A shot in the arm for club
NOW for the big guns – literally. Guernsey’s full-bore rifle ranks will open fire on their ‘condensed’ competitive season on Saturday afternoon.
One week after recommencing training at Fort Le Marchant, Guernsey Rifle Club will continue their return to relative normality with a single-range season opener over 500 yards.
Luke Malcic won the equivalent event last season and is likely to be one of the big guns in a competition that, thankfully, will likely not be clipped by the States’ limit of 30 people per gathering.
‘I think it’s going to be good for people’s morale,’ said GRC stalwart Peter Jory after coronavirus concerns delayed the start of the season by nearly two months.
‘It’s an outside sport, so it’s one of the ones that we would hope and we would expect to be one of the earliest sports to recommence.
‘I am very pleased that we are able to come back and start to operate again. It will be the start of a condensed and reduced programme of events for the club,’ he added.
Beyond the increased emphasis on hygiene and distancing, and accepting that they will not be able to travel or host visitors, it is largely business as usual for the GRC. And the installation of electronic targets has come at a ‘very opportune moment’ according to Jory in terms of negating cleaning requirements.
Jory added: ‘With such an expended lay-off, it’s going to be hard to predict because no one’s competitively done any shooting for some months.
‘Some people will get back to it and not even notice the gap in the proceedings and others might need a little longer to get back to where they were before.’
Shooting is due to start at 3pm and, as usual, the headland will be closed off to the public.
