Current News
August 2022
At last, the Randle Trophy Match has returned to normality with the team able to shoot during the National Meeting at Bisley in August.
As always, the team was selected from the leading scores in the first four competitions of the Aggregate, which were shot in very warm and humid conditions. There were no new faces in the full team this year, although Sarah Campion from Jersey qualified as reserve and was delighted to be part of a competition she has striven for almost since childhood !
With a few friends from the USA coming over for the Centenary Meeting, it was a pleasure to invite Edie Reynolds to be our witness once again, and the team assembled as usual at dawn on the Thursday morning ready to shoot as soon as the light improved enough. The flags hung limp with only the occasional rogue twitch and the shoot began soon after 6 a.m.; wind conditions hardly changed and any slight variations were easily felt on the faces of the shooters, so the job of the wind-coaches was more a supportive role – watching the time, counting shots, advising on sight adjustment etc.
Starting as is traditional at 100-yards, only three points were dropped in total by the team, a good start which they consolidated at 50-yards, dropping only a further two to give a total of 3995 ex 400.
Top scorer for GB was Lina Jones with 400 and 35 x's with Jane Newing snapping at her heels with only two x's fewer.
Then we could be told the scores achieved by the USA (3989) and New Zealand (3974) and start a cautious celebration; the competition isn’t closed until December 31st, so in theory there is still time for another English-speaking country to submit scores, although this is unlikely.
So, a “normal” experience this year for the Match itself, and well done on the excellent scoring.
The Goodwill Randle match was shot in July at Camp Atterbury In the NRA National Championships, the team being part of the Pershing Squad of shooters who travelled out. The pre-match preparation at home was beset by problems with getting the ammunition sorted and flights arranged – and then the dreaded Covid struck during the Meeting and one team member had to remain in the States at the home of one of the shooters until she had recovered and tested negative so that she could travel home - getting back to the UK just in time for Bisley Week ! In the Goodwill Randle Match itself, our team were beaten by just 5 points (2375 to 2380), such a narrow defeat. Well done to Freya Giles scoring 399 in her first representation.
It's usual to shoot the Bluebonnets Match during Bisley Week, but among other things the very packed programme because of the Centenary made that too difficult, and it was agreed with Edie Reynolds that the match scores would be those achieved in the Randle plus the first Dewar of the week; the NRA will produce a corresponding match report from their Meeting.
Top score in the Bluebonnets was achieved by Lina Jones (again !) with 387 on the British Dewar, 400 on the Randle Dewar with 35 x's, just four x's ahead of Karen Webber, so Lina retains the Marlene Jarvis Bowl (which now has all the winners engraved on it).
Photos and full scores will be uploaded shortly.
February 2022
Time to summarise the past twelve months, as the captaincy of the GB Randle team is handed over to Sandra for the next two years - which of course we all hope will be more normal and straightforward than the last two have been.
In the spring of 2021, the NSRA took the difficult decision to cancel the National Meeting at Bisley in August, but in its place a series of National Long Range Championship events were organized around the country, with a Final at Sywell Range in mid-September. This opened up the possibility of shooting the Randle Match 2021, as it was considered to be our National Meeting, and with the approval of the NRA of America we made our plans for the match, always keeping our fingers crossed that any ongoing Covid restrictions would allow it.
It was agreed that team selection should be taken from the local events, and would be open to lady shooters in all classes, not just X and A as is more normal. This was well advertised and the ladies rose to the occasion by entering the local events which were held in six different venues across England and Scotland in August.
The Final - and therefore the Randle Match - was booked for September 12th, so there was little time between the notification of results from the local events to select and notify the team, plus all the other organizational details needed. Official team polo-shirts (generously sponsored by the NSRA) were ordered, witness and scorer invited, and emails flew back and forth.
Local knowledge of the Sywell range told us that later afternoon would be the most hospitable time to shoot the match, so we planned to start at 4 pm but were prepared to shoot earlier if it seemed sensible. In the event, winds during the day were light and shortly after lunch dropped almost to nothing, so after a practice session it was decided to start earlier while the light was still good too.
Normally, each team member has a personal wind coach alongside her for the match, but it was almost impossible to arrange that under the current circumstances, so only 3 or 4 ladies had that support on the firing point, while the others had to rely on their own resources and the roving eye of captain and adjutant behind them. But they all dug deep and came up with their best - which, as the results page shows, was certainly good enough !
Difficult though the year has been in so many ways, the commitment of every single team member and officials has been complete; lack of practice during the year made it hard to produce the high standard needed, and the increased travel for both the local events and the match itself had an impact of course (two of our team had a 12-hour journey to get to the match from Scotland !).
We were so glad that New Zealand were able to enter a team again this year, after putting up such a good score in 2020 which regrettably couldn't count as a win, with no other teams able to take part, and we very much hope that they will remain in the competition in future years.
For this year, Sandra and I are proud of our team and their performance which has secured the Randle Trophy for Great Britain for 2021.
NRA medals will, of course, be forwarded to the team as soon as they are received from America, and as retiring captain I wish Sandra and her adjutant Jacky Perkins all the very best for the next two years. Keep it up !!
Mog Thomson (GB Randle Captain 2019-21)
February 2021
Who would have thought , this time last year, that twelve months down the line our lives would still be so affected by the pandemic of Coronavirus ? Even now, it isn't clear whether or not the NSRA Meeting at Bisley will be held in August, and so the firing of the Randle Match for this year is still not certain, but we live in hope that - with the roll-out of the vaccination programme now well under way - this year will see a return to at least some sort of normality.
To sum up 2020: neither Great Britain nor the United States were able to fire the Randle although the other international matches (Dewar, Wakefield and Drew) which are organized by the NSRA did go ahead on a Goodwill basis, and it is pleasing to report that this was a clean sweep for GB. The only team able to shoot the Randle was New Zealand, whose National Meeting ran before any lockdowns. We were so happy to have the NZ team back "in the fold" and they put up a cracking score which could well have won them the Trophy but of course with no other team competing it can't be recognized as an official victory. Nevertheless, it has certainly set the bench mark for the next match and we shall all need to be on our best form !!
In the meantime, gold medals have now been received from the NRA of America for the GB team who were victorious in 2019 and have been sent out to the team members, with many congratulations to everyone.
August 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything for this year, and for the first time since its inception in 1952 Great Britain will not be taking part in the Randle Trophy Match.
The inevitable cancellation of the National Meeting at Bisley meant that we could not satisfy one of the rules of the Randle Trophy Match, which is that it must be shot during the country's national meeting, and the only possible way that Great Britain could have competed was if we were permitted to shoot the match as a one-off event at another venue and time, if restrictions allowed.
Many of the potentially available team members were in favour of this suggestion, which was communicated through the NSRA Rifle Committee to the NRA of America, but they could not be persuaded to allow this departure from the rules and so, reluctantly, we have had to accept that GB are unable to compete this year.
At the time of writing, it is still not clear whether the US will be firing their match.
We were particularly looking forward to this year's match, because - after many years' absence - we had welcomed New Zealand back, and as their national meeting was held early in 2020 their team have already shot.
As soon as an update is received from the NRA, we will publish the final outcome.
In the meantime, thank you to all the ladies who responded to our requests for opinion about how we might proceed this year, which has enabled us to keep the Rifle Committee fully informed.
We all look forward to much better times in 2021, and a repeat of our success of 2019 !
Mog Thomson (Captain) & Sandra Haskett (Adjutant)
At last, the Randle Trophy Match has returned to normality with the team able to shoot during the National Meeting at Bisley in August.
As always, the team was selected from the leading scores in the first four competitions of the Aggregate, which were shot in very warm and humid conditions. There were no new faces in the full team this year, although Sarah Campion from Jersey qualified as reserve and was delighted to be part of a competition she has striven for almost since childhood !
With a few friends from the USA coming over for the Centenary Meeting, it was a pleasure to invite Edie Reynolds to be our witness once again, and the team assembled as usual at dawn on the Thursday morning ready to shoot as soon as the light improved enough. The flags hung limp with only the occasional rogue twitch and the shoot began soon after 6 a.m.; wind conditions hardly changed and any slight variations were easily felt on the faces of the shooters, so the job of the wind-coaches was more a supportive role – watching the time, counting shots, advising on sight adjustment etc.
Starting as is traditional at 100-yards, only three points were dropped in total by the team, a good start which they consolidated at 50-yards, dropping only a further two to give a total of 3995 ex 400.
Top scorer for GB was Lina Jones with 400 and 35 x's with Jane Newing snapping at her heels with only two x's fewer.
Then we could be told the scores achieved by the USA (3989) and New Zealand (3974) and start a cautious celebration; the competition isn’t closed until December 31st, so in theory there is still time for another English-speaking country to submit scores, although this is unlikely.
So, a “normal” experience this year for the Match itself, and well done on the excellent scoring.
The Goodwill Randle match was shot in July at Camp Atterbury In the NRA National Championships, the team being part of the Pershing Squad of shooters who travelled out. The pre-match preparation at home was beset by problems with getting the ammunition sorted and flights arranged – and then the dreaded Covid struck during the Meeting and one team member had to remain in the States at the home of one of the shooters until she had recovered and tested negative so that she could travel home - getting back to the UK just in time for Bisley Week ! In the Goodwill Randle Match itself, our team were beaten by just 5 points (2375 to 2380), such a narrow defeat. Well done to Freya Giles scoring 399 in her first representation.
It's usual to shoot the Bluebonnets Match during Bisley Week, but among other things the very packed programme because of the Centenary made that too difficult, and it was agreed with Edie Reynolds that the match scores would be those achieved in the Randle plus the first Dewar of the week; the NRA will produce a corresponding match report from their Meeting.
Top score in the Bluebonnets was achieved by Lina Jones (again !) with 387 on the British Dewar, 400 on the Randle Dewar with 35 x's, just four x's ahead of Karen Webber, so Lina retains the Marlene Jarvis Bowl (which now has all the winners engraved on it).
Photos and full scores will be uploaded shortly.
February 2022
Time to summarise the past twelve months, as the captaincy of the GB Randle team is handed over to Sandra for the next two years - which of course we all hope will be more normal and straightforward than the last two have been.
In the spring of 2021, the NSRA took the difficult decision to cancel the National Meeting at Bisley in August, but in its place a series of National Long Range Championship events were organized around the country, with a Final at Sywell Range in mid-September. This opened up the possibility of shooting the Randle Match 2021, as it was considered to be our National Meeting, and with the approval of the NRA of America we made our plans for the match, always keeping our fingers crossed that any ongoing Covid restrictions would allow it.
It was agreed that team selection should be taken from the local events, and would be open to lady shooters in all classes, not just X and A as is more normal. This was well advertised and the ladies rose to the occasion by entering the local events which were held in six different venues across England and Scotland in August.
The Final - and therefore the Randle Match - was booked for September 12th, so there was little time between the notification of results from the local events to select and notify the team, plus all the other organizational details needed. Official team polo-shirts (generously sponsored by the NSRA) were ordered, witness and scorer invited, and emails flew back and forth.
Local knowledge of the Sywell range told us that later afternoon would be the most hospitable time to shoot the match, so we planned to start at 4 pm but were prepared to shoot earlier if it seemed sensible. In the event, winds during the day were light and shortly after lunch dropped almost to nothing, so after a practice session it was decided to start earlier while the light was still good too.
Normally, each team member has a personal wind coach alongside her for the match, but it was almost impossible to arrange that under the current circumstances, so only 3 or 4 ladies had that support on the firing point, while the others had to rely on their own resources and the roving eye of captain and adjutant behind them. But they all dug deep and came up with their best - which, as the results page shows, was certainly good enough !
Difficult though the year has been in so many ways, the commitment of every single team member and officials has been complete; lack of practice during the year made it hard to produce the high standard needed, and the increased travel for both the local events and the match itself had an impact of course (two of our team had a 12-hour journey to get to the match from Scotland !).
We were so glad that New Zealand were able to enter a team again this year, after putting up such a good score in 2020 which regrettably couldn't count as a win, with no other teams able to take part, and we very much hope that they will remain in the competition in future years.
For this year, Sandra and I are proud of our team and their performance which has secured the Randle Trophy for Great Britain for 2021.
NRA medals will, of course, be forwarded to the team as soon as they are received from America, and as retiring captain I wish Sandra and her adjutant Jacky Perkins all the very best for the next two years. Keep it up !!
Mog Thomson (GB Randle Captain 2019-21)
February 2021
Who would have thought , this time last year, that twelve months down the line our lives would still be so affected by the pandemic of Coronavirus ? Even now, it isn't clear whether or not the NSRA Meeting at Bisley will be held in August, and so the firing of the Randle Match for this year is still not certain, but we live in hope that - with the roll-out of the vaccination programme now well under way - this year will see a return to at least some sort of normality.
To sum up 2020: neither Great Britain nor the United States were able to fire the Randle although the other international matches (Dewar, Wakefield and Drew) which are organized by the NSRA did go ahead on a Goodwill basis, and it is pleasing to report that this was a clean sweep for GB. The only team able to shoot the Randle was New Zealand, whose National Meeting ran before any lockdowns. We were so happy to have the NZ team back "in the fold" and they put up a cracking score which could well have won them the Trophy but of course with no other team competing it can't be recognized as an official victory. Nevertheless, it has certainly set the bench mark for the next match and we shall all need to be on our best form !!
In the meantime, gold medals have now been received from the NRA of America for the GB team who were victorious in 2019 and have been sent out to the team members, with many congratulations to everyone.
August 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything for this year, and for the first time since its inception in 1952 Great Britain will not be taking part in the Randle Trophy Match.
The inevitable cancellation of the National Meeting at Bisley meant that we could not satisfy one of the rules of the Randle Trophy Match, which is that it must be shot during the country's national meeting, and the only possible way that Great Britain could have competed was if we were permitted to shoot the match as a one-off event at another venue and time, if restrictions allowed.
Many of the potentially available team members were in favour of this suggestion, which was communicated through the NSRA Rifle Committee to the NRA of America, but they could not be persuaded to allow this departure from the rules and so, reluctantly, we have had to accept that GB are unable to compete this year.
At the time of writing, it is still not clear whether the US will be firing their match.
We were particularly looking forward to this year's match, because - after many years' absence - we had welcomed New Zealand back, and as their national meeting was held early in 2020 their team have already shot.
As soon as an update is received from the NRA, we will publish the final outcome.
In the meantime, thank you to all the ladies who responded to our requests for opinion about how we might proceed this year, which has enabled us to keep the Rifle Committee fully informed.
We all look forward to much better times in 2021, and a repeat of our success of 2019 !
Mog Thomson (Captain) & Sandra Haskett (Adjutant)