Success breeds success. After the meteoric progress of the past few years, the OSRA continues to perform at a high level. This year, however, marks the first instance that the club has started to win at a team level. Winning the Kent Astor Heat in June was an unprecedented achievement for the club, and one that marks a turning point in our potential as a club, rather than a group of individuals.
The year began with our fourth Blues’ Match, an event that pits mixed-ability teams against each other with the intention of building team and leadership skills. This year we were fortunate enough to welcome the new Kent County Captain, Chris Weeden SM and Kent and GB shooter, Yusef Ali, to support our training. It was wonderful to see over fifteen shooters compete for the hip flask and bottle of whisky, which was taken by Tom Fermor’s team with an excellent score of 607.48. We also welcomed Chris and Yusef’s expertise with position and SCATT training in the morning.
During the course of the year, we have been fortunate to watch our membership numbers swell, with Sarah Roberts and Jack Bonner signing up at the end of 2022, and Ben Murray, Fran Davies, and Keith Clement joining the fold in 2023. I am particularly excited to have not only new and enthusiastic members join the club, but also to see talent that we can support and develop over the next few years.
In June, the Kent Open was attended by six Old Suttonians, with Ted Ervine taking top spot for B Class, winning two trophies. I also managed to secure third place, narrowly missing out on second place by V-Bulls. The standout achievement of that warm June weekend, however, was the Kent Astor match, which we have shot against TAGEME three times since the club’s inception in 2018. I was delighted to see a strong team spirit from all shooters, especially when performing key skills learned from county shooting. My thanks go to Chris Pawlik for fulfilling the role of adjutant, Harry Percival for coaching, and Ted Ervine for plotting. The victory, clinched with a score of 602 to TAGEME’s 599, is testament to the hard work and dedication that the team has demonstrated over the last few years. This is without a doubt our finest achievement as a club.
The Imperial Meeting, held between 13th-22nd July, is the highlight of the marksman’s calendar. This year we had five Old Suttonians enter the Meeting, which started with the Veterans Match, an event that saw an additional five Old Suttonians, including new members, shoot at 500 yards. Congratulations to Chris Pawlik on taking home the Veterans Shield for the second time with a score of 49.6.
Further achievements from the main Imperial Meeting include:
- Harry Percival made it onto six prize lists and into the Second Stage of St George’s.
- Freddie Pawlik also made it onto six prize lists.
- Chris Pawlik made it into the Second Stage of St George’s and came third in the King’s Consolation Prize.
- Ted Ervine made it into the Second Stage of the St George’s.
- I made it to the King’s Final and managed to finish 19th overall.
It has been yet another incredibly successful year for the club, but the standout achievement is our ability to perform as a team. We have learned from our experiences at county level to create a winning team. Our swelling membership numbers have come at the perfect time: we have the capability as a club to support and develop new shooters to a high level, both within the club and in higher-level teams. We have continued to develop as individuals over the past few years, but we have now started to fulfil our potential as a team. I am excited to see what we can do next season in further team matches.
Old Suttonian Rifle Association 