Aidan Healy was leading Three-Position Rifle competitor at British Shooting’s trial shoots in Wigan this weekend, exceeding his Personal Best and National Record in the process.
Aidan, who set a British Junior Record of 571/600 at the British 50Metre Championships in August, went one better to score 572 on Sunday. He had already shot a 568 on Saturday to win the first day’s trials. Olivia Beech of Rugeley came second on 561, with Louis Norman third with 559.
Aidan’s score will not be a formal record however as the trials were shot on Wigan’s 50 metre indoor range, serving a comparative role for selection purposes – three-position rifle is formally an outdoor event and records must be shot outdoors.
When outdoor shooting resumes next year, Aidan will also have robust competition from the north – Scottish junior Neil Sinclair shot a 576 on Sunday. This was the highest single match score of the weekend, although his aggregate over both days was lower than Aidan’s. We can expect to see records change hands in 2026.
In the 50M Prone, Alun Evans of Tondu and Richard Hemingway of Rugeley qualified 3rd and 4th with 616.5 and 616.2 respectively. Also making it to the Championship shoot were John Moore of Penarth and Adam Gabrys of Torfaen. Steve Gurner and Mick Crook were eliminated in the first stage.
In the Prone Championship match, English competitor Shelbie Marsland ran away with the win, scoring 620.1. Behind her was a six-way battle for the remaining medals, with scores between 615.5 and 616.5. Richard and Alun placed 5th and 7th respectively. John Moore placed 13th and Adam Gabrys 14th.
Top scores in the Prone Medal battle:
COmpetitor
score
position
Shelbie Marsland
620.1
Open & Confined Champion
Sean Bett
616.5
Open & Confined 2nd
Kosta Loukas
616.3
Open 3rd
Simon Green
616.0
Open 4th/Confined 3rd
Richard Hemingway
615.9
Open 5th
Matt Dixon
615.7
Open 6th
Alun Evans
615.5
Open 7th
The meeting had further Welsh involvement, being supported by the WTSF through supply and operation of the Megalink target system.
Congratulations to Alun Evans who has won a Bronze medal at the World Shooting Para Sport Grand Prix in Serbia. Competing in the Men’s 50m 3P Rifle (R7) event, Alun scored 560/600 to find his way into third place with a steady and consistent shoot.
Para Sport “Three-Position” rifle is shot entirely from a seated position. The Prone portion allows the athlete to rest both elbows on a table in a seated version of the prone position. The kneeling segment requires their triggering arm to be unsupported, whilst the standing phase sees them hold the rifle freely in their seated position. The positions all resemble a seated version of the ISSF equivalents.
Wales was present again at the NSRA National Meeting at Bisley this year with a tent and teams contesting the Home Countries matches.
The Weekend Aggregate saw Richard Hemingway place 19th in X-Class, whilst RM Davies took 12th in A-Class. Chris Nunan placed 4th in C. In the Grand Aggregate, Fred Brown won the WH Watkins Challenge Cup for Leading Welsh Competitor.
Wales contested the Home Countries International Mixed Team of 10 and Men’s Team of 5, placing third in both matches. Congratulations to Chris Nunan, Colin Pearce and Dave Parfitt who all received their first cap for Wales in the process.
Competitor
50M
100Yd
aggregate
men’s team of 5
R Hemingway
193
189
382
Y
F Brown
190
187
377
Y
C Nunan
189
186
375
Y
J Holmes
190
183
373
L Webster
188
183
371
Y
E Jones
189
180
369
C Pearce
181
185
366
Y
R Beard
183
183
366
D Parfitt
186
180
366
S Day
181
180
361
Team Totals
3706
1871
In the British Long-Range Prone Championship (the Earl Roberts), four Welsh shooters qualified to the second stage – Richard Hemingway, Fred Brown, Chris Nunan and Judith Holmes. In the second stage, Richard qualified for the Final where he placed 10th and earned the Western Mail & Echo Cup as leading Welsh competitor.
David receives his first Welsh capChris receives his first Welsh capColin receives his first Welsh capRichard with plotting board after the Roberts ChampionshipFred & Richard – leading Welsh competitors in the Aggregate and Roberts
David Phelps of Llantristant and Cardiff Target Shooting Club guided Britain to a historic win on Friday as Coach to the GB Roberts Match Team.
Bringing to a close 12 months of selection trials and training camps, Dave fulfilled his final duties leading the wind coaches on Century as GB fought USA for the Earl Roberts Trophy. Britain had pride to regain, having lost at home in 2017 when the Roberts was last contested, and also losing the 2013 and 2021 editions of the reciprocal Pershing Match in the USA.
Friday 15th August was a scorching day. Starting out calm in the early morning, the wind picked up slightly to give light but unstable conditions for the 1pm match start, with temperatures touching 30C with punishing humidity. It was reassuring that the Americans also found it uncomfortable!
Starting at 50metres, American Sarah Beard set the individual pace, with an outstanding 199/200. 197 was the highest GB score from Adam Fowler, Lina Jones and Lenny Thomson, matched by Nick Mowrer and Mike Carter of the US. At the halfway mark, the score was 1937 to 1947 in favour of Britain.
At 100yards, the wind picked up and Dave’s calm recitation of conditions and incoming gusts proved it’s worth as the majority of the GB team kept above 190. Sarah Beard again had the best of it with a score of 197/200, but scores across the remainder of the US team tumbled dramatically.
By the end, GB had dropped 84 points at the longer distance, but the US had dropped 116.
The final result was a definitive GB win, with a 42 point lead being one of the largest margins in recent matches.
Great Britain – 3863 – 3821 – United States
The Roberts and Pershing matches feature teams of ten shooters, each firing twenty shots at 50metres and 100yards. The only difference between the two being that local targets are used. American targets have a larger ten-ring than the British, meaning it is not uncommon for top-flight shooters to go clean, and for ranking to be done by counting back inner-bulls. Each match takes place once every 8 years, on a 4-year offset. GB will travel to the US in 2029 to compete the Pershing Trophy once again.
Dave with GB Team Captain Mike Arnstein and Adjutant Chris Hunter
Saturday morning saw uncommonly calm conditions for Tondu, leaving the firing point hot and humid. Competitors contested one of three elimination details with the top qualifers of each squad progressing to the Open Final on Saturday afternoon, and the top 15 WSRA members progressing to the Confined Final on Sunday morning.
Paris Paralympic Games medallist Tim Jeffrey managed the highest qualifying score to win X-Class with 623.7. He was closely followed by Alan Bain on 622.4. Chris Hunter also cracked the 620 mark with 620.3. In the Pairs, Rob Morgan and Alan Ainge of Torfaen took the B/C Pairs, whilst the Open Pairs saw a tie-break – Chris Hunter and Simon Green lost the countback to Tim Jeffrey and Alun Evans. Aidan Healy was top Welsh Junior whilst Chris Brown was top Veteran.
A welcome breeze picked up for the Open Final, where Tim improved on the moning with a score of 624.1 to become the 2025 Welsh Open Champion. Matt Dixon took silver and Chris Hunter bronze.
Sunday morning dawned with welcome drizzle and a fresher breeze. Liam Webster made the best of it to become Welsh Confined Champion with 610.1. Defending champion Richard Hemingway placed second, with Martin Newman in third. Liam became the first recipient of the DWF Phelps Welsh Outdoor Championship Trophy. In previous years prizes have been awarded for the confined championship, but the Association has now acquired a trophy for annual competition, which has been named to honour double Commonwealth Games gold medallist David Phelps.
Sunday also saw the Open Three-Position match, by which time the wind was back to “Tondu Standard”. Olivia Beech of Rugeley RC and Wigan TSC made the best of the difficult conditions with 564/600, closely followed by Alun Evans on 562 and Louis Norman on 558. A special mention to Neil Sinclair who suffered a non-allowable malfunction with his sights (meaning no extra time was granted) but managed to complete the match, finishing his entire Standing phase in the last 10 minutes with a 90 and 91, which got him to fourth place.
Enormous thanks go to organisers Dave Phelps, Rob Warnes and Niall Evans who brought the targetry to the site, ran the range and kept the event running smoothly. Thanks also go to Tondu TSC for the generous use of their range.
Liam Webster of Penrhiwpal was crowned Welsh Short Range Prone Champion this weekend at the WSRA Indoor Championships at Penarth Rifle Club, winning the Open and Confined events. Martin Newman was Runner Up. Dave Love of Penarth won the Confined Benchrest, with Russ Jackson of Chepstow winning the Open Benchrest. Tom Szemeti of Swansea University was top student, and the Swansea Univeristy team led the Cardiff Uni team.
Huge thanks go to Dave Love and Corinne Spiers who ran and scored the event.
Wales was well represented at Bisley 2024, with a Welsh tent for competitors and a strong Welsh entry to the Aggregates and Earl Roberts Championship.
Notable results include the Weekend Aggregate where Sian Corish placed second in X-Class, and Andrew Tyler placed third in D-Class. In the Grand Aggregate, Judith Holmes placed third in C-Class.
In the Earl Roberts Championship, Sian Corish qualified for the Final, from 8 Welsh shooters who made it to the Second Stage.
Wales was represented in the Home Countries by a Mixed Team of 10, and Men’s and Women’s Teams of 5. All three teams finished third.
Welsh Men’s Team of 5, with Captain and AdjutantSian and Emma after the Earl Roberts FinalWelsh Women’s Team of 5, with Captain and AdjutantThe Welsh Mixed Team of 10
