Whittlesey Rifle Club

Introduction

Whittlesey Rifle Club is a club with an annual membership of some 51 people. These members are spread between Rifle, Pistol and Air guns. There is a Committee comprising a President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Section Captains and Nine Members, these people are elected to administer the Club for the benefit of the members and to follow the wishes of the membership. The Club is a registered charity, which means that it is run on a non-profit making basis all excess capital is spent on improving the equipment and facilities.

Inspector Edgeley of the Police formed the club, at about the time of the Second World War. Originally it was called Whittlesey Home Guard and Rifle Club, as the name indicates in those days it was just for Rifle. However at the 1975 Annual General Meeting, club members decided to embrace Pistol shooting and from this a wider choice was made available with the club, until the British government banned all pistols with the exception of certain black powder, air and CO₂ pistols in 1998.

The Club is affiliated to National Shooting bodies such as the

• National Small-bore Rifle Association
• National Pistol Association
• Muzzle Loaders of Great Britain

and to Local Shooting bodies such as

• Soke of Peterborough Target Shooting Association
• Association of Leeds and District Rifle and Revolver Club
• Cambridgeshire Rifle and Pistol Association

This means that our members are eligible to shoot in a number of national and local postal leagues in all three disciplines.

As a club we try to promote the sport and to help fellow shooters to attain the levels of shooting which they aspire to. This is achieved partly by a program of coaching which is available at all times from a group of qualified coaches within the club. We like to think that we have a club, which is friendly and welcoming, and where help is always available. The Club is run by the members for the members and requires the efforts of as many people as possible, annually, to maintain the facilities and improve them. This work is carried out in the main once a year (by the members and other interested parties) at the start of September and lasts for two to four weeks, depending on the amount of effort applied and the number of willing hands. During this period the range is closed for shooting and nothing ends up left untouched in the interests of having a clean and pleasant range facility to shoot in.

Members of the Committee are not always obvious but a few enquiries will soon establish who are the people you need to talk to and obtain relevant knowledge. Club Coaches are another group you need to get to know and with the Committee they are ready and willing to help you in your shooting whenever and wherever possible.

Don't be put off by the levels of skill needed to shoot Competition, there are Competitions to suit all levels of shooting Competence. The Club also runs internal competitions, which are handicapped to allow all shooters to competence. The Club also runs internal competitions, which are handicapped to allow all shooters to compete on an even level.

We hope this gives you some insight into the Club and encourages you to be an active member of the club within a minority sport. Any comments you might have to contribute would be appreciated and should be addressed to the Secretary.