Category Archives: Results

The following message was today circulated to all rifle league contacts by the rifle league organiser. (NB! Decisions regarding Dorset Air and LWR leagues will be taken later in July)

Dear league contact,

I hope that you and your club members are safe and well.

It is about 3 months since I last contacted you about how we were adapting the Dorset rifle leagues to the covid-19 crisis, and now it’s time for a new update. This time I’d like to cover the remaining parts of the 2019-20 Winter leagues, the Summer 2020 leagues, and our intentions for the Winter 2020-21 leagues.

Against the background of the lockdown being eased and many outdoor ranges re-opening, we still have social distancing and hygiene rules to contend with, indoor ranges are closed, there is a general nervousness amongst many of our shooters and a common expectation that there will be a second spike in infections with potential for more lockdowns. It is hoped that indoor ranges will be allowed to re-open in the next 3-4 weeks, allowing some shooting to take place over the summer, but it is very doubtful that restrictions will be completely lifted before the winter season.

When deciding what to do about the various leagues, the Dorset committee has considered these factors as well as their duties as an organising body. 

Taken all together, the committee has decided the following:

Remaining parts of the 2019-20 Winter leagues

We still want to give all participants the opportunity to complete these competitions, as they were so close to finishing when the crisis hit.

SR Team of 3 – teams from Flight Refuelling, Wimborne, Parkstone and Dorchester were unable to shoot the last round due to unavoidable range closures or self-isolation. To give those clubs a chance of completing the competition, the due date for round 5 of this competition is extended again to Monday 28^th September

Dorset Short Range Championship – 5 people were unable to shoot their stage 2 cards (Tony Edwards, Mike Frizzle, John Henderson, Chris Anderson & Beth Stephenson). To give those people the chance to shoot their stage 2 cards, the due date for stage 2 of this competition is further extended to Monday 28^th September. Please make sure to inform the affected individuals in your club.

NB! There will be no shoulder to shoulder final, and the championship will not be awarded this year. Prizes by Class will be awarded as usual once all cards have been shot.

The JWR Newman knockout – Range closure meant that Wimborne were unable to shoot the final round by the due date. The due date for the final round of this competition is extended again to Monday 28^th September

If your club is one of those affected by these three extensions, please check that you and your members still have the remaining cards – if you have disposed of any unshot cards, please let me know and I’ll re-issue stickers for the individuals involved.

2020 Summer leagues

The committee has reluctantly decided to cancel all 2020 summer rifle leagues, including the long range competitions.

The outdoor competitions have been cancelled mainly due to the highly restricted range capacity in Dorset, especially at Queens Park where many clubs shoot. It is felt that the capacity will be so tight that it is unfair to expect all clubs to be able to complete the course of fire.

We appreciate that this may be a particular issue for Dorset, and apologise to other clubs where such capacity restrictions are less severe.

Clubs may choose whether their Summer league entry fees are re-funded, or carried over to the next season. I will assume that fees will be carried forward, unless you request a refund from me.

2020-21 Winter leagues

Normally, I would send out winter season entry forms during July, with the aim of issuing stickers by the end of August, and first round due early October. This year, due to the general uncertainty, the committee has decided to play it safe by postponing the start of the winter leagues and reducing the course of fire appropriately.

In practice, this means that we will review the situation again in September with the hope that I can send out entry forms early in October, issue stickers in November, with first cards due in January 2021. Some competitions might not be run at all due to the shortened period for shooting. But if the situation is still bad or highly uncertain in September, we may cancel the winter leagues as well.

Cancelling and shortening leagues are not decisions that are taken lightly by the committee, and it is very regrettable that we feel forced to take such actions. With 2020 more or less written off for shooting, please join me in hoping that 2021 will be a good year on the ranges for us all.

Also, we sincerely hope that all shooters will see the lack of league cards as an opportunity to shoot for the sheer enjoyment it. Enjoyment is, after all, supposed to be why we do this sport!

I would be glad to hear how each club has managed during the crisis, and especially about any plans you may have to re-open when circumstances allow.

Yours in shooting

David Chick
Dorset Rifle League organiser

Dorset SBRPA hopes that all shooters and their families are taking suitable personal precautions against contracting and spreading the virus. Below are some additional suggestions and pieces of information that may be useful. Updated 5th July 2020.

Rifle League update: Due to the continued general uncertainty surrounding the covid-19 pandemic, and various other related factors, the Dorset committee has decided to cancel the summer rifle leagues for 2020. It has also been announced that the winter leagues will be postponed and will have a reduced course of fire.
See the full announcement here

All remaining 2020 DSBRPA open rifle meetings cancelled: The Dorset management has taken the decision to cancel the remaining open rifle meetings in 2020. This is due to continued uncertainty about the pandemic, and the view that the County would not be able to effectively meet the infection prevention levels required by government guidelines.
See the full announcement here

AGM 2020 cancelled (10/4/2020): In the light of the continuing Covid-19 outbreak, the committee has taken the decision to cancel the Annual General Meeting for this year which was due to take place at Bryanston School on Friday May 29th. Bryanston School is closed anyway, but clearly it is unlikely that restrictions will have been lifted by the end of May anyway.
See the full announcement here.

Bisley ranges closed until 31st August: (26th March)
The NRA has announced the suspension of civilian shooting, and cancellation of all competitions, on the Bisley ranges until 31st August. This will presumably cause the NSRA Bisley rifle meeting to be cancelled as well.

Winter league final rounds: (25th March)
SR Team of 5 and Individual SR leagues: Both of these competitions have been completed, and the final results have been published this week.
SR Team of 3: Unfortunately teams from Flight Refuelling, Wimborne, Parkstone and Dorchester were unable to shoot the last round due to unavoidable range closures or self-isolation. To give those clubs a chance of completing the competition, the due date for round 5 of this competition is extended to Monday 29^th June
Dorset Short Range Championship: 5 people have been unable to shoot their stage 2 cards (Tony Edwards, Mike Frizzle, John Henderson, Chris Anderson & Beth Stephenson). To give those people the chance to shoot their stage 2 cards, the due date for stage 2 of this competition is extended to Monday 29^th June. The shoulder-to-shoulder Final will be arranged once stage 2 is completed.
The JWR Newman knockout: Range closure meant that Wimborne are unable to shoot the final round by the due date. The due date for the final round of this competition is extended to Monday 29^th June

Competitions have initially been extended by about 3 months, in the hope that we will be shooting again in June. However this will reviewed again at the end of May.

Summer Leagues: (21st March)
Thank you for your entries. We have decided to reduce the course of fire for all Summer League competitions. This means that most competitions will be reduced to just 5 rounds.
In addition, there will be a single last date of shooting for all rounds in all competitions, which will be at the end of September. We hope that is will allow some league shooting to take place, and give shooters plenty of flexibility to shoot the cards.
Stickers etc will be sent out shortly

Club Weapons: It may be that you have club rifles or other weapons which are being shared between existing or prospective members. In the current climate you should consider cleaning/disinfecting the equipment between use  by different shooters.

DSBRPA AGM: The AGM is at this staged fixed for Friday 29th May, but we will obviously be reviewing that along with the dates fixed for various meetings and will keep you posted as to progress.

28th May 2020 – Announcement from Martin Overall, Captain:

I have had a number of requests to open up shooting in Dorset, especially the outdoor shoots, which we have considered carefully.  Our view is that the risks are too high with regards to transmission of the COVID 19 virus and we would break the social distancing/group meeting rules as set out by the Government.

The main challenges are:
– Setting up the range and cleaning all surfaces prior to shooting
– hanging and handling of cards to be scored
– use and cleaning of toilets
– clearing of the range at the end of the event
– issuing of trophies/medals (which is not essential, but nice to have). 

All of these activities offer a high to medium risk of infection if anyone is an unknown carrier of the virus plus the general demographic of shooters does put the majority of us all in a higher risk grup.   I am not sure we would even get the numbers attending to make the event cost effective with this added risk and a general reluctance to meet away from home.

As a County we have a duty of care to each and every shooter who comes to our events and unfortunately I do not think we can meet these obligations satisfactorily.  Therefore I have taken the view that we will not be holding any events during 2020 at Piddlehinton.   I am sorry for this sad news and hope we will be in a better position to enjoy this fantastic weather (fingers crossed) at our shoots next year.
Please take care of yourself and I hope to see you in 2021.

Martin Overall
Captain