Sharp shooters do Chichester proud at Bisley

Five members from Chichester Rifle & Pistol Club were competing at Bisley in the National Smallbore Rifle Association's Championships - and they were bang on taget for success.

Following their performances in the weekend aggregate, the club’s juniors - Rob Dowling and Peter and Sara Carr - were selected to shoot for the GB schools team against Denmark.

Although GB lost, the trio performed well with Peter Carr (384) top scoring, closely followed by Sara (383) in second place and Dowling (382) third.

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The squadded aggregate started with light changeable winds and Sara got her week off to a fine start.

Shooting in B class she came second in her first match at 50m with a score of 388 followed by a win in her second at the same distance, scoring 392. Overall she finished the day with a ten-point lead in the B class championship aggregate.

In C class, Peter Carr recorded a 381 in his second competition to finish fourth.

Tuesday saw trickier conditions and Sara’s total was overhauled as she struggled to overcome the changing wind at the longer and more challenging distance of 100 yards.

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But the next day started better as she posted a 592 ex 600 at 100yds to win competition six and move second.

Wednesday was D-Day for Dowling, shooting in A class. He had been struggling to overcome an eye infection and had to withdraw from the championships following medical advice.

Thursday was the final day of the championship aggregate and Sara Carr held her nerve to score 591 ex 600 at 50m to finish second.

The winner of that competition was also the leader of the aggregate which meant Sara finished second, but this guarantees promotion to A class for next year.

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Peter Carr finished the week in tenth place in C class, while Peter Terry completed the week in 12th spot in X class.

Terry, Roger Scholes and Sara Carr were selected for Sussex in the inter-county matches with Terry top-scoring in the 50m match closely followed by Sara, while the positions were reversed in the county sextette match.

Friday saw Dowling and the Carr duo selected to shoot for GB juniors in the Drew Match, a postal competition against USA, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

The overall results are not yet known but all three shot well with Dowling and Sara scoring 587 and Peter 579.

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Thw week ended in the final of the British championship for the Earl Roberts Memorial Challenge Cup and the Earl Roberts Bobs Trophy, a concurrent competition for competitors in classes B, C and D.

Sara Carr reached the final of the Bobs competition and, in rain and light winds, scored 192 and 196 at 50m, placing her third at the halfway stage.

Before the start of the 100yd contest, the rain stopped and the wind picked up, making for extremely challenging conditions.

Sara’s first card at the longer distance resulted in a score of 196 ex 200 moving her into the lead and she finished with 189 and a total of 773 to finish a clear winner.

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At the prize-giving, Sara collected a total of 13 trophies including those for the leading under-18, the leading under-21 and the British junior long-range championship.

But the most prestigious trophy for Sara is the HRH Duchess of Kent Bowl for the Women’s Bisley Championship, in which she beat British champion and winner of the X class aggregate Michelle Smith to complete an exceptional week.

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