Roseville Rifle Club Australia

For the past few days the GPS Schools ran their annual shooting competition which is shot at Hornsby by the following 8 schools: Shore, Kings, Newington, The Armidale School, Sydney Grammar, Sydney High, and Scots with New England Girls school shooting but not actually able to formally compete. Shooting in this competition for Shore School were the following Roseville Rifle Club Junior members: Pat Jacombs (Captain Shore Rifle Club 2020 – yr 12), Alex Macaulay (yr 12), Angus Langsford (yr 11), and Sam Atkinson (yr 11).

Due to Covid, this was a much shortened season with the Shore boys only able to practise for 2 Saturdays plus all of last week and Monday of this week.

ALL the Shore / Roseville junior members made the Shore 1sts team – which is an 8 man team – such a tremendous outcome for our RRC junior members. The Shore 1sts brought home the Rawson Cup  (2+7 at each of 500m and 600m and beating the current record that has stood since 2014), the NRA Shield (2+10 at 600m), and they were in the lead after the first part of the Buchanan (2+8 at 300m) but on the second part of the Buchanan (2+8 at 300m in a “snap” detail) the Newington Boys inched ahead and snatched the Buchanan with Shore coming in 2^nd. As a result of the above placings, Shore won the AAGPS Premiership for the first time since 2007.

While there were no RRC members in the Shore 2nds team, the school won the AAGPS Rifle Shooting Second Grade Premiership Shield (2+7 at each of 500m and 300m).

Phill Hodder has been helping as an expert coach at Shore since 2017 and has steadily built the skills of all the boys from the newest shooter to the more senior shooters and it has obviously paid dividends for Shore and ultimately for our RRC junior shooters.

The top 12 shooters in the GPS are then selected to become the GPS Combined team (normally they shoot at the Josephson “Joso” competition; but due to Covid that is not happening this year. However, Sam Atkinson was named “King of the Range” at the GPS competition over the 2 days (also taking home Shore’s Venour Nathan Shield for top shooter) and he made the GPS Combined Team; Pat Jacombs made the GPS Combined team and, as Captain of Shore (the Premiers) he also was named Captain of the GPS Combined team.

Assisting throughout the competition from RRC were: Phill Hodder (Hexta co-ordinator), Phil Jacombs (Hexta assistant + catering and organising as part of being Rifle Captain’s parent), Paul Langsford (Hexta assistant), Adam Beale (Hexta assistant), Mike Hodder (Butts Officer) and Janet Beale (Covid hygiene officer).

For more information on the shooting please view >> http://aagps.nsw.edu.au/winter-sports/shooting/ or look on HEXTA >> https://shooting.hexsystems.com.au/competition/275

Congrats to Sam and Pat for making the GPS Combined team, and congrats to Sam, Pat, Alex, Angus and Phill for winning the AAGPS Premiership.

We are all very proud of you.

Janet Beale.