NRA Journal - Summer 2004 - National Rifle Association

Having collected the rifles off the baggage retrieval beltwe carefully dropped the “fragile” box in front of SAAstaff before playing cricket with it in the car park. Wearrived at City Lodge by 6pm in our newly collectedCondors; in their infinite wisdom the hire company gaveErica (female and blonde) the slowest, mostunderpowered, bus.Day 7, a practice day, began two hours early on the rangesas Erica had cleverly packed the range instructions inthe luggage being driven up by the England team.However, minor obstacles passed, we got our first viewof the Bloemfontein complex and her fickle winds as wequickly learned that changes, although less pronounced,had a habit of occurring whilst the firer was in the aim.That evening the Australian U25 team joined us fordinner and engaged in some wistful reminiscing over‘that’ drop goal and we received some equallyentertaining Pommie bashing in return.Day 8 was the Free State Open. The conditions wereslightly easier than the previous day, and scores reflectedthis with Erica impressively winning the Ladies OpenClass with 199.12 ex 210 as well as the Ladies Short Range(with Debs a close second) and second in the Ladies LongRange. Rob Clarke came third in the B Class Aggregatewinning the B Class Short Range Aggregate with 100.8ex 105. At the same time Richard Jeens came second inthe B Class Aggregate with 194.13. Rich Stewart camethird in the Open Class Short Range Aggregate with103.14. The winners were serenaded to “Stand up forthe Champions” as all the other competitors applaudedtheir achievements.Day 9, Sunday, meant a day off from the shooting withsome well needed relaxation. Erica, Graham, James, andthe brothers Jeens went to Kimberley. As well as the‘Big Hole’ itself, the Museum took the visitor back to theearly age of prospecting and even allowed one to have ago at finding diamonds in the broken up stone. Ourdeparture was delayed by James (our resident geologist)deciding to buy some stones from the shop (we did pointout that he could pick up loads from the ground). Thejourney home was made more interesting by a completelack of awareness of fuel levels by Erica and then by herwanton destruction of a poor innocent road bird. Astrong and successful bid for Mug of the Day despiteHenry’s best efforts to persuade us that he did all of hiswind coaching using the flowers!Day 10, Monday, saw the team divide into pairs tocompete in the Free State Pairs match. Scores werevariable and even our leading couple of Erica and Kittycould not match the locals. Long range in the afternoonsaw a dramatic change in the weather and a ferociousthunderstorm, which thankfully only properly arrivedafter shooting had finished.Day 11 marked the opening of the SABU Championships.The opening ceremony included the delivery of eachcountry’s flags by parachutists of the SA Defence Force(less the Union Jack). The Scottish Sword matchprovided an excellent warm up shoot and scores wereagain solid with five members of the team in the top 40;Henry finished sixth. The weather was again overcastwith rumbling thunder in the surrounding hills. Patchesof sunshine up and down the range made for difficultieswith sight pictures and inconsistent mirage.Our first International Match took place in the afternoon(2 & 15 at 800m and 900m). GB Red contained Erica,Paul Sykes, Paul Wheeler and Richard Jeens, coachedby Richard Stewart. GB Blue contained Graham,Deborah, Alex and Henry, coached by Kitty. After 800metres the Red team were slightly ahead of the SouthAfricans with the Blues a little behind ahead of theAustralians. These positions were not to change after900 metres but the gap between the Springboks and theBlues closed to just two points. GB Red won with 584.42followed by SA with 572.47, GB Blue with 570.38 andAustralia with 554.28. The victory put us all in a goodmood for both the Junior Teams Reception at the rangeand our joint reception with the RAF at Reyneke Park.Presentations were made to and received from the SouthAfrican and Australian teams.On Day 12 we shot the Rhodes Cup match. We split intotwo teams of six, with the two coaches for each teamhaving to shoot as well. This proved enjoyable but hardwork. Those opposing teams able to present one coachbenefitted from continuity on the still tricky windconditions. The light was again variable, and heavypatchy cloud delivered rain in places, for the benefit ofanyone feeling homesick!Thursday marked the start of the Thomas Theron GrandAggregate. Following the Dewar team match in themorning, the Free State Cup individual match (Queen’sI conditions) provided some interesting wind at 600metres. Erica was placed 19th with a 104.8. Somemembers of the team were learning to their cost thatsometimes the best policy was to leave the sights aloneand just get on with it.Day 2 of the Grand was to be a busy one with four detailsto shoot. The morning consisted of the Dalrymple Cup(2 & 10 at 300m and 2 & 11 at 600m) with Paul W andGraham being placed seventh and twentieth respectivelywith 103s. Long range in the afternoon providedchallenging conditions in the Municipal match (2 & 10at 800m) and the Dave Smith Cup (2 & 10 at 900m).Richard Jeens was placed twelvth at 800 metres with 49.2,and 24th at 900 metres with 47.4. After this full day’sshooting the Grand was beginning to take shape withseveral of the team in the top 50 and Graham temporarilyleading the way.Saturday, Day 15 of the tour, was again to be a strenuousone with no fewer than five shoots. The First Stage ofthe State President’s (Queen’s I) was followed by theKings Norton at 600 metres and the Col Bodley Memorialat 900 metres. Richard Jeens was placed sixth in the StatePresident’s with a 105.12. Paul Sykes, however, madehis bid for Mug of the Day by dropping his last to count45