Due to flooding at Carlisle the SSRA's Air Rifle GP4 has been moved to Glenrothes, with the Rifle event on January 16, 2016 and the Pistol comp on Sunday January 17. Additionally, the news that our GP5 events clash with the NSRA's Air Championships at Bisley means that the final SSRA Air Rifle Grands Prix of the season will now be at Glenrothes on February 20 and the equivalent Pistol event on Sunday February 21. Our thanks for Cyril de Jonckheere for the updates.

He might have had home advantage but Robin Law still had to fight hard to win Air Rifle GP3 in Kincardine. Bobby Spence came second and Sheena Sharp third. Results are now available on the Domestic Results page.

Two Open days have been announced at Kincardine Target Sports Centre: 20 and 27 February 2016.

Why not come along and watch members shoot on electronic targets and take part in a short instruction on small-bore target shooting. For more details, click here.

Seonaid McIntosh travelled to Györ in Hungary as part of a small GB team to take part in the Hungarian Open. Shooting internationally as a senior for the first time this year, she was close to the final on both days, and gained invaluable experience for the European 10m Championships on the same venue next year.

Congratulations to Shirley McIntosh who has been inducted into the sportscotland Hall of Fame.

You can read more about Shirley here.

An entry form for this popular competition in Edinburgh on December 5-6 can be downloaded here.

We are saddened to hear of the death of former SSRA Council member John Silcox. The chaplain at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, he ran the school shooting team there until 1996. He was the Scotland team organiser for the British Schools International Postal match from 1999 to 2003.

The main team tied with their counterparts in North Island New Zealand on a score of 5923. This is the first time in the history of the competition there has been a draw but the tie was broken by adding up all 15 last cards per team which gave Scotland a win by three points. The highest scores on the day for Scotland were James Henderson and Fiona Crowden, both with 398 ex 400. The Scotland Juniors lost 1916-1960.

The results can be found here.

In the Home Countries Internationals, Scotland were second to England in both the main team of ten and the ladies team of five.

SSRA Chairman Ian Thomson travelled to Bisley and shared his thoughts on Scotland's promising juniors...

The Junior International Week was held at Bisley recently. The team representing Scotland was Andrew Williamson, Brogan Smith, Steven Brown, Daniel Gutteridge and Georgia Gooch. Vikki Walls travelled with us but was representing the GB Squads. The number of competitors is increasing each year with teams from Germany, South Africa, USA, Denmark, GB Squads, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scout Association and Scotland. The SPA also send a team and had some encouraging results with a couple of medals.

In the Men’s Prone event all shooters made it through to the qualification stage. Brogan was best placed at 13th out of 35 competitors only 3 points below the lowest qualifying score for the final. Brogan was the only Scottish competitor in the 3P Match. After the prone and kneeling stages Brogan was placed 4th out of 19 competitors but dropped back to 8th place during the standing stage so he still qualified for the final. During the final the same pattern emerged, climbing to 6th place before the standing stage and being eliminated in 8th place following his standing score.

Star of the week was Georgia Gooch who won the Women’s Prone Grand Prix ahead of several GB girls. The top three scores were separated by 0.1 and Georgia won on the X count. Checking the records this is the first gold medal won by a competitor representing Scotland and Georgia, at 15 years old, is the youngest winner of a gold medal at this event. In the main Women’s Prone event there were 35 girls competing. Vikki shot a new PB to finish 10th and Georgia finished 14th after struggling with a tricky wind during the first 20 shots. Both girls finished ahead of several GB Squad girls.

League organiser Billy Crawford writes: "Hope you are well, it's that time again. Entries to the team league should be made by Friday 30th October 2015 so I can get the match stickers out in plenty of time."

Don't delay - visit our competition entry page (above) and get your club's entry in. Remember, the cards can be locally scored and the results emailed in to Billy. He should also be notified if your club intends to submit results from electronic targets.

Jim Main won a very close final in SSRA GP5 at Gagie with a shoot-off needed to separate second and third places. Main, winner of the Caithness Prone GP this season, had already won the series but was happy to pick up the trophy nonetheless...Sheena Sharp was second and Sarah Henderson third.

Pictured left: The podium places at sunny Gagie: From left, Sarah Henderson, Jim Main and Sheena Sharp.

Pictured right: A selection of athletes who won R50 ammunition courtesy of sponsors RWS.

Results can be found here

Neil Stirton won SSRA Prone GP 4 at Denwood, even though the sun caused everyone a few problems and technical gremlins delayed the running of the final. The final GP of the series takes place at Gagie by Dundee on Sunday September 6.

The GB team journeyed to Azerbaijan for the second time this year, but to a completely different venue than the one used for the European Games back in May. The venue for the final World Cup of the year was Gabala, at the end of a frankly terrifying four hour road journey into the Caucasus mountains. Emotions were running high as this was the last opportunity to secure a Quota Place for the 2016 Olympic Games in any of the 50m events.

Neil Stirton shot a solid qualification round of 624.3, but remained nearly two points off the final.

The SSRA Council will start working towards the merger into Scottish Target Shooting following resounding support from the members. In the recent vote 98% of members voted for a change. Details of the new opportunities were circulated before the vote and a healthy discussion took place at the AGM with Oliver Barsby from STS answering questions.

The next step is to agree details of the transition. The first meeting with STS has been set for early August and we will discuss transfer of Assets to the new Smallbore Management Group as well as transfer of the Membership database and Management of Finances. The current SSRA Constitution will also change to reflect the new structure.

Current membership will be extended from October to the 1^st Jan in line with the new Organisation. The plan is that Members and Clubs will affiliate to STS on the 1^st Jan.

Congratulations to Jen McIntosh who finished fourth in the final of the Women's 3x20 3P event in Maribor and secured a quota place for next year's Olympics. Jen produced an utterly dominant display in the qualification round on a day when a series of problems on the unfinished ranges caused a series of delays and interruptions. Her score of 588 - 198 Kneeling, 199 Prone and 191 Standing - was six points clear of the next shooter.

Into the finals hall it was, and with the early eliminations out of the way the Quota Place was secure. Jen was on the verge of a major medal, but ended up a tie-shoot with Ivana Maksimovic of Serbia for fourth place, and despite shooting a 10.2, lost out to a 10.4 - things were so close that Ivana went on to win the gold!

In the Men's Prone it looked for a while like a team medal might be on the cards as Neil Stirton, Jon Hammond and England's Ken Parr all shot steadily, but it was not to be - fourth by over three points in the end.

Here's a reminder of upcoming events at Alloa's Outdoor Range:

Alloa 60 shots @ 50 metres,  Sat and Sun  8th and 9th August 2015.

Forth & Clyde TSA Open Shoot ( Double Dewar ) Sun 30th August 2015

West of Scotland Open Shoot ( Double Dewar )  Sun 20th Sept 2015

Entry forms for the Alloa club events can be obtained by emailing mcaulay8580@btinternet.com and for Forth & Clyde Richard.prkc@btinternet.com

Jen McIntosh came close to a clean sweep in the Scottish 50m Championships. She was a comfortable winner in the Women's Prone, more than four points clear of Fiona Crowden, with Sian Corish third.

In the Women's 3P it was Sian who knocked Jen off the top perch, a margin of 0.4 giving the Welsh shooter the Scottish Open title, with Jen second (and winner of the confined Scottish Championship), with Sheena Sharp in third place.

In the Men's events, Bobby Spence was well clear of Mark Szmankiewicz in the Men's 3P, with Scottish junior Brogan Smith in third. Things were a bit more competitive in the Men's Prone, with Ken Parr winning the Open title ahead of Neil Stirton and Jonathan Andrews - Neil therefore taking the confined Championship.

The Results Book is now available from the Domestic Results page

Seonaid McIntosh set a new Scottish Junior Record of 618.0 in the elimination round of the Women's Prone at the World University Games in Gwangju, Korea. She wasn't able to reproduce this form in the qualification round, finishing 23rd with 615.6.

Susan Jackson got the better of Jim Main and Kay Copland in the final at Lauder to win the Earl Haig trophy for the second time.

In the Home Countries Internationals, . Details of the team and scores can be found here.

St Andrews' Ken Greenaway won the Freuchie competition and "picked up" the Wilkinson Sword in Lauder. Jake Smith won the C&D final.

The first round of the 2015 Freuchie was shot in a changeable breeze, best described as a "light breeze from 360 degrees". The semi-final is on Wednesday July 8 and features: S Sharp, J Gutteridge, J Smith; L Thomson, K Copland, B Smith; A Littlejohn, K Greenaway, M Melvin. That's four C&D class shooters in the semis.

Thanks go to Stephen Gemmell and Frances Taylor for ROing and to Fiona Shedden, Kathryn Williamson and Ashleigh Taylor for admin and back office support. Maria Bexley did the draw and back-office organisation too.

Jacqueline Smith made a name for herself by taking out two X-class shooters on her way to the semis.

There will be more updates on The Freuchie when schedules allow. Don't forget to check the SSRA Facebook page and Twitter @SSRAsite. Please visit the NSRA site for full results from their event.

A definite date for your diary: Saturday July 4, in Lauder. The SSRA holds its AGM and will talk at length about the proposed STS merger. Oliver Barsby, STS National Development Manager, will be on hand to take questions and give a presentation. The results of the recent vote on the merger will also be revealed. We need as many members as possible to attend. Meeting begins at 7.30pm at the Lauderdale Hotel, 1 Edinburgh Road, Lauder TD2 6TW.

The results from this two-day event, a traditional warm-up event for the NSRA Scottish meeting, can be found here.

Jim Main took the honours in SSRA Grand Prix 3 in Caithness his first GP win, the only remaining GP to be conducted on paper. The results can be found here.

The first European Games were held in Baku, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, situated in the Caucasus between Russia to the north, Iran to the south, Armenia and Georgia to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east.

A truly spectacular new facility has been built at huge cost to hold this event, and the scale of it has to be seen to be believed.

In the Women's Air Rifle, Jen and Seonaid both came close to the final, with 9th and 11th place respectively. Jen was able to improve on this in the 50m 3P event where, on a hellish tricky range, she shot a remarkable 195 in the standing position to qualify for the final with 580. Unfortunately she really struggled with the heat and humidity in the finals hall and fell away in the second series of five shots in the standing to finish seventh.

Jon Hammond also found things rather difficult on the 50m range, five reasonable strings well in contention, but a wayward fourth string pulling him down to 20th place.

James Paterson was third in the Men's 3P at the British 50m Championships, with Bobby Spence just out of the medals in fourth.

Neil Stirton qualified for the final of the Men's Prone in second place, and was rewarded with the silver medal after the final.

Fiona Crowden and Sheena Sharp were sixth and eighth in the Women's Prone.

With Jen McIntosh and Jon Hammond away at the European Games, the only Scottish team that was entered in the Home Countries match was for Men's Prone. Details of the teams and scores can be found here.

Team GB have announced the names of the shooters selected for the inaugural European Games, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, later this month.

Jon Hammond has been selected for the Men's Prone, Jen McIntosh for Women's 3P and Air Rifle and Seonaid McIntosh for Women's Air Rifle.

Neil Stirton, Nen McIntosh and Seonaid McIntosh were amongst the GB team at the World Cup in Munich, suffice to say no-one was particularly happy with the outcomes...

Scottish Target Shooting is a body developed in conjunction with sportscotland which plans to unify the current four associations of Smallbore, Pistol, Fullbore and Clay Target. The time has come for SSRA members to vote on this exciting proposal to modernise our sport and add a layer of professionalism to it. A voting form is attached which should be returned to Treasurer@ssra.co.uk by 20 June 2015 for inclusion in the vote. The result will be announced during the SSRA's AGM at the NSRA Scottish Meeting in Lauder in July 2015. An STS flier, which can be downloaded and distributed, is attached and a presentation on the STS features can also be found here.

James Henderson won the SSRA Prone GP2 final at Gagie ahead of Gary Duff and Bobby Spence in a strong field. The event also saw the latest renewal of our association with ammunition maker RWS who have sponsored our grands prix with air pellets and top of the range R50 cartridges for a further year.

The results from the first 2 GP weekends have now been published from
the Megalink software for your reference.

GP1:
http://ssra.co.uk/megalink/2015-3p/gp1/stats.htm
http://ssra.co.uk/megalink/2015-pne/gp1/stats.htm

GP2:
http://ssra.co.uk/megalink/2015-3p/gp2/stats.htm
http://ssra.co.uk/megalink/2015-prone/gp2/stats.htm
 

Pictured with their RWS ammunition prizes, from left, back row: Jim Main, Leonard Thomson, Brogan Smith, Ashleigh Taylor, Jake Smith. Front row: Steven Gemmell and Ian Henderson.

There are a range of outdoor target shooting events being staged at Alloa's Tullygarth facility this summer and the latest update is:

Alloa Double Dewar, Saturday and Sunday 27-28 June;
Alloa 60-shot 50 metre event, 8th and 9th August;
Forth & Clyde Open Comp, Sunday 30th August

Entry forms for the Alloa club events can be obtained by emailing mcaulay8580@btinternet.com and for Forth & Clyde Richard.prkc@btinternet.com

Late May saw Neil Stirton, Jon Hammond, Jen McIntosh and Seonaid McIntosh return to the USA to compete at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning.

Jen McIntosh was unfortnate to miss out on the final of the Women's 3P, her 584 equal with scores covering 8th to 12th place - Jen ending up 10th on inner-ten tie-break.

James Henderson and Fiona Crowden competed at the Grand Prix of Liberation this year, however results were below expectations and neither were close to makign finals or the podium.

Caithness Small-Bore Rifle Association (CSBRA) have opted to change the date of the Caithness Open and SSRA Prone Grand Prix III to June 13 and 14. This will avoid a clash with the British 50m championships at Bisley. Organiser Marty Simpson has issued entry forms here now. This means the SSRA calendar will have to be updated.

Seonaid McIntosh's run of Junior medals with the Air Rifle carried on in Hannover, with another victory. Qualifying in seventh place, the final was a ciose run thing with the lead changing more than once, but she snatched the gold at the end.

Jen McIntosh also qualified for an Air Rifle final, 417.2 giving her third place. The final was a very high standard, Jen placing 6th in the end.

In the Women's 3P, Jen McIntosh shot a huge new Scottish and British record score of 590 - yes, that's 590 in 3P - to have a five point lead at the top of the qualification round. The final proved to be a bit more of a challenge, Jen finishing in 6th place.

Jon Hammond was the only British entrant in the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea. Shooting only in the 50m Prone event, Jon placed 31st.

This year the format of the ISAS competition was changed, with the Senior and Junior events being held on different weekend.

In the senior events a small team of Neil Stirton, James Henderson and Fiona Crowden attended, Fiona's 15th place in the Women's Prone the best result.

In the Junior events, Seonaid McIntosh qualified for the final of the Junior Women's Air Rifle in eighth place, and then shot an excellent final to take the gold by a considerable margin.

The results are available here and the scores summary here.

Dan Rivers won the men's title and Seonaid McIntosh, on her 19th birthday, won the Senior and Junior Women's title but that hardly scratches the surface of a successful two days at the PoliceScotland college in Tulliallan by Kincardine. With another 19-year-old, Gianluca Spiteri, travelling over from Malta and a host of Commonwealth Games champions past and present taking part, the competition was an exciting one and there was plenty room for shooters new to air rifle to show they were not overawed. The Target Technique team from the Inverness area, with their coach (and seamstress) Maria Bexley on hand, rose to the occasion and notched some personal bests. Alloa's Vikki Walls, a recent addition to the Scotland Under-21 Development squad, finished fourth in the Women's final and came away with a clutch of medals.

Spiteri scored three MQS for the Maltese Olympic Committee to scrutinise and took part in his first final on electronic targets. The SSRA's cyber army of Megalinks kept the range staff on their toes, perhaps welcome since it was distinctly cold in the range...

Results are available on the Domestic Results page and here.

Students studying in Scotland have the chance to gain financial support thanks to the Winning Students scheme.

Winning Students provides scholarship funding to help students achieve their sporting and academic goals. The national sports scholarships are open to current students and to school leavers preparing to start their studies this September. Applications are sought for Individual Scholarships, which apply to athletes competing in individual and small combination sports such as Athletics and Weightlifting. Students competing in Badminton, Curling, Football, Golf, Hockey, Judo, Orienteering, Rowing, Swimming, Tennis and Triathlon should not apply as athletes in these sports are nominated directly by the appropriate governing body of sport. To be considered for support, applicants should meet the selection criteria outlined on the Winning Students website at: www.winningstudents-scotland.ac.uk.

Individual Scholarship applications are invited by current and prospective students before March 31 to be considered for funding support from September. School leavers should provide proof of application (college) or a UCAS number (university). College, universities and governing bodies of sport staff are permitted to submit nominations on behalf of an athlete. Winning Students is funded by the Scottish Funding Council and run by the University of Stirling.

Applications should be made through Donald McIntosh.

Tom Hodgson, left, won the SSRA Speedway final at Balerno & Currie rifle club after a shoot-off against defending champion Dave Caughey, the culmination of a day of high scores and intense competition.

The host club's Martin Sinclair, right, took the honours in the C&D competition which enjoyed a competitive return after a number of years without sufficient numbers for a final.

Seonaid McIntosh not only made it to the final of the Junior Women's Air Rifle event at the European Championships in Arnhem today but she was only denied gold by a shoot-off after a score of 207.0. Lalita Gaspar from Hungary won.

This is believe to be GBR's first Air Rifle medal at a European Championships since 1980, and the first ever in the Junior Women's event.

Alloa Rifle Club hosted the first of their 2015 instruction courses at the range in Kincardine and nine new Club Instructors and eight Range Conducting Officers passed their tests thanks to the instruction of Kevin Holland. Pictured: Kevin Holland, Jen McIntosh, Andrew Ross, Mike Ozmond, Simeon Attaway, Steven Gemmell, Martin Sinclair, Peter May, Martin Sinclair and Ken Greenaway.

A reminder then that the next Club Instructor course is on the 4th and 5th April 2015. If you are interested or wish to book a place, contact Willie McAulay  mcaulay8580@btinternet.com. Bookings are on a first come, first served basis.

Alloa is also running a Club Coach course on the 14th and 15th March with course assessment later that month. This course does not have assisted funding. You must have held your Club Instructor's qualification for one year and show proof that you have carried out Club Instructors' duties at your club.

Seonaid McIntosh won the Junior Women's Air Rifle title at the British Airgun Championships held at Bisley.

Bobby Spence qualified sixth and followed that up as he also came sixth in the Men's final. James Paterson was ninth and Robin Law 12th in qualification.

McIntosh's results come hard on the heels of fine performances at Intershoot in The Hague in the Netherlands where sister Jennifer also scooped gold.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen University's Jonty Barron won the BUCS prone rifle individual title.

In the Home Countries Internationals, the Men's team came second a long way behind England, but unfortunately Scotland were unable to field a Ladies team. Details of the teams and scores can be found here.

Seonaid McIntosh took the honours in the final Air Rifle grand prix of the 2014-15 season with a win at Glenrothes. Graphical results can be viewed at http://www.ssra.co.uk/megalink/Air_Rifle_2014-15/GP5/stats.htm. Maria Bexley was second, with her daughter Keira making her grand prix debut, while Bobby Spence was third. Robin Law won the series, with Seonaid second and Mark Joyce third.

Results are now available for the initial rounds of CanDicap, Speedway and Medal competitions. The good news is that the Speedway may have a viable C&D final for the first time in recent years.

A reminder that the closing date for funding applications to the Legacy 2014: Sustainable Sport for Communities fund is February 26, 2015.. Clubs need to call first to discuss their idea - if it fits the criteria they will be sent an Expression of Interest form.

Legacy 2014: Sustainable Sports for Communities is a £1 million fund which supports the sustainability and capacity of aspiring and existing social enterprises delivering sport and physical activity in communities across Scotland. Funding, through this final round of funding, is available to help clubs and organisations meet the costs of investigating and developing their ideas.This could include: community consultation and engagement; needs analysis and feasibility study; support with organisational development; technical support in the form of architect/design fees/surveyors costs; legal and financial support.

The Programme Guidelines are also available online and an Expression of Interest form can be obtained by calling Tracy at SIS on 0131 603 8285 or Linda at The Robertson Trust on 0141 353 7300.Expression of Interest must be submitted by noon on February 26 2015.

Full information is also available at http://www.socialinvestmentscotland.com/looking-for-investment/our-funds or www.therobertsontrust.org.uk

The selections for this year's Scottish Schools Team have been made. 41 nominations were received for the 24 places this year so selection was quite competitive. Match stickers should reach the recipients by the end of the week.

http://www.stsf.org.uk/news_15.html

A report has been published which updates us regarding the exciting proposal currently being developed by Scottish Target Shooting (STS) in consultation with its four existing members – the Scottish Clay Target Association (SCTA), Scottish Pistol Association (SPA), Scottish Rifle Association (SRA) and the Scottish Smallbore Rifle Association (SSRA). Things are firming up now, so please download and print off for your clubs to digest.

Hot on the heels of a training camp at the Duth National Sports Center in Papendal, a GB team including both Jen and Seonaid McIntosh descended on The Hague for the annual Intershoot competition.

Some excellent shooting was produced, and a clutch of medals for both athletes - two Golds and a Silver each - Jen in the Senior Women's and Seonaid in the Junior Women's.

The 2015 Scottish Air Rifle Championships will be held at the PoliceScotland college in Tulliallan by Kincardine on March 14-15. Online entry forms are now available via this site - see top of page.

Club Instructor courses run by Alloa & District Rifle Club are being part funded by sportscotland.

Fully paid-up members of the Scottish Small bore Rifle association who complete the course will receive a DISCOUNT on the course fee.

The course being held on the 14th and 15th February 2015 is fully booked. The next Club Instructor course is on the 4th and 5th April 2015. If you are interested or wish to book a place, contact Willie McAulay. Bookings are on a first come, first served basis.

Alloa is also running a Club Coach course on the 14th and 15th March with course assessment later that month. This course does not have assisted funding. This is the next step up in Small bore Target rifle Shooting Coaching and you must have held your Club Instructors qualification for one (1) year and show proof that you have carried out Club Instructors' duties at your club.

Nominations are invited for the 2015 team. The Match Period this year is from Mon.16^th Feb to Mon. 9^th Mar. Click here for more details.

Teenager Victoria Walls continued her progress in air rifle when she stepped across the Border to win SSRA Air Rifle GP4, staged in Carlisle after a gap of several years. The Alloa youngster, 16 and recently promoted into the Scotland Under-21 Development squad, got the better of clubmate Robin Law by 0.9 in the final. Results from the weekend's action, staged as a two-day event with the Scottish Pistol Association, are available from the Domestic Results page.

Results from the first two rounds of this competition are now available on the Domestic Results page. Due to several sets of results being delayed in the, er, Christmas post, the results have now been reissued - along with the averages.