News Archive - 2005

Site Journal 2005

Picture Gallery 2005

Law and Ritchie win at Glenrothes
21st December 2005

Robin Law and Alan Ritchie were comfortable winners in the second Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix of the season, held at Glenrothes on 11th of December.  Full results are available here.



Change of date for February Grand Prix
21st December 2005

Please note that the date of the Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix to be held in Dumfries has changed from the 12th to the 5th of February.



Rudd and Ritchie win at Callander
15th November 2005

Graham Rudd won his first Air Rifle Grand Prix on Sunday, beating his 2006 Commonwealth Games team-mate Robin Law by a single point.  Rudd entered the final one point ahead of Law, with scores of 577 and 576 respectively, and both men produced identical finals of 101.6 resulting in no change at the top.  In the Air Pistol, Alan Ritchie - also selected for the Commonwealth Games - was a clear winner, his 575 providing an eighteen point lead over Bob Carroll before the final.



Commonwealth Games Nominations Accepted
15th November 2005

The eight smallbore and air rifle shooters nominated by SSRA and STSF have been formally announced as members of the 2006 Commonwealth Games team by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland.

The team will depart Scotland for Australia on the 28th of February, with the first competitions being held on March 17th, two days after the Opening Ceremony.

Women's Prone
Susan Jackson
Sheena Sharp
Women's 3x20
Emma Cole-Hamilton
Susan Jackson
Women's Air
Emma Cole-Hamilton
Heather Rudd
Men's Prone
Martin Sinclair
Neil Stirton
Men's 3x40
Graham Rudd
Martin Sinclair
Men's Air
Robin Law
Graham Rudd


Rudd wins at Aldersley
24th October 2005

Graham Rudd added a remarkable eight points to his personal best with the air rifle at the NSRA Inter-Region match at Aldersley yesterday, a score of 588 giving him a seven-point margin in the individual match.



Support the Commonwealth Games Team
13th October 2005

You can show your support for the Scottish shooters in the 2006 Commonwealth Games by purchasing fleeces and polo-shirts with our supporter's logo on it.  We have fleeces in grey and blue, as shown on the left, and polo-shirts in white and sky blue, all with the logo as shown on the right.  All proceeds will go towards the preparation of the selected team members.

Please contact Jim Cole-Hamilton - development@ssra.co.uk - for more details.



Scottish Juniors take honours in North Island, New Zealand Match
4th October 2005

The Scottish team in the Under-21 section of the annual postal international match against North Island, New Zealand recorded their fourth victory in the six years of the competition, setting a new Scottish Record for the match in the process.  The team of Kay Copland, Matthew Thomson, Robin Honhold, Nicola Sammels and Oliver Barron recorded a score of 1956 to beat the Kiwis by six points, and the Scottish record by three.

In the main match, the Scots failed in their attempt to level the 32 year old series, going down by a single point to the New Zealanders, despite Jim Cole-Hamilton producing only the second perfect score of 400 by a Scot since the targets changed in 1991.

The results are available here.



Pairs Gold in Men's Air Rifle and Men's Prone at CSF(ED)
21st September 2005


With a team made up of a mix of A-squad, B-Squad, and development shooters, Scotland were successful at the CSF(ED) Championships on the Isle of Man last weekend.

On the Friday, at the new National Sports Centre, Robin Law (584) and Graham Rudd (577) won an early Gold Medal in the Air Rifle Pairs event, with a total score of 1161, some 10 points ahead of Wales, who took second place on countback from England.  In the individual event, Robin (578) was edged from 2nd to 4th place in a very close final, with Graham (575) finishing 6th.  On a cold windy day at the 50m Sinclair Range, Scotland finished 4th in the prone women pairs event with Sheena Sharp on 589, and Kay Copland disappointed only to shoot 571, but in the concurrent badge match, Nicola Sammels shot well to finish 3rd with 578.  In the Prone men individual development match, Graham Love finished 3rd with 576, with Steven Campbell in 5th place with 574.

Saturday started on Sinclair Range with the Prone Men Pairs, the "A" team being Bill Copland and Martin MacGill.  They both shot steadily in a difficult wind, and variable light to get 586 and 589 respectively, totalling 1175 for first place and the gold medal ahead of England with 1173 and IOM with 1170. T he Prone men "B" Pairs and badge match followed with David Simpson (578) and Steven Campbell (575) getting 2nd place with a total score of 1155, just one point behind Wales, and Graham Love finishing 2nd with 579 in the concurrent badge match.  The 3P started at lunchtime, both 3x20 and 3x40 being shot simultaneously.  Graham Rudd finished 4th with 1123, and Graham Love in 5th place with 1112.  Sheena Sharp finished 2nd in the 3x20 with 548.

On the Sunday, the day started with the Prone Men Individual.  The conditions were better, and Bill Copland (596) and Martin MacGill (595) both took advantage of it to shoot new PBs (by several points).  Graham Rudd shot 587 to finish 9th and David Simpson shot 580 to finish 16th.  Unfortunately both Bill and Martin struggled at the start of the final, and were edged to 2nd and 3rd respectively by an excellent final from Griff Morgan from Wales. In the Women's Prone Individual, Sheena Sharp finished 3rd with 585, with Kay Copland shooting 570.  It must be said that Kay coped very calmly with all the problems thrown at her for this match - no target loaded to start with, then it turned out that the first sighter had shot holes in it, then, having started again after a late break to deal with an upset stomach, the target jammed with four shots to go, necessitating a move to the hospital bay, which, having been given a five minute extension, then left her the only one still shooting when time was called!  In the concurrent Development Shooters match, Nicola Sammels finished with 197 to win with 576.  In the final event, Graham Rudd (1132) and Graham Love (1094) finished 2nd in the 3 Position Pairs, with Sheena Sharp shooting 541 in the concurrent Women's 3x20 badge match.

There was some very good shooting by the team - it was a pleasure to be able to help them along the way.

Jim Cole-Hamilton, Team Manager



Double win in Army Match
21st September 2005

Scotland won both the Prone and 3P matches against the Army last weekend at Bisley.  Bill Brown in particular produced an outstanding 595 using a borrowed stock - a personal best on the Cooper Range - despite difficult early morning conditions with bright sunshine in the shooter's faces and dark targets.

In the 3P match Ronnie Sellar had not shot a full match at 50m since 1999 and broke 1100, while Bill Baird shot a season's best of 1080 and James shot 1050 in his second outdoor 3P shoot.

The results are available here.



Postponement of All-Ranges Open Meeting & Inter-Region Matches 2004-05
9th September 2005

We regret to announce that the above Open Meeting and Matches scheduled for Sunday 18th September, 2005, at Denwood TSC, Aberdeen have been postponed.  Entry forms were circulated to all members with the notice of this year’s Annual General Meeting and until this morning, only 3 individual entries had been received with notice of intent from 4 others by email.  We only had knowledge of 2 regions proposing to enter the Inter-Region match.

In conjunction with this, other events in the calendar have unfortunately clashed with this event, creating administrative difficulties. The Annual match with the Army was confirmed as the same week-end and, after that, the Commonwealth Shooting Federation (European Division) Championships, i.e. Mini-Games, originally to be held earlier in the year in Gibraltar were rescheduled for this week-end, too. This added to the workload on an already stretched Council for that weekend.

This event is an important of our plans to enhance our services to our members.  Further information on an alternative date for this event will be issued to members and on the website after the next Council meeting towards the end of the month.



Scottish Team for Army Match
9th September 2005

The following team will represent Scotland in the annual match against the Army, which will take place at Bisley on 18th September:

Prone
Bill Baird
Bill Brown
Scott Dixon
Robin Honhold
Jim Mudie
James Paterson
Ronnie Sellar
Ian Thomson
Three Positions
Bill Baird
James Paterson
Ronnie Sellar




Scottish Team for CSF(ED)
9th September 2005

The following team will represent Scotland in the CSF(ED) Championships, which will take place on the Isle of Man from 16th to 18th September:

Women's Prone
Sheena Sharp
Kay Copland
Nicola Sammels

Women's 3x20
Sheena Sharp



Women's Air




Men's Prone
Bill Copland
Martin MacGill
Graham Rudd
David Simpson

Steven Campbell (D)
Graham Love (D)
Men's 3x40
Graham Love
Graham Rudd


Men's Air
Robin Law
Graham Rudd


Those shooters marked (D) are entered in the development matches only.  The first named shooters in each case will compete in the pairs match.



Eight nominated for Commonwealth Games
5th September 2005

Following completion of the 3P and Prone Grand Prix series over the weekend, the following eight smallbore and air rifle shooters have been nominated by the SSRA for the 2006 Commonwealth Games:


Women's Prone
Susan Jackson
Sheena Sharp

Reserve: Emma Cole-Hamilton
Women's 3x20
Emma Cole-Hamilton
Susan Jackson

Reserve: Janis Thomson
Women's Air
Emma Cole-Hamilton
Heather Rudd


Men's Prone
Martin Sinclair
Neil Stirton

Reserve: Sinclair Bruce
Men's 3x40
Graham Rudd
Martin Sinclair


Men's Air
Robin Law
Graham Rudd



This is the first step in the selection process - the nominations will be considered, alongside those from shotgun, pistol and fullbore rifle, by the Scottish Target Shooting Federation later this week, with a combined shooting team being nominated to the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland as a result.  CGCS are expected to formally announce the whole Scottish team on 1st November.



Grand Prix wins for Sinclair, Jackson and Stirton
9th September 2005

Martin Sinclair and Susan Jackson finished their Three Positions seasons with wins in the SSRA 3P Grand Prix at Denwood last Saturday.  Susan recorded a new Personal Best of 573 for a comfortable win in the 3x20, and clinched the Women's series in the process.  Martin's 1144 was an improvement on the previous weekend, and his victory was never in doubt, and with Martin taking the maximum points Peter Gray stayed at the top of the table to clinch the 3x40 series.

Neil Stirton produced his best form of the year to beat Susan Jackson on countback for Class A at the Gagie Open - both on scores of 591.  Ian Thomson captured the Class B event with 590, which was equalled by Oliver Barron in Class C.  Rory McAlpine completed the set, winning Class D. In the C&D Grand Prix James Paterson pipped Dave Caughey for first place, but Kay Copland's third place gave her a comfortable win in the series.

Neil Stirton then went on to record a second consecutive season's best score, this one 594, to take a one point lead into the final - Angus Jackson having equalled his Personal Best of 593 for second place, with Martin MacGill third with 592.  There was also a new Personal Best from Beverley Burnside - 589 good enough to take her into the final equal with Susan Jackson and Sheena Sharp.  Very little changed in the final, despite Martin's efforts to overhaul Angus, and after an excellent final, Neil was declared the winner. Martin's four points for third place was sufficient to give him the Grand Prix Series title for the first time, with Jim Cole-Hamilton and Neil Stirton just a single point behind.



Scottish Final Record for Jackson
29th August 2005

Susan Jackson recorded a double victory at the Scottish Grand Prix events at the Denwood Target Shooting Centre in Aberdeen this weekend, winning the Women's Three Positions event with a new Scottish Final Record, as well as the Prone Grand Prix which featured a number of visitors from Wales, England, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Susan's score of 570 in the qualification round of the Three Positions was an equal personal best, and coupled with an excellent final of 99.8, she raised the Scottish Final record - previously held by Emma Cole-Hamilton - by 0.2 to 669.8.  Sheena Sharp, who only took up the three positions event at the beginning of the year, recorded a personal best score of 557 for fifth place.

In the Men's event, Graham Rudd produced a new personal best of 1144 to take a huge 12 point lead over Martin Sinclair into the final.  An excellent final of 98.9 from Martin pulled back a little of the advantage, but the winner was never in doubt.

Martin recovered from his poor performance in the 3x40 to record an excellent 595 first thing the next morning, for a clear victory in Class A of the Grampian Open, with Martin MacGill second on 592 and Harry Creevy and Susan Jackson - with a season's best - third on 591.  Bill Hamilton secured Class B with 589, Beverley Burnside second with an equal personal best of 587 and Eddie Jones one point behind for third.  James Paterson snatched Class C from Dave Caughey on countback, Scott Dixon third, while Bruce Farquhar secured Class D from Sam Hunter and Gavin Walker.

James Paterson and Kay Copland tied on 390 in the C&D Grand Prix, James winning on countback, with Dave Caughey third.  With one event left, Kay has an eight-point lead in the series, and only Scott Dixon can catch her in the final round at Gagie next weekend.

The final of the Grand Prix, shot in particularly challenging conditions, produced only one score of 590 - from Susan Jackson - and was good enough to secure a two point lead going into the final over Watsonian clubmate Martin MacGill, with the Isle of Man's Harry Creevy in third place.  With time getting late Harry declined to shoot - heading south for his ferry - and an excellent final of 103.7 from Susan extended her lead over the remainder of the field.  Martin retained second place, Griff Morgan of Wales climbing into third place.  With one event remaining, Jim Cole-Hamilton has opened up a one point lead over Matthew Thomson and Bill Copland in the Grand Prix series, but with nine shooters mathematically capable of winning the title, it looks set to be a nail-biting finish to the year next weekend at Gagie.



Three Scots in Wakefield Team
29th August 2005

Three Scots - Tom Hodgson, Neil Stirton and Donald McIntosh - have been named in the ten-strong British team to shoot in the annual Wakefield postal international match this year.  Five of the squad - including Tom - qualified from the 50m competitions in the Championship Aggregate at the NSRA National Meeting, while the other five - including Neil and Donald - qualified on the basis of scores recorded in the first half of the National 50m league.  Sinclair Bruce has been named as reserve, also on the basis of the 50m league.  The match will be shot during the middle week of September, which each shooter firing an English Match in their home range.



Jackson Fifth in County Champions Match
21st August 2005

Susan Jackson, representing Lothian, completed her first full National Rifle Meeting by taking fifth place in the County Champions Match on the Malcolm Cooper Range at Bisley.

It was disappointing to note that only two other Scottish countries had representation at this match - Cliff Ogle for Forth & Clyde and Tom Hodgson for the Scottish Southern Counties.  In particular, Scotland's strongest county - Aberdeenshire - was not represented despite Sheena Sharp - the current holder of their "Champion of Champions" title - being at Bisley for the week.



Jackson and Brown in Roberts Final
20th August 2005

Susan Jackson and Bill Brown qualified for the final of the Earl Roberts Long Range British Championship this afternoon.  In challenging conditions Susan was the best placed at eighth, winning the trophy for top female shooter in the process, while Bill was 13th. 

James Paterson and Robin Honhold qualified for the BCD "Bobs" final, James winning comfortably with a score that would have placed him in the top ten of the main final.



Home Countries Double for Scotland
19th August 2005

The Scottish teams in the Home Countries Prone matches produced a double for the first time since 1949, winning both the Main and Ladies matches with Scottish Record scores in each match.

The main team ran out convincing winners over England, by a margin of over a point per man, with Wales and Jersey in third and fourth places respectively.  This successful defence of the Bovril Shield was the first by a Scottish team since 1949.

The Scottish Ladies victory was their first since the win at Bisley in 1991, and was achieved after a tie-break on better score at 100 yards over England, with Wales in third place.

The results are now available here.  Thanks are due to Cliff Ogle and Harry Creevy, who wind-coached the Main and Ladies teams in the absence of Northern Ireland and Isle of Man teams.



Two Scottish Wins as Championship Aggregate Completes
updated 20th August 2005


Tom Hodgson and Robin Honhold produced Scottish victories in the Championship Aggregate today, winning Classes A & C respectively.  Hodgson's was the most emphatic, with a win in the Scottish Match helping him to a huge margin of victory.  It originally appeared that James Paterson had won Class B, but a late challenge from another competitor pushed him down to second place on the tie-break.  Martin MacGill was the highest placed Scot in Class X, with a solid fourth, while Pat Gray was the best placed in Class D with eleventh.

In the team events, the Lothian team of Bill Hamilton, Angus & Susan Jackson, Martin MacGill, Andrew Coates and Robin Honhold, with Cliff Ogle wind coaching, were second in the County Sextette - beating EU Alumni's 1989 Scottish Record for this course of fire - and Watsonians were third in the Aggregate team event.

With the Aggregate over, the Scottish teams for the Home Countries prone matches have been finalised, and are:

Main Team
Bill Brown Sinclair Bruce
Bill Hamilton Tom Hodgson
Susan Jackson Bill Long
Martin MacGill Donald McIntosh
Jim Mudie Sheena Sharp

Reserves:
James Paterson Mel Mutch

Capt: Cyril De Jonckheere
Sec: Bill Baird
Ladies Team
Susan Jackson
Lucy Martin
Shirley McIntosh
Carol Newman
Sheena Sharp

Reserves:
Karen Nilsen
Mary Melvin

Capt: Mary Melvin
Sec: Pat Gray

The matches will be fired at 4pm tomorrow afternoon following the first stage of the Roberts and the Astor Inter-County Club Team Championship.



Championship Aggregate Day 2
16th August 2005

Light, but extremely tricky, wind conditions at Bisley produced some changes in the Aggregate, but the Scots in the hunt remain essentially the same.  Martin MacGill remains the best placed Scot, having climbed to equal fourth place.  Tom Hodgson remains in first place in Class A after picking up second in the first of the 50m competitions, with Bill Baird winning the second competition of the day.  James Paterson has dropped to third place in the Class B agg, but Robin Honhold remains top in Class C after winning the second of their 100yd competitions.  Pat Gray remains the best placed in Class D, sitting at 19th equal place.

Three of the Scottish ladies present have been selected for the British "Randle Match" team - Sheena Sharp, Susan Jackson and Shirley McIntosh, the latter two for the first time.  The match will be fired at 6am on Thursday morning.



Championship Aggregate Day 1
15th August 2005

After Day 1 of the Championship Aggregate at Bisley, Bill Hamilton and Martin MacGill are the highest placed Scots, at equal 10th in Class X.  In Class A Tom Hodgson and Bill Long are lying first and second respectively, with Bill picking up a third place in the second 100yds competition.  James Paterson leads the way in Class B, with two second places in the 50m competitions.  In Class C Robin Honhold has a firm grip already, with a first and a third in the 50m matches giving him a considerable margin, while Pat Gray is the highest placed Scot in Class D with 12th.

The second day of the Aggregate switches the programme around, with Classes X, A & D shooting two 50m competitions and Classes B & C firing their 100yd competitions.



Home Countries 3x40 Victory at Bisley
14th August 2005

The Scottish 3P team of Donald McIntosh, Martin Sinclair and Susan Jackson regained the Home Countries 3P title with a comfortable victory over Wales, with England in third place.  Donald's 1129 was the best of the Scottish scores in the individual match, but despite being the second best British shooter he was only 6th in the open event.  Graham Rudd won Class B with 1122, while Lothian won the County Team event.  In the Women's 3x20 match the Scottish team of Shirley McIntosh, Susan Jackson and Janis Thomson were third behind England and Wales, with Shirley's 556 the best placed at 5th in the individual.

Out on the Century range Neil Stirton was a convincing winner in the weekend aggregate, and teamed up with Sheena Sharp to win the weekend pairs ahead of Cliff Ogle and Donald McIntosh.  Bon Accord also won the weekend team event, and there were appearances in the prize lists for Bill Brown, Donald McIntosh, Cliff Ogle, Sheena Sharp in Class X; John Lynch in Class A; Ally Aitken in Class B and Robin Honhold in Class C.

Sinclair Bruce and Donald McIntosh have been seeded into the Scottish team for the Home Countries prone team on Friday 19th August.  The remainder of the team of 10 will be selected from those SSRA members competing in Classes X, A & B of the Championship Aggregate when it completes on Thursday afternoon.



Scottish Wins at Inter-Region Match
14th August 2005

There were wins for the Scottish teams in the NSRA/Eley Inter-Region Match at Bisley on Friday 12th August.

Susan Jackson and Janis Thomson won the 3x20 pairs, with Susan's 566 the top score on the range.  Donald McIntosh and Cliff Ogle repeated this in the 3x40, with Donald's 1124 the best score of the day.&nb

sp; The prone teams fared less well - Donald McIntosh, Cliff Ogle and Bill Hamilton coming third, and Susan Jackson taking second in the individual section of the women's event.



Scottish Teams for Home Countries 3P Matches
5th August 2005

The following teams have been selected to compete in the 3x40 and Women's 3x20 Home Countries International Matches at the start of the NSRA National Meeting.

3x40 Team
Susan Jackson
Donald McIntosh
Martin Sinclair

Reserves:
Janis Thomson
Graham Rudd

Captain: Donald McIntosh
Ladies 3x20 Team
Susan Jackson
Shirley McIntosh
Janis Thomson

Reserve: Lynda Sinclair

Captain: Susan Jackson



Jackson sole Scottish winner at 50m Open Championships
1st August 2005

Susan Jackson won the Women's Prone at the Scottish 50m Open Championships with a season's best score of 590 - just one point ahead of England's Sharon Lee and her former Commonwealth Games partner Shirley McIntosh.  Janis Thomson picked up third in the confined Scottish Championship, while Kay Copland was the top junior with 585, beating many an experienced international shooter in the process.

In the Men's 3x40, England's Chris Hector was a comfortable winner - his superb standing score of 384 providing him a seven point lead going into the final despite ongoing problems with his kneeling.  Martin Sinclair took second, and the confined title for a record 7th time, with a disappointing qualification round of 1137, with Jason Burrage third.  Second and third places in the confined championship went to Graham Rudd and Simon Clark respectively, with Ken Parr winning the Junior section.

The Women's 3x20 produced another English win - this time for Leah Brough, who overtook Susan Jackson in the final.  Janis Thomson also gained ground in the final, overhauling Shirley McIntosh for third place - Jackson, Thomson and McIntosh taking the medals in the confined championship, and Emma Cole-Hamilton winning the Junior.

The Men's Prone final saw Chris Hector unable to hold onto the two-point lead that 594 gave him, dropping to third behind fellow Englishman Neil Davis and Scotland's Simon Clark.  Simon therefore became the first person to win the confined title twice - his first win was in 2001 - with Martin Sinclair and Gordon Motion second and third respectively.  Last year's winner Matthew Thomson had to settle for the junior title this year.



Three Scots in Pershing Team
27th July 2005

All three of the Scots in the squad for the Pershing Match in the USA qualified for the final ten places in the team.  Jim Cole-Hamilton and Martin MacGill came through the final selection process with ease, however Sheena Sharp had to win a late challenge to gain the 10th place.

The team, coached by Donald McIntosh, were unfortunate not to win the match - equalling the largely professional US team on gun score, but losing on the tie break (number of central tens, or Xs).  More details of the trip to Camp Perry are available on the team's Pershing 2005 website.



Spaces running low at 50m SSF Championships
22nd July 2005

Spaces at the Scottish 50m (ISSF) Championships, which will held at Denwood on the 30th and 31st of July are running low.  As of this evening, there are a small number of spaces available in the Men's Prone, Men's 3x40 and Women's 3x20.  The Women's Prone is full.



Grand Prix win for Copland
22nd July 2005

Bill Copland won the third Prone Grand Prix of 2005 in Wick.  His qualification round of 593 combined with a solid 103.2 final gave him a comfortable lead over Jim Cole-Hamilton, with Martin MacGill picking up his first GP medal in third place.  There is now a three-way tie at the top of the points table, with Matthew Thomson, Jim Cole-Hamilton and Bill Copland all on 12 points.

In the C&D Grand Prix, Scott Dixon was a comfortable winner with 392, ahead of two young ladies - Kay Copland and Nicola Sammels - who had so impressed at the Scottish Meeting over the previous days.  Kay retains her lead in the series, with 19 points giving her a four point lead from Scott.



Website for Pershing Match now online
22nd July 2005

A new website - www.pershing2005.org.uk - is now online, and will bring news and pictures from the British contingent at Camp Perry in the USA.  The team includes four Scots - Sheena Sharp, Martin MacGill and Jim Cole-Hamilton as shooters and Donald McIntosh as coach.



Haig win for Jackson as Scotland struggle
11th July 2005


Susan Jackson became the first woman for 21 years to win the Earl Haig Scottish Championship at the NSRA Scottish Meeting near Castletown, with a comfortable four point margin over James Brown and Nicola Sammels - the latter remarkably only fifteen and shooting in Class D.

Susan's win came after a convincing victory in the Class A aggregate, with only Bill Copland producing a higher score during the week on his way to winning Class X - Jim Cole-Hamilton picking up the bronze in the latter.  Susan's Watsonians team-mate Beverley Burnside won the Class B aggregate, with David Simpson third.  In Class C Kay Copland was a clear winner in front of Susie Mackay and Rory MacAlpine, while in Class D Oliver Barron just pipped Nicola Sammels for the trophy, Finlay Craig getting the bronze medal.  New Scottish records were set in the Aggregate - Bill and Kay Copland raising their own records for Senior Men and Junior Women respectively, and Stephen Campbell beating Matthew Thomson's score from last year for the Junior Men.  Susan Jackson just missed out in completing the set, her score one point lower than that shot by Sheena Sharp last year in Fort William, but she recorded a new record for Senior Women in the Scottish Match during the Haig final, as did Nicola Sammels for Junior Women.

In the club team competitions, Bon Accord won the Pullar Targe for the Scottish 50m team on the tie-break from Callander, with the latter overturning the tables to win the ICI trophy for the Scottish 100yd team by three points from the Aberdeen club.  Wick Old Stagers won the Forteviot trophy for the open 50m team, with Perth winning the Sharpshooters and Aberdeenshire winning the County Sextette.

With a number of regular members of the team away at the European Championships, the Scottish team narrowly lost to England in the main international match, but first caps were awarded to David Simpson and Ian Thomson, with John Sinclair making an appearance for the first time since 1980.  The Scottish ladies team were comprehensively beaten once more, extending England's winning run to 19 consecutive years.

Details of the Home Countries Matches are available here.



Cole-Hamilton reaches European Championship Final
11th July 2005

Emma Cole-Hamilton reached the final of the Junior Women's 3x20 at the European Championships in Belgrade last week.  A score of 571, including the only 100 on the entire range, was just a point off her personal best and Scottish junior record, and took her into the final eight in seventh place, where she remained on completion of the additional ten shots.

Matthew Thomson also came close to a final appearance, being counted out of the last eight in the Junior Men's Prone with a score of 589.  Sheena Sharp was the best of the seniors present, with 586 for 14th place in the Women's Prone.



New website for NSRA Scottish Meeting
23rd June 2005

A new website has been setup especially for this year's NSRA Scottish Meeting, which is to be held in Caithness in a few days time.  The site, www.caithness-scottish.org.uk, is now live.



Equal Record for Rudd in Munich
22nd June 2005

Competing at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Heather Rudd equalled her Scottish Junior Record of 389 with the Air Rifle.



British Championship for Sinclair
12th June 2005

Martin Sinclair won the Men's Three Positions for the third time at the NSRA's British 50m Championships at Bisley this weekend.

Gordom Motion also made it to the podium, with Bronze in the Men's Prone, and Janis Thomson was also third - in the Women's 3P.



Angus win for Jackson
8th June 2005

Following on from Susan Jackson's success in France, her husband Angus won Class A at the Angus Open last weekend, with a new personal best of 593 - frustratingly one point short of equalling Susan's PB of 594.  Ian Thomson won Class B comfortably, but James Paterson had to rely on countback to take Class C.  Class D saw some excellent shooting from Kay Copland, who won by a significant margin, and took the junior medal well ahead of Scottish 'A' squad member Matthew Thomson.

Matthew wasn't finished however, and entered the final of the Grand Prix tied with father Ian on 592, with Eddie Jones just a single point behind.  A steady final from Matthew, with only one shot in the nine ring, was enough to pip Ian for the Gold, with Cliff Ogle producing a remarkable final of 105.8 to charge from 7th to 3rd.  The C&D Grand Prix saw some more good shooting, with another young lady - Nicola Sammels - producing an excellent performance to take the Gold from Scott Dixon - competing in his first SSRA Grand Prix event - and Kay Copland.



Prone Medals for Scots at the French Masters
4th June 2005

The small Scottish contingent at the French Masters in Bully-les-Mines produced two medals in the prone events.  The team of Susan Jackson, Sheena Sharp and Emma Cole-Hamilton picked up the bronze in the team event, narrowly beating Germany by one point.  All three shooters then qualified for the Olympic final, with an excellent performance in very trying conditions from Susan pulling her up from 5th to 2nd - the shooter who won having recently returned from winning the Men's Prone at the World Cup in Fort Benning, USA with a perfect score of 600.

The Masters completes tomorrow with the qualification round and final of the Three Positions match, with both Emma and Susan safely through the elimination process.



Scots selected for European Championships
4th June 2005

Five Scots have been included in the British team for the European Cartridge Championships at the beginning of July.  Neil Stirton and Sinclair Bruce form two thirds of the Men's Prone team, with Matthew Thomson the only shooter selected for the Junior Men's Prone.  Sheena Sharp is selected for the Women's Prone team, with Emma Cole-Hamilton the only shooter selected for the Junior Women's Prone and 3x20.



Hampshire win for Sinclair
4th June 2005

Martin Sinclair won the Hampshire prone open at Headley Park two weeks ago, his score of 593 good enough for a two point lead.  Martin was second in the Hampshire 3x40 the previous day at Basingstoke, with Janis Thomson second in the 3x20 with her best score - 572 - in two years.



Scots selected for World Cups
4th June 2005

A number of Scottish Squad members will be representing Great Britain at the forthcoming World Cup matches in Munich and Milan.  Sinclair Bruce and Neil Stirton compete in the Prone at both matches, and will be joined in Milan by Martin Sinclair, who will take part in the Men's Three Positions and Prone (MQS).  Emma Cole-Hamilton will be at Munich only, where she shoots in the Women's Three Positions and Air Rifle (MQS).  Susan Jackson will shoot in the Women's Three Positions at both matches (MQS in Munich) and Heather Rudd in the Air Rifle at both (MQS on both occasions).  In some cases these selections are as a result of the nomination of Scottish Lottery Funded shooters to fill the MQS slots.



Equal Scottish Record in Czech Republic
7th May 2005

Sheena Sharp earned an equal share in the Scottish Women's Prone record, with 594 at the Grand Prix of Liberation in Plzen, CZE.  This score - a new Personal Best by one point - was good enough for fourth place in the Women's prone match.



Silver for Sinclair at English Open
2nd May 2005

Martin Sinclair was the only Scottish medal winner at the English Open Championships at Bisley this weekend, picking up Silver in the 3x40.  Susan Jackson was best placed in the Women's Prone at 4th, with Simon Clark setting a new Personal Best of 594 on his way to 5th place in the Men's Prone.  Emma Cole-Hamilton and Graham Rudd were 6th in the Women's 3x20 and Men's Air Rifle respectively, with Heather Rudd 7th in the Women's Air Rifle.



Winning return for Alasdair Horne
2nd May 2005

After an absence of some years, Alasdair Horne had a winning return to outdoor shooting with a win in the first SSRA Prone Grand Prix of 2005.  An excellent final of 104.6 in addition to his qualification round of 591 pulled him clear of the field, overhauling pre-final leader Jim Cole-Hamilton, with Hugh Simpson taking third place.

Earlier in the day Matthew Thomson won Class A of the Denwood Open with a score of 591, with father Ian winning Class B.  Lawrence Cooper won Class C, combining with Bruce McIntosh to win the Pairs, while Sam Hunter won Class D.

Full results are available here.



50m Open Classifications
2nd May 2005

The SSRA 50m prone classifications, which will be applied at all of the Prone Grand Prix events, are now available.  Click here to view them.



Summer Entry Forms
28th April 2005

Entry forms for the various SSRA Grand Prix and Championship events were recently sent out to members and other interested parties, but unfortunately the entry form for the Grampian Open & Prone GP IV was omitted in error.  In addition, the SSRA subscription rate on some forms was incorrect.  The Association would like to apologise for those errors, and corrected entry forms are now available from the Executive Officer.



Scottish Teams for International Matches
18th April 2005

Scottish teams have been entered in two International Matches on mainland Europe in the next few weeks.  Susan Jackson, Sheena Sharp, Janis Thomson, Gordon Motion and Ken Silver will take part in the Grand Prix of Liberation in Plzen, CZE, from 4th - 8th May.  Susan and Sheena will then be joined by Emma Cole-Hamilton at the French Masters, which will take place in Bully-les-Mines, FRA, from 2nd - 5th June.



Motion & Bon Accord repeat Scottish Championship wins at British Short Range Championships
17th April 2005

Gordon Motion reproduced the form that won him the Daily Record just four weeks ago, winning the NSRA's British Short Range Prone Championship today at Perth.  A score of 395 was enough to secure him a place in a four-way tie shoot, which also included fellow Scottish A-Squad members Neil Stirton and Ken Silver, and a perfect 100 in the tie-break secured the final for the Callander shooter.

In the team event, it was an all Scottish final, with Bon Accord beating Watsonians by three points for the British Team of Six Championship, adding to the British Team of Eight and Division One of the National Short Range league that the club had already secured over the winter season.



Grand Prix Entry Forms Available
17th April 2005

Entry forms for the Prone and Three Positions Grand Prix events, the 50m Championships and Freuchie are now available from Anne Hamilton - please email her on executive@ssra.co.uk if you would like to receive a set.



Winter Competitions Completed
17th April 2005

The SSRA individual winter competitions are now complete, with David Bremner winning the Association Silver Medal with a score of 299 in the final round of the Medal & Salvers competition, winning Class A in the process.  Martin Macgill won Class B, with Neil McMillan and Oliver Barron winning Classes C and D respectively.  The Junior Salver went to Kay Copland, with Cyril De Jonckheere winning the Veteran's.  A very consistent shoot from Rory McAlpine produced a win in the CanDicap, with Shirley McIntosh winning the Short Range 3P Championship.



Sterling Silver Medals to be won at the Balerno & Currie Open Shoot
31st March 2005

Balerno & Currie Rifle Club will be holding their Open Shoot this weekend (2nd - 3rd April). New for this year is the introduction of our own specially minted open shoot medals and to commemorate B&C's 60th anniversary we have had 4 of the new medals struck in Sterling Silver, one for each class winner, a unique and valuable prize I think you will agree.  Entries can be made on the day and details run from 10am until 5.45pm, refreshments are also available.  For more information please email - secretary@bcrconline.co.uk.



NSRA Scottish Championship wins for Motion and Bon Accord
31st March 2005

Gordon Motion won the NSRA Scottish Short Range Championship for the Daily Record Challenge Bowl at Denwood on the 20th of March.  A score of 397 was enough to see off Eddie Jones and Jim Cole-Hamilton, second and third respectively with 395.

In the Scottish Cup, Dumfries saw off Halkirk in the one semi-final, while Bon Accord required countback to beat Watsonians.  The final was relatively close, with Bon Accord's 1169 good enough to beat Dumfries' 1163.



Scottish Teams for North Island, New Zealand Matches
31st March 2005

The Scottish teams which shot in the annual postal international match against North Island, New Zealand were as follows:

Main Team
Gordon Motion
Tom Hodgson
Bill Hamilton
Tim Kidner
Bill Copland
Eddie Jones
John Sinclair
Jim Cole-Hamilton
Matthew Thomson
David Bremner
Charles Allan
James Brown
Mike Baillie-Hamilton
Kay Copland
KenSilver
Junior Team
Matthew Thomson
Kay Copland
Robin Honhold
Nicola Sammels
Oliver Barron

Reserves:
Rory McAlpine
Kyle Mackay-Strachan



Silver Medal at Commonwealth Championships for Sinclair & Stirton
31st March 2005

The Commonwealth Championships in Australia produced three medals for Scotland, one of which came from Martin Sinclair and Neil Stirton in the Men's Prone Pairs - the first time Scotland has ever won a medal in Men's Prone at these championships.  There were also near misses for Neil Stirton - 4th by 0.2 - and Sheena Sharp - 4th on countback - in the Men's and Women's Prone Individual matches respectively.

Results and photographs are available on the STSF website.



Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix Series Completed
31st March 2005

The 2004/5 Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix Series are now complete, with wins for Robin Law and Alan Ritchie in the final events, with both men winning their respective series.



Commonwealth Championships underway
11th March 2005

The fifth Commonwealth Championships are now underway in Melbourne Australia.  Updates will be provided on the STSF website as often as possible. 



Speedway wins for Bill Hamilton and Kay Copland
11th March 2005

Bill Hamilton won the SSRA's Speedway Championship at Callander last Sunday, just ahead of Tim Kidner and Gordon Motion, with a gun score of 987 ex 1000.  On Saturday, Kay Copland won the C&D Speedway with an excellent gun score of 789 ex 800, ahead of Robin Honhold and Nicola Sammels.



British Championship for Rudd
28th February 2005

Heather Rudd continued her recent run of excellent results, winning the British Junior Women's Air Rifle Championship at Bisley yesterday, setting a new Scottish Junior Record of 389 in the process.  Defending champion Emma Cole-Hamilton picked up third place in the same event.  In the Senior Men's Championship, Graham Rudd was fourth, with Robin Law sixth.  Heather also won Class A of the Aggregate, and the British Universities Championship, while Robin won the ASI/Feinwerkbau event.

The Scottish teams in the Home Countries Internationals did not fare particularly well, coming second in the main match and third in the ladies match. A summary of the results can be found here.



Withdrawals from CSF Team
28th February 2005

There have been two changes to the team attending the CSF Championships in Melbourne.  Graham Rudd is currently on placement in France as part of his degree course, and is not able to secure the necessary time off without jeopardising his course.  David Rattray has also withdrawn, and as a result Scotland will have no competitors in the Men's Air Rifle event.



Junior Air Rifle Records fall to Rudd
22nd February 2005

Heather Rudd racked up the Scottish Junior Women's Air Rifle records on Sunday, adding a massive 6.4 points to the record for the qualification round plus final, with scores of 388 & 102.1.  Qualifying for the Grand Prix final in equal first place a score of 581, Heather and Robin Law were still tied going into the last shot, but an excellent score of 10.7 from Heather wasn't enough, Robin sneaking a win with a 10.8 to finish!  This extended Robin's unbeaten record, and secured the Grand Prix series for an eleventh consecutive year.  Alan Ritchie continued a good run of form to win the Air Pistol event, but still trails Mark Joyce in the series, with all to play for in the final match at Glenrothes next month.



100th Cap for Law
15th February 2005

Robin Law crossed a quite remarkable boundary at the Intershoot international match last week, becoming the first Scottish smallbore/air rifle shooter to reach a total of 100 full international appearances for Scotland.  In a career spanning nearly 25 years, Robin has represented Scotland all over the world, winning Bronze medals at each of the 1990, 1994 & 1998 Commonwealth Games.  Caps have been earned in the Air, Three Positions and Prone events.  It is unlikely that this remarkable achievement will be superseded for many years, as the next most capped shooter is Cyril De Jonckheere with a relatively paltry 63 appearances!



Croydon wins Scottish Open
24th January 2005

John Croydon of Wales won the Scottish Open Air Rifle Championship yesterday at Tulliallan.  John came out on top after a close final, which John, David Rattray and Robin Law entered with equal scores of 581, with fourth placed Graham Rudd only a point behind.

David Rattray retained the Scottish Championship, with the Junior and Ladies events being won by Heather Rudd, setting a number of new Scottish Junior records in the process.



Ritchie & Law on top once more
20th January 2005

A familiar pattern was repeated at the third Air Rifle & Pistol Grand Prix of the winter, with Robin Law winning the Rifle event comfortably and Alan Ritchie doing the same in the Air Pistol - the latter with an excellent score of 576.



50th Anniversary for Edinburgh University Rifle Club
19th January 2005

Edinburgh University Rifle Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  To mark the occasion, a special 50th anniversary open shoot is being organised for Sunday the 27th of February, 2005.  There will also be a buffet with prize giving in Teviot Row student union.  The club would like to extend a warm invitation to all members past and present, other universities and anyone else wishing to participate. 

Anybody wishing further details, please contact T.R.Bamford@sms.ed.ac.uk.



Second Scottish Record for Forth & Clyde
19th January 2005

Having raised the Scottish record in round one of the Inter-County Air Rifle League, the Forth & Clyde county team of Robin Law, Tricia Littlechild, Donald & Shirley McIntosh and Cliff Ogle have added a further five points to their score in round two.



Bronze Medal & Scottish Records for Cole-Hamilton in Luxembourg
17th January 2005

Emma Cole-Hamilton started 2005 with a bronze medal in the Junior Women's Air Rifle on the first day of the RIAC international match in Luxembourg.  An equal season's best of 383 was enough to take her into the final in third place, which she managed to hang onto despite only firing three tens in the final.

The third day of the match then saw Emma produce a new personal best and new Scottish junior record of 386, taking her into the final in second place.  A steady start, and some poor shooting around her, saw her take the lead for three shots, however Emma struggled over the second half of the final and was overhauled by a number of the other competitors, ending up 6th - only 0.9 separating the shooters in 3rd to 6th place.



Scottish Team for Intershoot
17th January 2005

A small Scottish team of Graham Rudd and Robin Law has been entered in the annual Intershoot Airgun international, held in the Netherlands at the beginning of February.