under pressure for extended periods of time and have experience in managing teams at international sporting events.

Details of the post, along with details of how to apply, are available on the STSF website.

This year’s meeting was well supported with entries from Caithness, Worcestershire, Cheshire, Aberdeenshire and Dumfriess-shire as well as nearer home.

Entries in the inexpert classes swelled considerably from last year with a party from Dollar Academy after an absence of 2 years and also a group of beginners from Balerno & Currie Rifle Club.  Full marks to Craig Stewart and Alasdair Horne for getting their beginners out and about, hard work well rewarded, we hope.

The first day of the meeting, Sun 30^th Nov., saw a strong lead taken by Tom Hodgson with 6 off 600, closely followed by Cyril De Jonckheere with 7 off.  Saturday 6^th Dec. saw Matthew Thomson record another 7 off, just one point ahead of his Dad, Ian, and John Campbell from Halkirk, who called in on his way to the footie.  Last thing in the afternoon, Cliff Ogle breezed in to match but not beat Tom’s score.  The last day, Sun. 7^th, was well attended with Alasdair Horne making the closest challenge to Messrs Hodgson and Ogle with another 8 off.  Cliff Ogle won the A class aggregate on countback.  Matthew Thomson also edged Cyril De Jonckheere into 4^th on countback.

Angus Jackson wrapped up B class with 13 off and Jamie Holwill, 14 years of age, stormed C class with 19 off, including the only possible scored outside A class (his first ever).  Sheena Sharp held off Susan Jackson to retain the Ladies competition and Cyril De Jonckheere’s 5x400 took the Veteran’s competition.  Matthew Thomson retained both the under-21 and under-18 competitions with Jamie Holwill taking the under 15 competition.

Watsonians retained the team competition with both the A and B teams holding off teams from Balerno & Currie, Dumfries, Alloa and Kirkcaldy.

The meeting enjoyed a total entry of 67 shooters, recording 21 possibles, 32 99’s and 46 98’s, the last being the most frequently recorded score.

An innovation, just for fun, this year, was Bill’s Best Bulls Awards.  Christmas crackers, for 10’s for which the flange on the oversize gauge covers all the black inside the 10 ring, were presented to Robin Thomson (Wat’s Dyke), Mel Mutch (Worcester Regiments Association), Dave Taylor (Dumfries) and Thomas Halliday (George Watson’s College).

Much appreciation goes to the non-shooting Mum’s and one Dad from George Watson’s College Rifle Club for their support in providing refreshments each day.

Emma Cole-Hamilton started the 2003/4 Air Rifle season in good form, breaking her own Scottish Junior record for the Olympic Final at Callander this afternoon.  In an otherwise uneventful match, Robin Law produced another in a recent run of steady performances to win the Air Rifle comfortably, while Mark Joyce cruised to a victory in the Air Pistol.

The series continues at Denwood on 14th December.

The Scottish 'A' and Under-25 Squads for 2004 have been announced.  There are a number of changes from the 2003 squad - Emma Cole-Hamilton, Neil Stirton and Simon Clark are promoted to the 'A' squad from the Under-25s, with Gordon Motion being promoted from the 'B' to the 'A' Squad.  Tom Hunter has been promoted from the Junior to the Under-25 squad.  Donald McIntosh and Jim Cole-Hamilton have declined places in the 'A' squad for 2004.

A small Scottish contingent attended the Welsh Airgun Open Championships in Cardiff over the weekend of 1st and 2nd November.  Robin Law was second in the Open Championship, climbing from 4th to 2nd in the Olympic Final.  Graham Rudd equalled his personal best of 571 on the first match, and promptly added four points to it on the third match.  Pat Gray also set a new personal best, just missing the 500 mark by a single point!

The Fifth Commonwealth Shooting Championships, scheduled to be held in India at the beginning of December, have been cancelled due to a lack of entries.  The possibility of rescheduling them for March 2004 is being investigated.  A small Scottish team, consisting entirely of smallbore and air rifle shooters, had been selected.

Simon Clark and Graham Rudd picked up third place in the Air Rifle team event at the Airgun Inter-Region Match, held at Aldersley on the 12th October, Simon setting a new personal best score of 559 in the process.

Club Affiliation and Winter League Entry Forms are also available now.  Please contact the Executive Officer if your club would like to receive forms and has not already done so.

Entry forms are now available for the 10m Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix events which will be held from November through March at venues across Scotland.  Forms can be obtained from the Executive Officer.

The forms for annual membership of the SSRA, and the individual winter leagues and other competitions are now available.  If you would like a copy of the forms, please e-mail the Executive Officer who will send one out as soon as possible.

News has recently arrived from New Zealand of the scores shot by the North Island team in their annual match against Scotland.  The Scottish Junior team had a convincing win, setting a new record score for the match in the process.  However, the Senior team did not fare so well, being defeated by 8 points - extending the current run of New Zealand wins to 6, with their lead in the series now extended to 16 - 14.

Scotland's annual matches against the Army and the Police were held concurrently on Saturday 13th September at Bisley.  Scotland won both the prone and three position matches against the Army, but lost both against the Police.  Top Scottish score in the prone team was Tom Hunter with 585, top Scottish score in the three positions team was Simon Clark.  Emma Cole-Hamilton raised her own Junior Ladies Scottish records for the Standing, Kneeling and overall total in the 3x40.

Despite tricky wind conditions, coupled with difficult light in the early part of the day and a cold front later on, there were some good scores recorded at the Gagie Open & Grand Prix.  Cyril De Jonckheere won Class A comfortably with 592, with Sheena Sharp second with a season's best of 590.  Class B went to Simon Clark on 586, Charles Allan repeating his Grampian Open success in Class C - this time with 579.  There were particularly high scores in Class D, Bruce McIntosh's 586 narrowly beating David Champion's 585.

In a repeat of the Angus event on the same range in June, the C&D Grand Prix was won by local organiser Peter Gray - Hamish Rae picking up a couple of points to secure the C&D series by a comfortable margin.

Sinclair Bruce won the main Grand Prix with a steady 593, another 590 from Sheena Sharp securing second place following an excellent final.  Despite entering the final in second place, Donald McIntosh slipped to fourth - however this was enough to secure the series, just two points ahead of Sinclair.

The 3 Positions Grand Prix at Denwood was poorly attended - Donald McIntosh a comfortable winner of the 3x40 with 1144, with Emma Cole-Hamilton the only 3x20 shooter with 544.

Jon Hammond, Neil Stirton and Heather Rudd have been selected as part of the British team that will compete at the inaugural World Universities Shooting Championships which will be held in Plzen, CZE from 22nd to 28th September.

Donald McIntosh secured the 3x40 Grand Prix series on Saturday, with one event remaining.  A equal personal best score of 1152, including an equal personal best standing of 374, provided a 16 point lead over Martin Sinclair, which was never threatened during the final.  Simon Clark picked up third place, raising his personal best to 1126.  In the 3x20 competition, Welsh visitor Johanne Brekke entered the final with a one point lead over Janis Thomson, and although she was briefly overhauled, she fought back to win the event.  In the series, Emma Cole-Hamilton has moved into the lead, and with Tony Credland's recent retirement this looks unassailable.

There were some high scores in the prone competitions at Grampian on Sunday.  Donald McIntosh won Class A with 596, with three scores of 593 being recorded also.  Lynda Sinclair won Class B with 589 - a GB Squad MQS - with Charles Allan winning Class C with the same score.  Lawrence Cooper also rose the occasion in Class D, winning comfortably with 586.

Ron Nilsen produced a steady 394 to win the C&D Grand Prix by a large margin.  Hamish Rae still heads the series prior to the final event at Gagie in two weeks time, and only John Campbell can catch him now.  In the main Grand Prix Martin Sinclair produced an excellent 597 for a five point lead.  With only one point separating the remaining finalists, 17 year old Tom Hunter - who had just set a personal best of 591 in the qualifying round - produced an excellent ten shots to secure 2nd place, with Sinclair Bruce just hanging onto 3rd.  Donald McIntosh remains at the top of the points table, but there are a number of shooters who can still catch him at the final round at Gagie.

The NSRA have announced that Emma Cole-Hamilton and Tom Hunter have been added to the GB Junior Squad.  In addition, the Airgun sections of the Senior Squad for 2004 have been announced, and include David Rattray and Robin Law for Men's Air Rifle.  The Cartridge section will be finalised after the Grand Prix matches at Denwood this coming weekend.

Matthew Thomson collected a Bronze Medal in the Men's Prone at the Junior International Match shot at Bisley the week before the NSRA National Meeting.  On a tricky day, his qualifying round of 582 was enough to take him into the final in 3rd place, and despite some loose shots which dropped him to 4th at one point, he regained 3rd on the last shot.  Tom Hunter also collected a medal in this match, with a Silver in the team event.

Emma Cole-Hamilton picked up Silver in the Women's Air Rifle Grand Prix event, and qualified for the final of the 3x20, where she came 7th.

Only three Scottish Counties nominated their representatives to compete in the Champion of Champion Match at the end of the National Meeting - Aberdeenshire (Neil Stirton), Lothian (Cliff Ogle) and Forth & Clyde (Donald McIntosh).  Neil was the only one to qualify for the final, entering in third place but dropping to fifth after a disappointing shoot, while Cliff and Donald came 9th & 10th respectively.

Donald McIntosh was the best placed of the Scots in the Lord Roberts Final, coming third, with a score of 778, just three points off the lead.  Neil Stirton was 5th with 777, and Mel Mutch 8th was 8th with 773.

Photos from the prize giving will be published on Monday.

Below is a brief summary of some of the unsquadded competitions at Bisley:

Three Scots have qualified for the Final of the British Long Range Prone Championship - Neil Stirton, Donald McIntosh & Mel Mutch.

The Scottish Junior Team continued it's winning run at Bisley, romping home 26 points ahead of Wales, with England a further 13 points adrift.

The tables were turned however in the Ladies & Main Team matches - the Ladies were 39 points behind England, but managed to stay in front of Wales by a narrow margin of 8 points.  The Main Team crashed into 3rd place, 58 points behind England, with Wales 2 ahead and Northern Ireland 43 behind.

There were a couple of changes to the team officials, and these are listed below.  In addition Keith Johnston, the first reserve for the Junior match, refused to attend and was replaced with David Champion, the second reserve.

A summary of the results, and the detailed Scottish scores, can be found here.

Twelve Scots have qualified for the Second Stage of the British Long Range Prone Championship - Neil Stirton, Donald McIntosh (both top qualifiers from their squads), Bill Brown, Bill Long, Jim Mackie, Ally Aitken, Dave Lumsden, A Moncrieff, Sheena Sharp, Carol McKenna, Mel Mutch & Tom Hunter.

The following teams have been declared for the Home Countries Prone Matches which will be held tomorrow afternoon:

The final day of the Aggregate at Bisley was blessed traditionally difficult winds, with only two shooters in Class X breaking the 580 mark for the 60 shot match at 100 yards.  Donald McIntosh picked up 3rd in that competition, to move back to 4th in the Aggregate.  Top Scot however was Neil Stirton, two points ahead, in 2nd place, with Cliff Ogle in 9th place.

In Class A Bill Long was top Scot in 13th place.  In Class B Graham Love secured 2nd place in Competition 5, while Tom Hunter completed the Aggregate in 2nd place.  C Collins was best place in Class C with 4th, with Steve Short 32nd in Class D.

With the final cards in the unsquadded competitions still to be shot along with the first stage of the British Championship tomorrow, Shirley McIntosh's score from the Scottish Meeting remains the best in the Women's Open Meeting Championship, although Sheena Sharp still has the potential to take the lead.  Neil Stirton remains in the lead in the News of the World, while Jim Cole-Hamilton tops the Chas Bell and Life & Annual competitions.

Aberdeenshire broke a twelve year old Scottish record today at Bisley, shooting in the Women's County 50m competition.  The team of Sheena Sharp, Mary Melvin and Lizzie Paton raised the score previously held by Lothian, by four points.

In the Aggregate competitions, Classes X, A & D shot the 60 shot match at 50m, while Classes B & C shot the 60 shot match at 100 yards.  Neil Stirton was 3rd in Class X, moving up to 4th in the Aggregate.  Donald McIntosh slipped to 6th in the Agg, while Cliff Ogle climbed to 7th.  In Class A 3rd place for the Tom Hodgson moved him up to 10th in the Aggregate, while Tom Hunter remains 2nd in Class B.  J Mackie remains 3rd in Class C, with C Collins 6th.

On the second day of the Aggregate competitions, the classes swapped distances, and have now all shot 80 shots at each distance.  There were no medal placings in Classes X or A, however Donald McIntosh is now sitting 4th in the Class X Aggregate, with Neil Stirton one point behind, and Cliff Ogle 9th, while in Class A Bill Long is sitting in 9th place.  In Class B Joe McCarthy picked up 2nd in Competition 2, with Tom Hunter now sitting 2nd in the Aggregate.  In Class C, J Mackie is now sitting in 3rd place, while in Class D Steve Short was 1st in Competition 1.

A new format for the Aggregate competitions had Classes B & C shooting competitions 1 & 4 (both 40 shots at 50m) while Classes X, A & D shot competitions 2 & 3 (40 shots at 100 yards).

Some scores were still to be finalised at the time of publication, however it appears that Cliff Ogle was second in Competition 2 in Class X, with Sheena Sharp taking the same place in Competition 3 in the same Class.

In Class A Bill Long won Competition 3.

Tom Hunter was the star of the day, winning both Competitions 1 & 4 in Class B, with Ally Aitken picking up 3rd in Competition 1 in the same Class.

In Class C J Mackie picked up 2nd in Competition 1 and 1st in Competition 4 to lead the Aggregate.

On the overnight Aggregate leader boards, Neil Stirton and Donald McIntosh are sitting 8th in Class X, with Bill Long 6th in Class A, Tom Hunter 1st in Class B and C Collins 8th in Class C.

With the Weekend Aggregate scores now confirmed, Dave Lumsden was the most successful of the Scots, winning Class A.  In Class X Bill Brown and Donald McIntosh tied for fourth place, with Tom Hunter picking up 4th in Class B.

The Bon Accord team of Sheena Sharp, Jim Cole-Hamilton and Jon Latimer were second in the concurrent Weekend Agg team competition, while the E U Alumni pair of Donald McIntosh & Cliff Ogle were third in the pairs competition.

The Century Range looks a little different than usual, with 116 firing points having been lost to the danger area of the NRA's Clay Target facility, and the tented area having been curtailed more than a little.  Some photographs will be made available as soon as possible.

A power cut at Bisley disrupted the Ladies 3x20 match at the Lord Roberts Centre, and seemed to have disrupted the shooting of the senior Scottish Ladies, all of whom performed below par, leaving Emma Cole-Hamilton to show the way with an equal Scottish Junior Record and fourth place in the British Ladies Championship.  Janis Thomson was the best of the rest in 7th, with Shirley McIntosh 8th, Ruth Love 9th and Lynda Sinclair 10th.  The Home Countries result is now official and a summary can be seen here.

Shirley McIntosh had a second successful day at the Lord Roberts Centre, raising her own ten year old Scottish record for a Women's 3x40 Match by two points to 1137.  Emma Cole-Hamilton was also in record breaking form, raising her own Junior Women's 3x40 record by 27 points to 1076, beating Sarah MacDonald's 11 year old 40-shot Kneeling record by a single point, and her own 40-shot Standing record in the process.  In Class A Jon Hammond was the best placed Scot with 1140 in 5th place, with Shirley 6th, Martin Sinclair 9th and Donald McIntosh 10th.  Janis Thomson picked up 3rd in Class B, with Graham & Ruth Love 1st & 2nd respectively in Class C and Ally Aitken 1st in Class D.  The standard of this match was far higher than normal, with a number of German visitors also competing, including top internationalist Christian Bauer who was a comfortable winner with 1172.

The E U Alumni team of Donald & Shirley McIntosh and Martin Sinclair look to have re-taken the club 3P championship, breaking their own Scottish record by 5 points in the process.  This is believed to also be a new British record, but that is unconfirmed at this time.

The scores for the 3x40 International Match are now available, showing that Scotland had a comfortable win - click here for a summary.

Shirley McIntosh produced a personal best of 594 in the Women's Prone event at the NSRA/Eley Inter-Region Match to win it by a clear five points, and equal Susan Jackson's Scottish record.  Shirley then went on to win the 3x20 match with a score of 563, combining with Emma Cole-Hamilton's 552 to win the team event.

In the Men's prone event, Jon Hammond was clear winner by five points, with a fine score of 595.  Despite some indifferent shooting, Donald McIntosh and Cliff Ogle managed to secure individual placings in the top seven, combining to win the team event by a 12 point margin.  Cliff also recorded the best individual score in the 3x40 match, with 1112.

The following teams have been declared for the Inter-Region Match held at Bisley the day before the NSRA National Rifle Meeting starts:

Eligibility for these teams is based on residence, not nationality.

The following teams have been declared for the Home Countries Three Positions Matches at the NSRA National Rifle Meeting:

Janis Thomson set a new Scottish Final Record on her way to winning the Women's 3x20 at the Scottish 50m Open Championships, held at Denwood over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd August.  Janis' qualifying round of 573 was the best score recorded by a Scottish woman for five years, but despite her nine point lead before the final, Janis was hounded by Shirley McIntosh who beat her own Scottish record for the 10-shot final, cutting the deficit to 0.7 at the end.

There were some fine scores recorded in the Men's Prone event, including GB squad qualifying scores for Martin Sinclair, Donald McIntosh, Bill Brown and English visitor Jason Burrage.  Jason declined to stay for the final, leaving Martin to defend the title successfully, Sinclair Bruce overtaking Jon Hammond for the silver and bronze respectively.  Steven Campbell added the 50m Junior title to that he won at the Scottish Meeting three weeks previously.

Johanne Brekke of Wales was winner of the Women's Prone event, her score of 590 providing a comfortable three point margin over Shirley McIntosh, who took the confined title.  Carol McKenna took third place, beating Sheena Sharp and Susan Jackson on countback, while Emma Cole-Hamilton picked up the Junior title.

Jon Hammond added his name to the list of Men's 3x40 Championships, with a season's best of 1150.  With Jason Burrage declining to shoot the final there was little to play for in the minor places, with Donald McIntosh second and Martin Sinclair third.

A weekend of hot and sunny weather in Caithness produced some fine shooting despite tricky wind conditions.  Donald McIntosh coped best to secure Class A of the 50m SSRA Grand Prix qualifying competition with 594, and extended that with a steady 587 at 100 yards to win the Caithness Open Meeting Aggregate.  A poor first string of 95 in the Grand Prix prevented him from securing a second win - his total of 590 two points behind Bill Copland.  The 10 shot final had no impact on the places within the Grand Prix, Sinclair Bruce picking up the bronze.  Donald now has a six point lead in the prone series, with two more events to come.

Hamish Rae secured the C&D Grand Prix, extending his existing lead in the series.  The C&D match also featured the youngest ever competitor - 12 year old Kay Copland, who was competing along side her father and grandfather.

The Caithness Open Championships for the Mowat Trophy was held on the Sunday, with a qualifying round of a dewar course followed by a final at 100 yards - similar in format to the "Earl Haig" Scottish Championship.  Donald McIntosh continue his good run of the form in the qualifier - a dewar of 395 the best on the range.  However he was unable to continue this form in the final, with Sinclair Bruce producing an excellent 198 on the final card for a total of 390, snatching victory from Gordon Motion by a point.

Two years ago, the NSRA ceased issuing medals to teams in Home Countries International Matches at their National cartridge and air meetings. In doing so, they gave their remaining stocks of medals and bars to the home countries organisations.  The stock gifted by the NSRA has provided for the 2002 season and the SSRA has now assumed responsibility for continuing to present its team members with honours to a similar standard and quality. 

This exercise will incur considerable cost, particularly in this first year when new dies are required, and we gratefully acknowledge generous sponsorships at our recent AGM from Peter Gray, who has offered to provide Air Rifle medals for the first two years, and from Edinkillie Sport Services, who have offered to provide three-positions medals for the the same period.  Since the AGM, Watsonian Rifle Club has also offered a contribution towards the die required for junior match medals.

While these sponsorships are most welcome, the remaining cost of awards for this year, which includes our major prone teams of ten and women’s teams of five, is still daunting.  If you, your club or other organisation is interested in helping the Association to continue presenting our national team members with appropriate honours, please contact our webmaster for more information.

Three Scots have been selected for the GBR team to compete in the European Championships later this month in the Czech Republic.  Martin Sinclair competes in the Men's Prone, Susan Jackson in the Women's Prone and Heather Rudd in the Junior Women's Prone.

Hot on the heels of his win in the Haig, Jon Hammond won the third three positions GP of the year at Denwood.  Although neither Donald McIntosh or Martin Sinclair were in attendance, Susan Jackson shot a 3x40 for some stamina training and pushed Jon right to the end.  Susan also secured a new Scottish record for the 40 shot standing course - beating Shirley McIntosh's ten year old record by four points.

Jon Hammond won the Earl Haig Scottish Long Range Championship at Forres, securing the title with a superb 197 for his last card in tricky wind conditions.  Donald McIntosh was two points behind in second place, with Sinclair Bruce a further two points behind in third.  It was interesting to note that all three men had not shoot the full week, having qualified last weekend and returned for the final.

Eddie Jones won the final for classes B, C & D, while Matthew Thomson won the under-18 event.

Scotland won the Ian Hamilton Cup for the Home Countries International at the Scottish Meeting.  With a team packed with experienced shooters, including Donald McIntosh winning his 50th Scottish Cap, and David Bremner his first since 1973, the Scots came home five points ahead of England, with Wales considerably further behind in third.

The Scottish Ladies held their own at 50m, but at 100 yards they struggled, and were soundly beaten at the longer distance.

Once again the Scottish Juniors were denied a match, with no entries from any of the other countries.

Detailed results are available here.

A brief round up of Scottish results at the NSRA Scottish Meeting:

County Sextette - 1st Aberdeenshire, 3rd Forth & Clyde
Scottish 50m Team Championship - 1st Bon Accord, 2nd Alloa & District
Scottish100yd Team Championship - 1st Alloa & District, 2nd Bon Accord
Junior Team - 1st George Watson's College

X-Class Squadded Aggregate - 2nd Jim Cole-Hamilton, 3rd Neil Stirton
A-Class Squadded Aggregate - 2nd Jim Mudie
B-Class Squadded Aggregate - 3rd Eddie Jones
C-Class Squadded Aggregate - 2nd James Headon
D-Class Squadded Aggregate - 1st Emma Cole-Hamilton, 2nd Greg Scott, 3rd Simon Batchelor

X-Class Unsquadded Aggregate - 1st Donald McIntosh
B-Class Unsquadded Aggregate - 3rd Peter Gray
C-Class Unsquadded Aggregate - 1st James Henderson, 2nd Tom Bamford
D-Class Unsquadded Aggregate - 1st Greg Scott, 2nd Simon Batchelor, 3rd Emma Cole-Hamilton

Junior Championship - 1st S Campbell
Daily Mail - 1st Ian Thomson
Pershing Supporters - 1st Jim Cole-Hamilton
Centenary Competition - 1st Jim Cole-Hamilton
Flowers - Top Score at Scottish - Shirley McIntosh

The final of the SSRA's "Freuchie" competition, held over the lunch-breaks at the Scottish Meeting was an all-female affair.  Alison Longbottom was the eventual winner, with Sheena Sharp taking second and the confined title, and Ann Travis third.

In the C&D class event it was family rivalry to the fore, with Richard Scott beating brother Greg, with Tom Bamford in third.

The NSRA Scottish Meeting kicked off over the weekend of 28th & 29th June, at the Logie Steading site near Forres.  Jim Cole-Hamilton and Bill Copland led the two qualifying squads for the "Earl Haig" Scottish Championship, both with scores of 396.  The final will be held on Friday 4th at 2pm.

The Home Countries International Matches will also be held on Friday, at 11am.  The majority of the Scottish teams will be selected from the meeting aggregate, however the SSRA have seeded Donald McIntosh and Sinclair Bruce into the main team and Shirley McIntosh into the ladies team on the basis of scores recorded in the first round of the Haig and other weekend competitions.

Four SSRA members - Bill Brown, Donald McIntosh, Cliff Ogle and Ken Silver - qualified for the British team to compete in the annual "Dewar" postal international match.  In addition, the Adjutant was Cyril De Jonckheere, and the two reserves were Neil Stirton and Carol McKenna.  The trial and match were shot at Appleton in Cheshire on Saturday 21st June, and the British team score was substantially higher than last years.

Sheena Sharp produced a fine performance at Bisley in the NSRA ISSF Championship Meeting to win the Women's Prone event.  There were medals also for Susan Jackson - second in the 3x20 and Martin Sinclair - second in the Men's Prone and third in the 3x40.

In the 3x40 Grand Prix event at Denwood on 31st May, Donald McIntosh collected maximum points for the second time this season, narrowly beating Jon Hammond after a close final - aided by Martin Sinclair withdrawing after the qualification round.  Bill Long was the happiest man on the range, increasing his personal best by 20 points to 1081.

As at the Denwood Open the month before, the 3P shooters dominated the prone competitions at the Angus Open - Martin Sinclair winning the Class A with 594, a point ahead of Cliff Ogle with 593.  Erling Watt produced a personal best of 590 to secure Class B, while Hamish Rae and Lawrence Cooper won classes C & D respectively.  Tom Hunter won the Juniors with an excellent 589 - a score he reproduced later in the Grand Prix.

In the C&D Grand Prix, Peter Gray produced a fine 390 to win comfortably from Hamish Rae & Bruce McIntosh, while the main Grand Prix was won by Jon Hammond with 593.  Cliff Ogle produced an excellent final to climb from fifth to second, Sheena Sharp staying in third.

Sheena Sharp continues to reap the rewards of her Silver medal at last years Commonwealth Games, and was recently awarded Sports Personality of the Year for 2002 by Aberdeenshire Sports Council.

The SSRA Short Range prone leagues for 2003 are now completed, with wins for Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy & Steeple.  A total of 18 teams from 11 clubs competed this year, and it is hoped that more clubs will enter next year.  The goal is to have every club in Scotland represented, turning it into a truly country-wide competition.

Lothian set two new British record scores in the NSRA Inter County leagues this winter.  In round one of the Junior league, a score of 396 from a team of Jamie Cole-Hamilton, Heather Rudd, David Champion and Matthew Thomson is a confirmed British junior record, and helped the team secure Division 1 of that competition.

The second record - as yet to be confirmed by the NSRA - came in the Three Positions league.  The score of 1155 from the team of Martin Sinclair, Cliff Ogle, Susan Jackson and Lynda Sinclair included a stunning 298 from Martin - both points dropped in the standing position - and contributed to the Division 1 title.

In addition to these records, Lothian also won Division 2 of the Prone league, Division 4 of the Prone Reserve league and Division 1 on the Junior Reserve league.

The ISSF have published details of their proposed rules changes which will take effect from 1st January 2005 if approved - it can be seen here.  An excellent open letter from Rajmond Debevec - the Olympic Champion and World Record Holder in 3x40 - can be found here, along with some suggestions for where to make representations if you do not support these proposals.

Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Small-Bore Rifle Club has been awarded 3^rd prize in the 10^th Sports Club of the Year Awards. The awards ceremony took place at a celebration dinner during the annual conference of the Central Council of Physical Recreation at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire on Tuesday 20 May. The award, a commemorative brass plaque and a cheque for £1000, was presented by Grattan Endicott OBE, Secretary of The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, and was received on behalf of the Club by Trevor Hastings and Charles Allan.

This achievement for a Scottish target shooting club was particularly noteworthy, as there had been an overwhelming number of nominations with particularly high standards from a wide range of sports clubs from all over Britain.

The competition organisers were looking for clubs that:

• Encourage more people to take part in sport or recreation
• Set standards in excellence that other clubs aspire to
• Have a proven track record in working with schools, local authorities and other community organisations
• Have already succeeded in attracting grants and sponsorship

Bon Accord Small-Bore Rifle Club has an enviable reputation. Recent achievements include winning the Scottish Cup, Division 1 of the British Short-Range League, and the British Team of 6 and Team of 8 Knockout Competitions. The Club boasts several international shooters and its teams currently hold 4 Scottish records. Several Club members hold Scottish records at junior and senior level.

Some of the most enthusiastic members are those from the Grampian Society for the Blind who shoot with considerable success at national and international level using audio signals and specialised equipment. The Club has a close involvement with local schools, through the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, and the Aberdeen Pony Club who receive coaching in air pistol to enable them to compete in the tetrathlon.

Bon Accord Small-bore Rifle Club’s achievements have not gone unnoticed at local level –  the Club has been awarded Aberdeen Sports Council’s Amateur Team of the Year Award on several occasions in recent years.

The Scottish Universities Long Range Championships were held at Denwood on 4th May.  There were dominated by Edinburgh, who won the team of eight and the ladies team of three.  The individual title went to Adam Brown of Edinburgh, with team mate Piers Foster second.  Third place was a joint affair between Graham Rudd of Aberdeen and Edinburgh's Tom Bamford.  The ladies individual went to Martina Smekal of Edinburgh.

The British Universities championship was held a week later at Appleton in Cheshire, and was also successful for the Scottish Uni's.  Edinburgh picked up the main team event, while St Andrews won the ladies team.  The individual title was won by Piers Foster, with Martina Smekal winning the ladies (both Edinburgh).

Bon Accord were the only Scottish team to come out on top of the NSRA's winter national leagues, with a win in division one of the Short Range Prone league - just ahead of EU Alumni.  The Alumni also picked up second places in division one of the Standing & Kneeling and Women's Prone leagues, while Glenrothes came second in division one of the 10m Air Rifle league.

A number of Scots have been selected for the British teams to compete at the ISSF World Cup matches to be held in Zagreb and Munich next month.

Susan Jackson (3x20) & Donald McIntosh (3x40 & Prone) will compete at both, Jon Hammond (3x40 & Prone) at Zagreb; Martin Sinclair (3x40 & Prone), Jim Cole-Hamilton (Prone) and David Rattray (Air) at Munich.

Martin Sinclair added the English Open prone title to his Scottish and British ISSF championships, with a win at the ESSU Open at Bisley last weekend.  Overcoming the disappointment of dropping out of the medals in the 3x40 event courtesy of a cross-shot and two penalty points for firing 41 shots standing, Martin entered the prone final with a score of 589, and extended his one point lead with the best final.

David Rattray was the other Scot in the medals, picking up second place in the Air Rifle, just 0.1 ahead of a fifteen year old shooter!

Having demolished the Junior Ladies records with the Air Rifle over the winter, Emma Cole-Hamilton kicked off her summer season with new Scottish records in the 3 Positions event, scoring 553 to add 11 points to the 3x20 record.  Susan Jackson kicked off her season with a win in the 3x20 Grand Prix, her score of 568 a comfortable GB Squad Minimum Qualifying Score, and her combined final score of 664.7 a new Scottish record - overhauling Shirley McIntosh's six year old score.

In the 3x40 event, Donald McIntosh also recorded a GB MQS, with 1147 including a personal best in the standing section of the match.  Simon Clark took second place, adding 28 points to his personal best with 1118.

The 3P shooters dominated the prone competitions at the Denwood Open - Donald McIntosh winning the Class A with 591, a point ahead of Susan Jackson with 590 (also a GB squad MQS).  Local knowledge was the key in B & C classes - with wins for Trevor Hastings and Charles Allan respectively, with Bruce McIntosh winning Class D.

In the C&D Grand Prix, John Campbell edged ahead of Charles Allan on count-back (both with 389), while the main Grand Prix was won by Simon Clark with 594 - Donald McIntosh a point behind with 593 and Gordon Motion third with 590.

Jon Hammond is completing his academic year in the US this week, representing Great Britain at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning.  Jon will shoot in the 3x40 match.

The annual classification for the Open Meeting parts of the Prone Grand Prix series is now available, and can be found here.

As in previous years, this classification is based on performances at the same meetings in the previous year, with 25% of the shooters who took part in these events allocated to each class.  It is not related to NSRA National Meeting classification.  Anyone not appearing in this list should submit an average when entering their first meeting of the year.

The NSRA have e-mail back online as of this evening.

The NSRA have confirmed that Bon Accord have equalled the British record for a team of six, twenty shots each on indoor prone targets.  Their score of 1190 also supersedes the existing Scottish record, originally set by Stirling RI in season 1990/1.

Bon have also won the British Short Range team of 8 event - for the Mackworth Praed trophy - adding this to the "News of the World" team of 6 title won earlier this month.

Martin Sinclair kicked off his summer season with a clean sweep of the prone and 3x40 events at the Isle of Man Easter Open.

Please note that not only is the NSRA website down, but they have been unable to receive e-mail for some time now, and it's not clear at this time if these messages are held on a server pending delivery, or if they are lost.  Anyone who has sent e-mail to them in recent weeks but not received a reply would be well advised to contact them via other channels until further notice.

The ISSF News site contains details of proposed changes to the ISSF rules, which if implemented would take effect from 1st January 2005 - see here for details.  These proposals include major changes to the construction of shooting jackets and trousers, and raise the possibility of shooting trousers and boots being banned completely.  There are also changes to the use of headgear and eye blinders, based on the changes proposed for last year's World Championships.

The SSRA would ask that all visitors take the time to read these proposals, and make their views known to the ISSF via the published e-mail address.

Scottish Squad member Jon Hammond faces an uncertain future as West Virginia University in the USA, where he has a shooting scholarship, has decided to cut the rifle team from it's list of supported sports.  Details are available here, and there is an online petition here which Jon has requested that as many people as possible sign.

The British Short Range Championships, held this year at Marple Rifle Club in Cheshire produced an all-Scottish final in the team of six event.  E U Alumni defeated Bedford in one semi-final to face Bon Accord, who's opposition failed to turn up.  The team title went to the Aberdeen club, with a gap of six points between the teams.

In the individual championship there were some good Scottish performances, with Ken Silver second, Tim Kinder fourth and Martin Sinclair fifth equal.  In addition, Chris Silver secured the under-16 title.

Full results are available here.

Emma Cole-Hamilton continued her improvement with the air rifle at the Scottish Championships, breaking all of her Scottish junior ladies records on her way to winning the senior ladies title at the Scottish Open at Inverclyde Sports Training Centre in Largs on the 5th and 6th of April.  Emma had been shooting today with an elderly Feinwerkbau 300, but with the loan of a modern Walther LG300 from injured Tony Credland, she increased her PB for the 60 shot match by ten points to 568, and for the 40 shot match by nine points to 382.

In an otherwise poorly attended championship, David Rattray secured the Scottish Open and Confined titles - the latter for a record fourth consecutive year - with Hayley Platts winning the ladies open title.  Full results are available here.

The results of the SSRA individual winter competitions are now available.  The Association silver medal has been won by Bill Brown, following a four way re-gauge with Jim Cole-Hamilton, Hugh Simpson and Alasdair Horne.  Bill also picked up the A class salver, while classes B, C, D and Veteran were won by N McMillan, D Sinclair, B Spence and Cyril De Jonckheere respectively.  Unfortunately there were no junior entries.

The CanDicap competition was won by Pat Gray, with Martin Sinclair winning the Short Range 3P with a superb total of 1168.

Full results are available here.

The 2002/3 Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix series came to a conclusion at Glenrothes on Sunday 23rd Match, with new and equal Scottish records once more for Emma Cole-Hamilton.  Emma also placed second in the Grand Prix, overhauling Donald McIntosh in the final, while Robin Law's lead remained unassailable.

In the pistol event, a close final saw Don Robertson snatch the lead from Cyril De Jonckheere with the last shot.

The Scottish teams in the annual postal matches against North Island, New Zealand shot on Sunday 23rd March at Perth C&C.  Top scorer in both teams was David Champion, with a superb 397 on his debut.  The overall team scores will be published once the Kiwi's complete their shoot in September.

In the Inter-Region Match, held concurrently, Grampian were clear winners, with Lothian just edging ahead of Central.

Martin Sinclair has won the British Short Range 3P Championship, his score of 580 winning by the narrowest of margins.

The following teams have been selected to shoot in the annual postal matches versus North Island, New Zealand:

Bon Accord came close to a clean sweep of the honours at the NSRA Scottish Short Range Championships - held at the Balerno & Currie in Edinburgh - winning the Scottish Cup and taking the top three places in the Individual Championship.  Only Keith Johnston, winner of the junior event, broke the Aberdeen club's domination.

In the team event, Balerno & Currie pipped Wick Old Stagers by two points to secure a place in the final, having entered the event for the first time in many years.  The other semi-final was a little more one-sided, with an under-strength Watsonian team going down heavily to Bon Accord.  A steady shoot from Bon in the final secured the title for the seventh consecutive year, and the ninth in the last ten - only EU Alumni in 1996 having spoiled the record.

The individual title was a close run thing, with eight shooters on 395 or better.  Ken Silver was the best with 398, one point in front of Tim Kidner, with defending champion Jim Cole-Hamilton a further point behind.  Performances like these are encouraging, with the annual postal match against North Island, New Zealand due to be fired next week, and Scotland looking to put an end to New Zealand's run of five consecutive wins.

The clock was certainly turned back for Sheena Sharp recently when she was invited to give a talk a morning assembly at The Gordon Schools in Huntly, where she was a pupil for most of her school days.  Taking along targets for various distances, some photographs, and her Commonwealth Games Silver Medal she certainly roused the interest in shooting amongst the pupils.  After the assembly there was a question and answer session with those interested in finding out more about target shooting.

Such was the interest from the pupils that two open sessions were arranged at Huntly Small Bore Rifle Club to cope with the numbers wishing to try the sport.  As well as pupils (and teachers) the first session was also attended by Mike Seed, Administrator, from Aberdeenshire Sports Council through whom this year Sheena has managed to obtain a grant for new equipment for juniors at the club.

New members - especially juniors - have been lacking at Huntly for a number of years now, but such has been the interest stirred up by Sheena winning her medal, that an additional weekly club night had already been organised for beginners.  The club is now looking forward to a further boost in membership following on from the open nights.

Obviously not every club has the luxury of a Commonwealth Games medallist to attract new members, but the SSRA is keen to work with any club who wishes to arrange a promotional event, and it may be possible to arrange visits from international shooters if deemed beneficial.

Bill Copland secured his first Scottish title, winning the "Speedway" Short Range Matchplay Championship, held for the first time at the Callander Target Sports Club.  Despite not being one of the original sixteen qualifiers, Bill was called up as a reserve and didn't lose a single match, despite a final round of 194.  Second place went to Tim Kidner, who only dropped 7 points across the ten cards, with Hugh Simpson third.

David Rattray produced a steady performance at the NSRA Airgun championships to secure the British Senior Men's Rifle title for the third time in ten years.  A score of 588 gave him a four point lead going into the final, and this was never in jeopardy even with an 8.8 for the ninth shot.  Robin Law also qualified for the final, securing fourth place.

In the Senior Women's final Shirley McIntosh embarrassed most of the GB National Squad, coming second in the championship - having not shot a full match for eleven months.  Using new jacket & trousers, delivered just five days before the meeting, Shirley coupled a score of 382 with a steady final of 98.8.  Janis Thomson also qualified for the final, securing 4th place.

There were Scottish successes elsewhere, with David Rattray securing second place in the X Class aggregate, and Peter Gray the same place in C Class.  Note should also be made of Peter's wife Pat - shooting in her first ever championship - who added over 100 points to her personal best score in her first match, and then raised this once more on the second.

In the team events there was some Scottish success, with the Glenrothes team of Robin Law, Shirley McIntosh & Donald McIntosh coming second in the club team championship, and the Forth & Clyde team of Robin Law, Shirley McIntosh, Donald McIntosh & David Rattray winning the county championship.

The Home Countries matches were less successful, the main team of Robin, David & Shirley coming second to England, and the ladies team of Shirley, Janis & Emma Cole-Hamilton coming third behind England & Wales, despite breaking the Scottish record score for the course of fire. A summary of the Home Countries results can be found here.

With one event remaining, both the Air Rifle and Air Pistol Grand Prix Series were decided at Dumfries on Sunday 23rd February.  Robin Law secured the Air Rifle series for the 9th time, with Cyril De Jonckheere winning the inaugural Air Pistol series.

Alasdair Horne won the LSSA World Cup trophy, winner's medal and £20, dropping 13 in 12 cards, including an extra card in a tie-shot with Tom Hodgson for a place in the quarter finals.  E J Jones was consoled with the runner-up medal and £15.  Eddie had qualified for the finals as the last reserve to be called up. 

In the 3^rd place shoot-off, Sheena Sharp (199) beat Sinclair Bruce (196).

In the final of the plate competition, for those who failed to make it out of the 2^nd round into the quarter finals, Hugh Simpson’s 199 beat Cyril De Jonckheere’s 197.

LSSA would like to thank all who participated for their contribution to an exciting day’s shooting and also Balerno & Currie Rifle Club for their generous hospitality.

The NSRA have announced the qualifiers for the final of the "Daily Record" Scottish Short Range Individual Prone Championship which will be held at Balerno & Currie on Sunday 16th March:

As the only qualifier for the Senior final, Keith Johnston is the winner of the Scottish Junior title.

The NSRA have announced the qualifiers for the final of the "News of the World" British Short Range Individual Prone Championship.  Eight shooters from Scottish clubs have qualified - Martin Sinclair, Tim Kidner, Cliff Ogle, Ken Silver, David Bremner, Hugh Simpson, Donald McIntosh and Eddie Jones.

Glenrothes lost the final of the NSRA Air Rifle KO championship, with poor performances from all three team members.  Scottish squad members Donald McIntosh and Robin Law produced their worst performances of the winter season to date, with Shirley McIntosh having a little more excuse given her lack of training.  The team could only manage a dismal 563, behind a mediocre score of 572 from winners Fareham.

The NSRA have announced the qualifiers for the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.  Having entered for the first time in many years, Balerno & Currie have qualified as have Edinburgh neighbours Watsonians.  The other two semi-finalists are northern rivals Bon Accord and Wick Old Stagers.

The semi's and final - along with the final of the individual "Daily Record" Scottish Short Range Championship - will be held at the range of Balerno & Currie in Edinburgh on the 16th of March.

Emma Cole Hamilton stole the show once more at the January Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix at Glenrothes.  Emma equalled her own 40 shot Scottish record of 373 for the 40 shot course, despite a third string of 86, but the other three strings of 94, 96 and 97 show the potential for the future.  Emma then went on to produce new Scottish final records of 97.7 and 470.7.

Tony Credland made a welcome return to rifle competition to secure third place in the Grand Prix, with first and second following the regular pattern of Robin Law and Donald McIntosh.  Robin now has an eleven point lead in the series, with two events to go.

The pistol event produced a win for Don Robertson, including an excellent final of 96.0, with Peter Hendry and Nicky Credland taking second and third.  Cyril De Jonckheere remains at the top of the table, two points clear, with the next event to be held on his home range.