Eighth for Oliver at European Championships

Congratulations to Rugeley member Oliver Hill who recently competed at the European U16/18 Championships in Burgas, Bulgaris.

Shooting in the U16 Men’s Air Rifle, Oliver placed 8th with a very creditable socre of 408.8.

He also made the second stage of the U16 Men’s Solo Air Rifle, which is a slightly different hit/miss format where each shot is recorded as a hit if it scores 10.3 or higher. In the second stage he finished 16th.

In the Mixed Pairs, he finished top half – 9th of 18 pairs, shooting alongside GB teammate Aleisha Pereira.

Rugeley members support British Shooting Schools Final

Rugeley volunteers were in action this week at the 2026 Finals of British Shooting’s Schools Championship.

Held at Chase Leisure Centre, this year’s National Final saw a move to a full 30 lanes of electronic targets, supporting 220 pistol and 160 rifle athletes who had qualified from over 1000 competitors at the regional heats last autumn.

As an event sponsor, Rugeley were present with a club stand and ran a raffle for our charity account.

Pistol team make mark at Schools Championship

Rugeley’s first ever Pistol Youth Team made their mark at Ellesmere College during the heats of the Schools Pistol Championships.

As a Youth team (run parallel to the School teams), Olivia Caswell-Wedderkopp, Max Taylor and Andrew Coward achieved 3rd place and each qualified to shoot individually for the February finals at Cannock Leisure Centre.

Additionally, Olivia made it to the final 8 on the day, finishing 6th. A great result for her first 10m pistol competition and final. Phillippa Watterson also qualified individually in the intermediate girls

Ryan wins World Cup Gold in Al Ain

Ryan Cockbill has won gold in the R4 Mixed 10M Air Rifle SH2 event at the World Shooting ParaSport World Cup in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. Qualifying third with a score of 630.6, Ryan led the final from the start, setting a 0.8 point lead in the first string and maintaining a half point over his competitors throughout.

Ayesha Almehairi of the United Arab Emirates won silver and Michael Johnson of New Zealand took bronze.

Fellow Brit Josh Wintersgill ranked 13th in the field of 35, missing out on the 8-athlete final.

Ryan’s medal tops off a successful year. In August he won three medals at the WSPS World Cup in Novi Sad, Serbia.

#airRifle #BritishShooting #RyanCockbill #WorldCup #WSPS

Rugeley receives British Shooting Target Change Award

At the British Shooting Awards 2024 this weekend, Rugeley Rifle Club was honoured with the Target Change Award, presented to organisations that have made a significant contribution to public engagement and/or public perception of the sport.

Club Secretary Lee Featherstone accepted the award on behalf of the club and its volunteers, accompanied by Club Captain Richard Hemingway; Property Manager Graham Delaney and Treasurer Craig Dower – who is also GB Head Coach (Rifle & Pistol). The Award further recognises the community work done by the club over the past 10 years, which was highlighted when the club received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in November 2024. The King’s Award will be formally presented at the club’s annual prizegiving on March 28th by the Lord Lieutenant for Staffordshire, Sir Ian Dudson KCVO CBE.

Over the past 10 years the club has worked with the Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services and Vysions Youth Service of Brereton, providing summer camps for local young people in association with Burntwood Target Sprint. Participants have completed volunteer work at the club including a mural on the outside of the range, and in return learned to shoot Olympic Air Rifle and Air Pistol. Since 2021, more than 900 young people have learned to shoot safely through the club’s community outreach activities.

In 2019, the club fundraised for a Public Access Defibrillator, which saw the adoption of Rugeley and District Community First Responders as a supported charity and the more recent installation of an emergency Bleed Control Kit.

In 2022, the Club supported British Shooting in bringing the National Finals of the Schools Pistol and Rifle Championships to Cannock Leisure Centre, with Rugeley members volunteering as Range Officers and match administration during the competition. British Shooting have returned to Cannock every year since.

Club Captain Richard Hemingway said “To receive such a prestigious award, whilst surrounded by Olympic and Paralympic Champions is a real honour, and a well deserved recognition of the hard work put in by all the club’s volunteers over the past few years.“

During all this time, the club has enjoyed hosting guest nights for diverse local community groups, running an air rifle range at Brereton Carnival and serving as a venue for local groups including Viking re-enactors and West Midlands 4×4 response.

The Awards were held on Saturday 18th January 2025 at the Imperial War Museum (IWM North) in Trafford.

#Awards #BritishShooting #IWMNorth #KingsAwardForVoluntaryService #RugeleyRifleClub #TargetChange #Volunteering

Medals and Schools Championship Regional Heats

Rugeley shooters have been in action at the regional heats of the British Shooting Schools Championship. On the 20th November, Abbi and Pippa competed at Ellesmere College in the West Midlands Pistol Regionals.

Qualifying fifth, Abbi shot a strong final to picking up bronze in the Junior class, whilst Pippa climbed from third place in qualification to win Silver in the Intermediates.

A few days later, Abbi was in action again at the NSRA’s West Midlands Regional Centre at Aldersley, shooting in the West Midlands Rifle Regionals, where she took a decisive win in the Junior 10M Sporter Rifle class!

Abbi and Pippa will both be finding themselves busy at the National Finals at Chase Leisure Centre in February!

#AirPistol #airRifle #BritishShooting #BritishShootingSchoolsRifleAndPistolChampionship #Competition #RugeleyRifleClub #SchoolsChampionship #SporterAirRifle #TargetSport

Royal Honours for Rugeley Rifle Club

With great pleasure and excitement, the Committee can announce that Rugeley Rifle Club has been honoured with The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. Gazetted this morning, the King’s Award is the highest honour a voluntary group can receive in the UK, equivalent to an MBE. Rugeley is the first shooting sports club to ever receive this award.

Volunteering is at our heart

This award is a testament to all our volunteers, including the property team, coaches and administrators; but in particular recognises the work the club has done outside it’s own membership and the positive impact it has had on the wider local community. Over the past 10 years the club has worked with the Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services and Vysions Youth Service of Brereton, providing summer camps for local young people in association with Burntwood Target Sprint. Participants have completed volunteer work at the club including a mural on the outside of the range, and in return learned to shoot Olympic Air Rifle and Air Pistol.

In 2019, the club fundraised for a Public Access Defibrillator, which saw the adoption of Rugeley and District Community First Responders (RADCFR) as a supported charity and the more recent installation of an emergency Bleed Control Kit. RADCFR themselves were honoured with the Queen’s Award in 2018.

British Schools Championship Finals

In 2022, the Club supported British Shooting in bringing the National Finals of the Schools Pistol and Rifle Championships to Cannock Leisure Centre, with Rugeley members volunteering as Range Officers and supporting match administration during the competition. British Shooting have returned to Cannock every year since. The Club has also supported the BS Target Sprint Series, the West Midlands leg being hosted at Burntwood Target Sprint.

Alongside these major events, the club has enjoyed hosting guest nights for diverse community groups, running an air rifle range at Brereton Carnival and serving as a venue for local groups including Viking re-enactors and 4×4 response.

Sporting Achievements

In competition, the club’s Air Rifle A-Team won Division 1 of the National League three consecutive years from 2018-2020, and again in 2022. Members have represented England, Wales and Great Britain, with recent sporting highlights including:

• Ryan Cockbill, 2024 Paralympian
• Megan Bamsey – represented GB at the ISSF 2023 Junior World Cup in Suhl & FISU World University Shooting Championships in New Delhi (9–13th Nov 2024)
• Olivia Beech – represented GB at the 2024 Nordic Championships & FISU World University Shooting Championships in New Delhi
• Helen Robinson – selected as Reserve to 2024 GB Drew Team.
• Martyn Buttery – captained GB Drew Team for 2023 & 24, appointed Adjutant for GB Dewar Team 2025 & 26.
• Richard Hemingway – Welsh 50M Rifle Champion 2023 & 2024, selected for GB 2024 Dewar Team.

Rugeley Rifle Club is just one of 262 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The work of these organisations reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee and, following his accession, His Majesty The King emphasised his desire to continue the Award.

Representatives from the club will receive the award crystal and certificate from Ian Dudson, Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire later this year. In addition, two volunteers from Rugeley Rifle Club will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in summer 2025, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.

Club Chairman Martyn Buttery said: “To be nominated for such a prestigious award as The Kings Award for Voluntary Service is an honour in itself but to actually win is such an incredible achievement. It goes to show what can be done and achieved with a positive attitude.“

Club President Olivia Lyons said: “I am was absolutely delighted to hear that Rugeley Rifle Club had been awarded a King’s Award, it is a real testament to the Club’s Committee and the  volunteers who work tirelessly to make it such a success. The Club is a real asset and hive of activity within our local community, supporting a number of local voluntary groups, hosting youth programs and nurturing the talent of the many Club members. The award is such a fantastic achievement, which will be shared and celebrated with our whole community.”

Press Release

Media Kit

#BritishShooting #BritishShootingSchoolsRifleAndPistolChampionship #KAVS #KingsAwardForVoluntaryService #NSRA #RugeleyAndDistrictCommunityFirstResponders #RugeleyRifleClub #Volunteering #VysionsVolunteerYouthService

Whilst all eyes were on GB’s shooters at the Paris Olympics, Rugeley Rifle Club member Olivia Beech has been representing Great Britain at the Nordic Championships in Denmark.

Shooting in the Mixed Team and Women’s 50Metre Three Position rifle events, Olivia placed 18th individually, and 16th in the Mixed Pairs with teammate Louis Norman.

The Nordic Championships were first run in 1922 with the aim of providing Nordic target shooters with the best preparation for competing at the World Championships and Olympic Games. Great Britain applied to join the Nordic Shooting Region in 1971, receiving approval in 1973. With the launch of the UIT (ISSF) World Cup series as a means to distribute Olympic Quota Places, the significance of the Nordic Championships declined through the 1980s as the World Cups took precedence for top shooter’s competition calendars and financial resources. In 1992 it was agreed to refocus the event as a biennial Junior Championship to prepare development athletes for the senior World Cup series with seniors only included sporadically.

https://www.rugeleyrifleclub.org.uk/gb-selection-for-olivia/

#BritishShooting #Competition #Denmark #GreatBritain #NordicChampionships #OliviaBeech #Rifle #ThreePosition

Congratulations to Rugeley member Megan Bamsey, who earned national honours when she was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2023 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. The team of five competed across Air Rifle and Air Pistol disciplines. Megan placed 91st in the Women’s Air Rifle, between teammates Rhona Love and Seren Thorne. In the Mixed Pairs, Megan placed 35th with Bertie Galloway.

https://www.rugeleyrifleclub.org.uk/gb-cap-for-megan-in-suhl/

#airRifle #BritishShooting #Competition #ISSF #RugeleyRifleClub #TeamGB

Rugeley Rifle Club members supported the West Midlands leg of British Shooting’s Target Sprint Series today. Martyn, Mick and Michelle were on hand as stewards and range officers. The event took place on the outdoor ranges at the NSRA’s Aldersley Shooting Centre at the Aldersley Leisure Village.

Rugeley have been a huge supporter of British Shooting events in the Midlands, with members also volunteering at the British Schools Championship Finals.

https://www.rugeleyrifleclub.org.uk/rugeley-members-support-british-shooting-target-sprint-series/

#airRifle #Aldersley #BritishShooting #RugeleyRifleClub #TargetSprint