The 2024 ‘Bisley Week’ Smallbore National Meeting took place at the Lord Roberts Centre between 9 and 17 August. Find out the Scottish competitiors’ achievements in this report from James Peterson, the chair of the Scottish Target Shooting Smallbore group.
2024 GB Junior International Shooting Event | 5th to 8th August 2024 | Report from Day 4 Thursday 8th August
2024 GB Junior International Shooting Event | 5th to 8th August 2024 | Report from Day 3 Wednesday 7th August
2024 GB Junior International Shooting Event | 5th to 8th August 2024 | Report from Day 2 Tuesday 6th August
Leading figures from across Scottish sport have met to discuss the continued impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the role the sport sector will play in the nation’s long-term recovery from the pandemic.
Members of the Scottish Governing Bodies Chief Executive Officers Forum were joined by Minister for Public Health and Sport, Mairi Gougeon, and Chief Executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, at the virtual meeting.
Despite the current COVID-19 restrictions the British Schools Smallbore Rifle Association has taken an optimistic view and decided to run the annual match again this year. I expected to have reduced support this year and perhaps have only one Team. It was great to have the usual level of support and I have managed to maintain the normal two Teams. The individuals selected (along with their schools) are listed below.
On 23 February the First Minister provided the Scottish Parliament with an update on COVID-19 and related restrictions. The statement set out indicative dates to return to a system of levels from the last week of April. We wanted to make members aware of the key points, but to note that these dates are all subject to there not being any further setbacks or outbreaks:
Seonaid McIntosh was one of the first four shooting athletes confirmed by Team GB as being selected for the Tokyo Olympic Games, rescheduled from 2020 to the summer of 2021 as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Seonaid’s selection is reward for what has been an incredible few years for her prior to the pandemic, which has put a stop on all shooting competitions in 2020, halting Seonaid’s impressive medal haul that led to her selection.
The Team GB website have today published the latest in their new series of articles where athletes write a letter a point in history of their younger selves. In this article, Seonaid writes a letter to her 17-year-old self just months after the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, when life was full of uncertainty and doubt. It’s a letter full of lessons and candid reflections on one of the moments that made her who she is today and well worth a read:
STS can confirm that we have now updated our guidance in view of the new Protection Level system implemented by the Scottish Government on 2 November. In this article, we have included the latest full set of guidance notes, as well as updating the information available on the homepage of our website.
On Wednesday 7 October, the First Minister made a statement to Scottish Parliament outlining a series of temporary measures intended to stop the rise in coronavirus cases in Scotland. These measures are a mixture of national and regional in scope, that will come into force from 6pm on Friday 9 October for the hospitality changes and 1am Saturday 10 October for all other changes. These measures are to remain in place until to Sunday 25 October inclusive, unless a statement is made prior to them indicating any further change. STS has reviewed these, along with guidance from sportscotland, and tried to communicate the key points which can be found in our website article.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Imperial Meeting for Full-Bore Rifle had been cancelled around March and it was thought that was the end of it. However, with experience gained post-lockdown and by adopting special protocols and spacing everything appropriately, the NRA decided to re-instigate and reschedule all the events normally held as part of the Imperial Meeting from July to late August and September, these events being the Civilian Service Rifle (CSR), Match Rifle (MR), F-Class and Target Rifle (TR). This short report covers the performances of Scottish competitors in the TR meeting (the Commonwealth Games event).
Yesterday the First Minister provided an update setting out a tightening of coronavirus-related restrictions, in response to an increase in the rate of spread of the virus. The priorities mentioned were to save lives and protect health, keep schools open, restart as many non-coronavirus NHS services as possible, and protect jobs by keeping businesses open where possible. The approach announced was more targeted than earlier in the year and did not constitute a return to full lockdown. The steps announced will be reviewed in 3 weeks.
Following the First Minister’s statement at 2.20pm today, we appreciate that there will be many questions left unanswered due to the lack of reference to sport directly, especially as some reference was made in the Prime Minister’s statement earlier but whether these restrictions will be mirrored in Scotland is currently unclear.
Our next session is TOMORROW on the topic of Mental First Aid - Knowing the Basics. Mental health is something we all need to take care of because just like our physical health there are times when this is better and times when it is not in the shape we would like it to be. As part of the STS family, it is important we look out for each other. This online course will provide a very basic level of helping to understand mental health, what signs to look out for, and what action you can take, whether it is for yourself, friends and family, or a club member. Our last session, An Introduction to First Aid for Shooting Clubs, was not recorded but we do intend to follow this up with a day-long practical version held face-to-face completed with formal qualifications. This will be scheduled when the environment is safe for us to do so. We will be sure to contact our members when this becomes available.
Yesterday, the First Minister updated Scottish Parliament yesterday on the review of the route map through and out of the pandemic. She noted that while Scotland had successfully suppressed the virus in the summer, confirmed positive case numbers have recently risen. As a result, the criteria have not been met to progress to Phase 4 of the route map. Read on to see what the implications are for shooting…
Our next session is TOMORROW on the topic of An Introduction to First Aid for Shooting Clubs. Although shooting is an extremely safe sport, it is possible for accidents to happen, and when the do happen, they can have serious consequences. This, combined with the recent increase in First Aid awareness due to COVID-19, means there is an even greater need to make sure clubs feel they equipped to deal with these matters when they occur. This workshop is an introduction to first aid for shooting clubs, delivered by Bruce Jenner, a trained paramedic but with over 20 years of military and target shooting experience. It is also still possible to access the recording of our last session: Strength and Conditioning Training for Shooters so you can watch this back if you missed it.
Recently, the First Minister for Scotland provided an update regarding Phase 3 and the changes that were being made to the restrictions in place. The update confirmed that Scotland is progressing well but is not yet ready to move into Phase 4 and therefore Phase 3 is still in force, however some significant changes were introduced that would impact our sport. STS has been working with sportscotland and other sports to clarify and can highlight the following points from the latest announcement.
The Scottish Sports Governing Bodies Forum welcomes Monday’s communication from Stewart Harris, CEO, sportscotland announcing the release of a £1.5m COVID Support Fund to support Scotland’s sporting system (Sportscotland set up £1.5m COVID support fund for governing bodies). This timely statement recognises that whilst progress has been made with the re-opening of sports facilities across Scotland, this does not mean a full restart of sport as we know it and that many sports, particularly those reliant on accessing indoor sports facilities for Club training and competition, face a much slower return as local Trusts and leisure operators take a cautious and phased approach to the re-opening of their facilities.
Our next session is on Tuesday 8 September and will be An Introduction to First Aid for Shooting Clubs. Although shooting is an extremely safe sport, it is possible for accidents to happen, and when the do happen, they can have serious consequences. This, combined with the recent increase in First Aid awareness due to COVID-19, means there is an even greater need to make sure clubs feel they equipped to deal with these matters when they occur. This workshop is an introduction to first aid for shooting clubs, delivered by Bruce Jenner, a trained paramedic but with over 20 years of military and target shooting experience. It is also still possible to access the recording of our last session: Strength and Conditioning Training for Shooters so you can watch this back if you missed it.
