Great Britain Junior Target Shooting Squad
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Welcome Sporter Air Rifle!
In the Summer of 2007 GBJS agreed to expand its remit to embrace the Sporter (Standing and 3P) and Precision (3P) Air Rifle disciplines. These offer to under-21 Juniors both standing-only and 3x20 shooting in a very simple and accessible format, and using the minimum of ancillary equipment.
So what are the differences?
· Precision (3P) is very similar to the ISSF régime, in that jackets, trousers and boots can be used, with fully-adjustable high-tech air rifles.
· Sporter Air Rifle has limits on the weight and range of adjustments on rifles. Dimensions and permitted adjustments are close to the old “ISU Standard Rifle” specification. Ancillary equipment is restricted to glove, sling, kneeling roll and mat.
In both Precision and Sporter, where there are fixed target changers and benches, or electronic targets, and the target height is not adjustable, the prone and kneeling positions are shot off tables. If target height is adjustable, all positions are normally shot from the floor.
GBJS played a key rôle in bringing Sporter to Britain. The South Africans who were invited to take part in the Squad’s GB Junior International Match each year asked us if Sporter and Precision could be included in the Match, as there were then no international competitions at all for participants in RSA and in the USA where it has been popular for some time. There have now been Sporter and Precision matches in the last two GB Junior Internationals - and there are still no other international competitions for them, although RSA has invited us to send a team there in 2008.
NSRA Board member Eric Dougliss took on the task of launching the Sporter and Precision (3P) disciplines in Britain. Suitable air rifles were sourced, are now stocked by the NSRA shop and will soon be available again through the National Indoor Shooting Centre at Aldersley. Full details are on the shop pages of the NSRA website.
The Scouts and Air Training Corps have already taken the new scheme up with great enthusiasm (and there are well-founded rumours that large numbers of rifles are heading towards Army Cadet Force units in the South West), but it is available to all Juniors, not just those who are members of national youth organisations. Some school are already taking part; for those that are not, providing suitable facilities is usually simple and inexpensive.
Having watched the birth and early development of Sporter in Britain, GBJS offered to open its doors to these new disciplines. The deal has been done, and from now on the Squad will consist of two sections, ISSF and Sporter. The terms and benefits of Squad membership are identical for all. The annual programme will include some weekends where both sections train together and some where they work separately. The first joint weekend took place at Aldersley in October 2007 - the ISSF shooters were quite envious of the comfy-looking “beds” that the Sporter people were using for prone and kneeling!
An important part of this new régime is flexibility. All Juniors are free to take part in either or both disciplines, and to move between the two sections. In this way we hope that more GBJS people will find the events that really suit their talents and inclinations.
The Sporter Manager within GBJS is Roger Monksummers, who also runs the website at www.sporter.org.uk <http://www.sporter.org.uk>.
Ó EMW Oct 2007
In the Summer of 2007 GBJS agreed to expand its remit to embrace the Sporter (Standing and 3P) and Precision (3P) Air Rifle disciplines. These offer to under-21 Juniors both standing-only and 3x20 shooting in a very simple and accessible format, and using the minimum of ancillary equipment.
So what are the differences?
· Precision (3P) is very similar to the ISSF régime, in that jackets, trousers and boots can be used, with fully-adjustable high-tech air rifles.
· Sporter Air Rifle has limits on the weight and range of adjustments on rifles. Dimensions and permitted adjustments are close to the old “ISU Standard Rifle” specification. Ancillary equipment is restricted to glove, sling, kneeling roll and mat.
In both Precision and Sporter, where there are fixed target changers and benches, or electronic targets, and the target height is not adjustable, the prone and kneeling positions are shot off tables. If target height is adjustable, all positions are normally shot from the floor.
GBJS played a key rôle in bringing Sporter to Britain. The South Africans who were invited to take part in the Squad’s GB Junior International Match each year asked us if Sporter and Precision could be included in the Match, as there were then no international competitions at all for participants in RSA and in the USA where it has been popular for some time. There have now been Sporter and Precision matches in the last two GB Junior Internationals - and there are still no other international competitions for them, although RSA has invited us to send a team there in 2008.
NSRA Board member Eric Dougliss took on the task of launching the Sporter and Precision (3P) disciplines in Britain. Suitable air rifles were sourced, are now stocked by the NSRA shop and will soon be available again through the National Indoor Shooting Centre at Aldersley. Full details are on the shop pages of the NSRA website.
The Scouts and Air Training Corps have already taken the new scheme up with great enthusiasm (and there are well-founded rumours that large numbers of rifles are heading towards Army Cadet Force units in the South West), but it is available to all Juniors, not just those who are members of national youth organisations. Some school are already taking part; for those that are not, providing suitable facilities is usually simple and inexpensive.
Having watched the birth and early development of Sporter in Britain, GBJS offered to open its doors to these new disciplines. The deal has been done, and from now on the Squad will consist of two sections, ISSF and Sporter. The terms and benefits of Squad membership are identical for all. The annual programme will include some weekends where both sections train together and some where they work separately. The first joint weekend took place at Aldersley in October 2007 - the ISSF shooters were quite envious of the comfy-looking “beds” that the Sporter people were using for prone and kneeling!
An important part of this new régime is flexibility. All Juniors are free to take part in either or both disciplines, and to move between the two sections. In this way we hope that more GBJS people will find the events that really suit their talents and inclinations.
The Sporter Manager within GBJS is Roger Monksummers, who also runs the website at www.sporter.org.uk <http://www.sporter.org.uk>.
Ó EMW Oct 2007