Summer 2006 - National Rifle Association

points on the leaders weren’t to be realised; theweather was clear and the winds were eminentlyreadable as the crowds trouped in to watch the final.With the prophets of doom and hope dispelled, thescoring was very high and as a result there was only aminor rearrangement of the standings.Gold Bruce Scott (Aus) 403.60Silver Parag Patel (Eng) 402.57Bronze James Corbett (Aus) 401.57The medals ceremony anthem rang out again,predictably followed by “Advance Australia Fair” ina ritual which was repeated endlessly over the tendays of the Games. It was the sound of inevitability;however no one begrudged Bruce the medal whichhe had earned with some fine shooting.The staff and volunteers at the All Seasons hadarranged a party for all the athletes and teammanagement to celebrate the end of competition;although declaring a free bar for an hour could havebeen a tactical blunder on their part. After the party,all of the younger shooters and many of the old onesescaped into town for a few rum and cokes; althoughthe English preferred gin and tonic. More than a fewfinished off the evening in a nightclub in town, towhich we had been invited by its part-time managerand Wellsford Range Warden, Matt Crowe. Sadly, theman of the hour was not in attendance, as he had beencalled down to Melbourne for a television interview.The main events over, the teams left the hotel andtrouped back down the motorway in coaches to theathletes’ village to spend a few days sightseeing beforeenduring the day-long flight back home. Parts of theEnglish, Welsh and Northern Irish teams drove downthe coast to see the twelve apostles; whereas othersmooched around the café culture of Melbourne.Rather like the end of the Imperial Meeting, there wasa definitely sadness at leaving the wonderfulexperience and lifestyle which the teams had enjoyedfor over three weeks.AddendumWhile there may have been over four thousandcompetitors and officials at the Games, the real starsof the Games were the fourteen thousand helpers.Many or most of the administrators, catering staff, busdrivers, and range staff were all volunteers who gaveup to three weeks of their time entirely unpaid to runthe Games. To Bert Bowden and the range staff whoran the whole shooting match for us; to the buttmarkers, who gave us all impeccable service; andfinally to Anna, who acted as our social secretary, weowe our thanks; which we amply repaid by throwingher in the swimming pool when she wouldn’t stopsquirting us with a water pistol. Thanks to all of you.GUNSMITHSFULL GUNSMITHING FACILITIES• Custom rifles for any discipline• Re-barrelling• Restocking• Pillar bedding• Calibre conversions• Custom bolt handles• Trigger modifications and regulations• Minor repairs to full restorations• Full range of Berger bullets now in stockVisit our shop for a full range of reloadingequipment and components, cleaningequipment and accessories.Shop Opening HoursMonday to Saturday 9.00am till 5.00pmTel: 01788 579651 Fax: 01788 577104Units 4, 5 & 8, Hunters Lane, Rugby,Warwickshire CV21 1EAE-mail: info@normanclarkgunsmith.comWebsite: www.normanclarkgunsmith.comC H A M P I O NShooting glasses£World 1 84-90World 3 94-90World 4 109-90 new modelOlympic 144-90Olympic Archer 154-90SuperOlympic 199-90 new modelJunkers 139-90Part-used Knoblochs + ChampionP.O.A.See us at Fulton’s AnnexeBisley, NRA MeetingSat 15, Sun 16, Tues 18, Fri 21 Julywww.stewardsportsglasses.co.ukJ.H.STEWARD (BISLEY) LTD70, Hollway Road, Stockwood, Bristol BS14 8PGTel: 01275 838532 Fax: 01275 83507541