AGM
The AGM will be held via Zoom tonight (30th Sept) at 7.30 and the Secretaries of affiliated clubs have been sent the sign-in credentials for the meeting. All members of affiliated clubs are invited to attend, so ask your club Sec for the details of how to join the meeting.
Alterntatively, the Zoom credentials can be found in the Secure Area of this site – take the ‘Forms & Minutes’ link in the sidebar and select the ‘AGM Minutes’ link. The password can be sent on request if you don’t know it.
County teams
All County Team results except those for the Air Pistol team have now been received. Take the link above to see details.
Congratulations to Captain Rhys Olley on winning the County Medal. The County Award winners can be seen on the County results page.
Prizelist
The Prizelist for the 2019-20 season has been produced and is available to view. Take the Competitions link above then Prizelists from the drop-down.
There are still some missing entries – the CYOH and the Championships have not yet been decided.
Shoulder to Shoulder League
At a committee meeting earlier this year it had been decided that the unshot matches towards the end of the season would be artificially completed based on the teams and their members’ averages as nominated at the start of the season and the results were published on that basis. See the Post dated 5/6/20 below.
However, that decision was challenged by the committee member who had proposed the method of resolving the league saying his proposal had been misinterpreted and the implementation method was incorrect. A subsequent meeting re-visited the situation and decided that the teams for the remaining matches would be the team members who had shot the most matches to date. The results have been amended accordingly and consequently Watsonians B win the Handicap league, not Prestonpans.
AGM
Club Secretaries have just been sent the notification and agenda for the LBTSA’s 115th Annual General Meeting. It will be held as an online meeting on Wednesday 30th September commencing at 7.30pm. The meeting link will be provided in due course (but will not be published here – club secretaries must pass it to their members).
The agenda and the draft minutes of last year’s AGM can be seen in the ‘Forms & Minutes’ link in the Information menu. Members of affiliated clubs can apply for the password if required.
Concurrent shooting
The information I have been receiving from the NSRA has changed again. There had been a rumour going about earlier this year that members of different county teams could shoot their cards concurrently this winter season. In order to get a definitive answer I emailed the Competitions department on 27th August and that came back as a ‘no’. I then amended the advice given in a previous post here.
Yesterday I (as the organiser of the county’s air pistol team) I received an email from Sandra Smith (who is the entire NSRA Competitions department at the moment) saying among a lot of other things about the winter competitions that concurrent shooting in the county leagues WILL be allowed.
I got back to her about this volte face and this is the reply along with an apology:
I was informed that discussions were needed about county concurrent shooting, which was why I told you it wouldn’t happen this winter.
Then I discovered that a discussion had already happened at the Rifle Committee meeting in July. Said discussion was documented in minutes which were published (though I was not directly informed) but the minutes did not specify which competitions could be shot concurrently and hence the rumour mill started.
Further discussion then took place at the next Rifle Committee meeting on 1st September (with my input about which competitions should be able to shoot concurrently) and then it was agreed that this could go ahead.
Hopefully that’s all straightened out now.
County Awards
It may be of interest to some and not to others, but take this link to learn more about our County Awards (and other things). << Updated.
Merger etc (updated 30/8/20 & 12/9/20)
Merger
Our proposed merger with the Scottish Southern Counties Association has been informally approved by the NSRA and will be ratified when they are able to convene a meeting of the Board of Management later this year. Given that position we are going ahead with the mechanics of the merger. The first thing is to arrange AGMs of the two Associations and these will hopefully take place in August (via Zoom or some such online method). The SSCA will formally wind itself up and LBTSA will re-constitute itself as the Lothian & Borders Target Shooting Association. Formal notices will come out in due course.
All the existing LBTSA competitions will continue next season under the LBTSA banner and a new website will be created which will more or less be a clone of this one with the name changed.
It’s always dangerous trying to predict the future but that’s the plan.
County Teams
a. We have been authorised to enter county teams under the LBTSA name next season.
b. From next season county team members will be able to shoot concurrently in more than one team. ** This is INCORRECT – concurrent shooting will NOT be allowed. Apologies, bad information received. ** Update #2: Change of mind at the NSRA – this now to be allowed. See post above.
c. From next season the size of the ‘Main’ team will be reduced from 20 to 12 and the ‘Reserves’ team competition will be abolished. Counties may enter as many ‘Main’ teams as they wish.
Treasurer
We still require a volunteer to take this post! The Association’s financial affairs are not complicated so please seriously consider whether you can do this essential task.
County team results
A few new results have become available recently and the County Team page has links to the up-to-date situation for all teams.
Unfortunately no results for round 10 have come yet and probably won’t for some time as many counties have been given an extension up to the end of August for that round. The lockdown caught a lot of them on the hop and had not either managed to shoot their cards or send them in.
The County Medal leaderboard is now up to date. It’s going to go down to the wire.
Take the County teams link above to see the latest information.
Team Postal League
The final results of the Team Postal League are now available. Take the link in the ‘Competitions’ drop-down above to see the details. There were some close results. Here’s a summary:
Division 1: Watsonians A
Division 2: Watsonians C (by 5 gun points from Leven & Dist)
Division 3: Redcraig A (by 6 gun points from Prestonpans A)
Division 4: Prestonpans B
Division 5: Fettes College (by 41 gun points from Lanark B)
The highest average award goes to Oliver Barron (Watsonians).
Congratulations to all.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder League
The last five matches of the Shoulder-to-Shoulder league have been artificially completed based on the teams and their members’ averages as nominated at the start of the season.
The results are that Watsonians A won the scratch league and Prestonpans retained their handicap league title. Niall Georgeson (Balerno & Currie) also successfully retained the Heyhoe Cup for having the best average in the league. Watsonians A also won the Matchplay Legue.
Congratulations to all these winners. Take the link for this league under Competitions above for full details.
Committee Meeting
The LBTSA Committee had a video meeting today and made some decisions taking the current situation into consideration.
Competitions
Team Postal League: The majority of the scores for round 10 have been received. To complete the competition, the missing scores will be given as the current average of the shooters originally declared in the teams, rounded to the nearer integer. This will allow the final results to be published.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder League: Five matches remain to be shot. To complete the competition, the team members and their averages as given on the entry form will be used to determine the results of those matches.
Individual Postal league: With only three of the ten rounds shot, this competition has been declared null and void.
CYOH: The competition secretary already has all the cards from one of the clubs in the Final and it is known that at least six of the eight cards of the other club have been shot. It is hoped to be able to retrieve those cards without too much further delay but a decision has been deferred on the outcome. If it turns out that all eight have actually been shot then the result will be declared.
Championships: The Final will take place as and when it is possible.
Merger with SSCA
The NSRA will be sent the formal merger justification and request as soon as possible but it will probably not be considered by the Shooting Council for some time.
AGM
We cannot hold the AGM until we have official approval from the NSRA for the merger as one of the main points of the meeting is to wind up the Association and incorporate the new one. Thus a date for it cannot be determined. It will probably be an online meeting.
Treasurer
The Association urgently needs a Treasurer. Any volunteers should contact the Chairman, Robin Thomson.
County Leagues
No information has been received from the NSRA about what’s happening with these competitions and they are just in limbo for the time being.
LBTSA Competitions & AGM
The Association Secretay has issued the following statement:
Given the ongoing public health emergency and in line with current Government advice, we have suspended all LBTSA competitions. A final decision regarding these competitions will be taken no later than the 31st of May 2020, and will be posted on this website and communicated to clubs’ secretaries via email.
Similarly, the LBTSA AGM has been postponed and details regarding the re-arrangement of the AGM and the status of the merger with the SSCA will also be published on the website before the end of May.
Carl Broughton Funeral
Carl’s funeral will take place on Friday 27th March. It will be family-only but it will also be live-streamed. Here are the details:
Website: www.obitus.com
Username: warriston9589 (Note: case sensitive)
Password: 437126
Service date: 27/3/20
Service time: 4 pm
Service viewing time: 3:50 pm- 4:50 pm.
It is recommended that you log in to the website in plenty of time before the service: during the service window you will automatically be redirected to the Live Webcast of the service. You can test logging in at any time from now.
If you want to make a charitable donation in Carl’s name, there are two options: to support Bloodwise, the blood cancer research charity, and the Intensive Care Society, who need our help at this dreadful time. Please follow this link to his JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/remember/775497/Carl-Broughton.
It is expected that a memorial service will be arranged after Covid-19 is under control.
George Lawson Funeral – UPDATE
AS PER THE LATEST INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT, GEORGE’S FUNERAL WILL BE A FAMILY-ONLY EVENT.
George’s funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday 27th March at the Lennel Cemetery on the A6112 north-east of Coldstream. All are welcome, but note that it will be an outdoor ceremony because of you-know-what. Family flowers only.
Any donations in his memory may be made to the Gurkha Welfare Trust and/or The Royal British Legion (Coldstream Branch).
S/S League
As clubs’ ranges have been closed due to the Covid-19 virus situation, the remaining matches in the Shoulder-to-Shoulder league can not take place before the usual deadline of the end of March.
The situation is still under review, but if you want more information please contact the S/S League Secretary.
Carl Broughton
Once again, it’s with great sadness that I have to report the death of our Treasurer, Carl Broughton. He had a relapse of his leukaemia and passed away on Sunday.
Carl had been the Association’s Treasurer for many years. He was elected as Secretary in 2007 and the following year as joint Secretary and Treasurer until 2019 when he resigned from being Secretary due to his illness but managed to continue as Treasurer.
He was a long-standing member of Masonic Rifle Club and was latterly with Balerno & Currie after Masonic folded a couple of years ago. He was an excellent shot and was a member of the County postal team for many, many years and won the County Silver Medal in 2010. Whenever he attended a ‘Scottish’ meeting he was usually in Lothian’s County Sextette team, being part of the winning team in 1998.
He had to give up shooting for a lengthy period while his cancer was treated firstly with chemo and then with a bone-marrow transplant from a relative about a year ago. He was apparently recovering well so his sudden passing has come as a shock to everyone who knew him.
Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.
Details of the funeral will be given in due course once known.
George Lawson
George Lawson passed away yesterday morning. He went into hospital on Wednesday for a routine operation (similar to ones that he had undergone before to ease his mobility problems) but serious and multiple complications arose and he did not wake up.
Although not connected directly to LBTSA’s affairs, many local shooters will have known George as the Chief Range Officer at the NSRA’s Scottish and Bisley meetings for many years. Some said he didn’t need the PA system as his ex-policeman’s voice could carry to the far ends of the firing point on its own. Prior to taking on those RCO duties he had been a scorer at national meetings for many years and in fact helped present a scorers’ course in Carlisle only last weekend.
He also had a distinguished shooting and administrative career. He was the Chairman of the Cumbria & Northumbria Target Shooting Association and he was also that County’s NSRA representative. He was Chairman of the NSRA’s Distinguished Service Committee.
He won one cap for Scotland, at Bisley in 1970 and was the team captain there in 2010. Although a proud Scotsman (his kilt was always on display when officiating at the Final of the Earl Haig) he shot most of his career with the Berwick club and was latterly a member at Hawick after Berwick folded. He was also a stalwart of Police shooting for most of his career.
He was one of life’s gentlemen and will be sorely missed. His legs might have been failing him but his mind was still as sharp as a tack. We offer our condolences to Jeannie and all their family.
CYOH
The first round of the Choose-Your-Own-Handicap team knock-out has taken place and the results are now available. Take the CYOH link under ‘Competitons’ above to see the details.
Scorer’s Course in Carlisle
Lothian ran an NSRA Scorer’s Course in 2014, but if anyone who missed out on that wants to go on one now to gain the qualification then the Cumbria Association is running one at Cumberland News’ range in Carlisle on 7th March. Spaces are still available.
If you’re interested, please contact the organiser David Erskine at erskinedm@btinternet.com as soon as possible.
Individual Postal League
The results for January’s round of the Individual Postal League are now available. Take the link under ‘Competitions’ above for full details.
BSA Cup and Cities & Boroughs
The results for these two annual matches for the County and City of Edinburgh respectively are now available. Take the County Teams link above to see the details, but in summary Lothian was 12th in the BSA Cup (a bit of a come-down seeing we won this in 2017) and we won the Cities & Boroughs.
The result of the third of the NSRA’s annual matches (the Commonwealth Cities) has not yet been received.
CYOH
The draw for the first round of the Choose-Your-Own-Handicap team knock-out competition has been made and can be seen by taking the ‘CYOH’ link in the Competitions drop-down above.
The first round is due to be shot by 21st February.
Shoulder-to-shoulder league
All the results are now up to date in the S/S League page. Apologies for the hiatus.
The Calendar of Matches has also been revised.
Merger update
A joint meeting was held recently involving the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of each Association. The meeting was held with the objective of planning ahead for the merger to be finalised next May. Topics discussed included proposals for a title for the new organisation, and an outline timetable of events.
The name of the new organisation is likely to be ‘Lothian and Borders Target Shooting Association’.
The mechanics of the merger (affiliations etc) are currently being discussed with the NSRA.
Watsonian Open Meeting 2019
The Watsonian Rifle Club has announced details of their forthcoming Open Meeting. It will be held over the weekend of 7th & 8th December 2019 at their range at George Watson’s College, Colinton Road, Edinburgh.
This is a 5-class meeting consisting of 60 shots at 25 yards. Competitors will shoot in three squads (not necessarily consecutive) consisting of two 10-minute details each with one target per detail. Sighting diagrams will be provided with each target.
There are concurrent competitions for Under 21, Under 18 and Under 15’s, and there are also Veterans, Ladies, Open & Junior Team and Open & Junior handicapped Pairs competitions. Catering is provided on both days.
Further information and entry forms can be requested here. Entries can be made on the day subject to range space.
Balerno & Currie Open Meeting
Balerno & Currie Rifle Club is holding its annual Open Meeting on the weekend of 16th & 17th November, commenciing 10am each day.
Entry forms can be obtained on request here. Postal entries are encouraged, but entries will be accepted on the day subject to range space.
The meeting consists of two 30-shot competitions in four classes, shot in six 10-minute details (which need not be shot consecutively). There are also Ladies, Junior, Pairs and Team (of 3) competitions.
Catering will be provided (bacon rolls a speciality), so there’s no need to bring your own lunch.
Designer wanted
As regular readers will be aware, the Lothian & Borders Target Shooting Association and the Scottish Southern Counties Association have committed themselves to a merger, to take place officially at our AGM next May. The name of the new organisation has not yet been decided, but it’s certain that it will need a new logo/emblem/symbol to represent it on this (re-branded) website and on document and report headings etc.
If anyone reading this has the requisite skills and facilities to devise and/or create such a new design and is prepared to take the task on, then please use the Contact us link above to get in touch with the site administrator in the first instance, and your interest will be passed to the committee. It would be kind of any professional designers who might wish to contribute if they could donate their time and expertise pro bono, but a small award might well be made to the winning designer.
FYI the SSCA currently does not have a logo. The committee has not issued a design brief, so you’ll just have to use your imagination on how to represent visually this large part of southern Scotland in a smallbore shooting context. I imagine the yet-to-be-decided name could be tacked on round the edge. If you have an idea for a design but don’t have the computer skills or the graphical applications on your computer to translate it into an electronic form, then sketch it out and send it in anyway as someone else could do that bit.
However, please note that any design should not contain any traditional heraldic symbols (I think they’re called ‘devices’). Unless we are prepared to go through a lengthy and no doubt expensive approval process (which we’re not) then ‘amateur’ designs like ours that do so are definitely frowned upon by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Over the years I have been half-expecting a call from him telling us to cease and desist using the current logo immediately as it certainly contains items of that nature.
S-S League – new Rules
A new version of the Regulations for the Shoulder-to-Shoulder league have been issued. These are available to view on the S-S League page (take the ‘Regulations’ link at the bottom).
The main change is to the procedures governing matches shot postally, but there are minor wording corrections and updates plus the removal of a couple of obsolete rules that were no longer relevant.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder League
The Fixture Meeting for the 2019-2020 season’s Shoulder-to-Shoulder league will be held at the Prestonpans RC range on Thursday 26th September 2019 at 7:30pm. A representative (or two if you wish) from each club entering the league MUST attend this meeting.
Club Reps should bring with them their likely shooters’ names, plus any reserves, along with their current averages. This will save the League Secretary some time when putting the season’s programme together.
Note that the closing date for entries is Monday 9th September.