Clay Shooting September 2020

Shooting continues to gather momentum, with grounds opening up and competitions getting under way. As I write this I’m back from the new Swinton ground’s very first CPSA registered Sporting competition. It’s a lovely new ground, worth a visit if you’re in the area. As always I saw shooters and staff alike following the Covid guidelines carefully throughout the day, with no need for monitoring or enforcement. It bears repeating: shooters are among the most law-abiding and responsible, and can be trusted to do the right thing. Mark Winser returned to shooting after his shoulder injury, and breezed straight to the top of the leaderboard. You can find a brief report of that in our news pages this month, and we’ll have a more detailed write-up in next month’s issue. We’ve got…

Scores will be updated as they happen at CPSA registered shoots, thanks to new software developed by the CPSA. The association say they are ready to start rolling out their new scoring solution over the next twelve months. Called simply ‘Shoot’, the new system replaces the Shoot08 program that has been used for the past twelve years to regulate CPSA registered scores and classifications. The most visible change will be real-time update of scores, but “it will be a leap forward into exciting live scoring capabilities, as well as improving many behind-the-scenes functions such as fixtures scheduling and classification management,” they say. Shoot will be available for laptop, desktop, tablets, and mobiles that will be able to run on a ground’s wi-fi and sync to live leaderboards on site as well…

Mark Winser won the very first CPSA registered 100 Sporting competition at the newly opened EJ Churchill ground at Swinton Estate near Masham in North Yorkshire on Thursday 30 July. Mark’s winning score of 95 ex-100 was even more remarkable, as it was only his second shoot after a five-month lay-off following a serious shoulder injury that required extensive surgery to repair broken bones and ligaments. “I had a nasty fall and smashed my collarbone into six pieces, detached a few ligaments and ripped some muscles as well,” Mark says. “The surgeon said it could have ended my shooting career, but luckily he’s a shooter himself, and understood what I needed – and he got it 100 per cent right. I’ve got seven screws in my shoulder now, and some artificial…

Top shooting ground EJ Churchill have been busy over lockdown, carrying out extensive improvements to the ground, launching new products and planning new competitions. Last month we reported on their new One20 Challenge, a flush competition for teams of five, held on the West Wycombe Estate from 1 September to 1 February. Now they’ve announced The Churchill Cup, a CPSA registered competition over 150 Sporting targets set by George Digweed MBE. It will be shot across two courses in one day, and runs from 27 to 29 August. There’s a cash prize fund of more than £5,000, with the winner taking £1,000 plus the prestigious Churchill Cup. To book in telephone 01494 883227 or email events@ejchurchill.com. They have teamed up with Jean-Paul Gaudin, ‘The Seated Gun’, who will be promoting shooting to…

Sam Green won the English Open Sportrap Championship – the first CPSA championship that could be held in 2020 after events were put on hold due to the Covid pandemic. It was held at Orston Shooting Ground in Nottinghamshire on 18 and 19 July. Sam shot an impressive 147, finishing joint high gun with Will Fenner who shot the first day and was unable to make the four-hour return trip for a shoot-off, leaving Sam to take the title by default. Inevitably the format was slightly different from normal, as the CPSA and Orston teams put in essential changes to comply with the rules designed to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. “This was the first CPSA championship shot under Covid-19 secure guidance,” said the CPSA’s John Martin. “It was different…

Squads of six can shoot again Squads of up to six people can now shoot together following new guidance from the CPSA, issued in late July after the government eased its lockdown restrictions. Where the referee cannot distance a minimum of one metre, and preferably two, a maximum squad of five is permitted. Bear in mind the guidelines will be updated as necessary if government advice changes. You can find the latest version at /www.cpsa.co.uk/staysafe British Shooting Grand Festival With British Shooting’s Shotgun Series becoming a casualty of the Covid pandemic, they have announced a Shotgun Grand Festival at East Yorkshire SG, Beverley, from 11 to 13 September. The event will encompass 125-target competitions in Olympic Trap and Olympic Skeet, and replaces the Shotgun Grand Final that would have been held at the…