DURHAM ACF SHOOTING TEAM Open Evening/Presentation Evening

[karen]

Yep - needs to be a member for at least a year and someone in authority (club sec, county captain etc) needs to apply on his/her behalf setting out why s/he is a suitable candidate. We have some available rifles (couple of Swings, Paramount, Wichita) which can be bought on loan or we could loan a sum towards a rifle.

We are not keen on giving £3500+ for a brand new rifle with all the bells and whistles so if they really wanted a brand new rifle they would need to put a bit towards it but each case is judged on merit by a panel of five.

There is an article in (I think) the Spring 10 Journal with terms of reference

Love

karen

[dromia]

The main problem with converting cadet shooters into 'proper' shooters is that the cadet forces as a whole are happy to stay within their little silo, and with a few notable exceptions such as Durham, they're happy to keep it that way.

Certainly in the ATC there was the Bisley school of thought, which regarded anything other than TR as dodgy, and there was the SR school of thought, which thought anything other than burning off the largest number of rounds in the smallest amount of time (accuracy optional) as something weird to be mocked. Most cadet instructors in my experience fell into the latter school - possibly a function of not being given sufficient coaching training/not having to pay for their ammo!

At higher levels the cadet shooting hierarchy just aren't interested in linking into civilian competitions, unless they can take control and run the event themselves. Those units who do are very much the exception rather than the norm.

And this is all before you get into the realms of military bureaucracy and the ludicrous restrictions the cadet forces impose on themselves...

This isn't about the failings ACF its about us, the cadets are people too and have their civilian lives to lead and that is where the disjoin is, obviously some people in the NRA think that its the clubs fault, what about a bit of leadership then to help address that issue NRA?

However when a full bore club in the NE of England is restricted to 12 shoots a year on military ranges of which a goodly number are likely to be cancelled due to Landmarc and the weather then the opportunities for young NE full bore shooters to train and develop is severely limited. I am a member of four Northern clubs so as to have a good chance of getting 2 full bore ranges a month costing me £650 a year in membership alone before any travel. A good part of that money is no doubt going on multiple payments for insurance and NRA affiliation (along with my individual NRA membership fee) so no doubt I and many others are subsidising NRA members who can shoot regularly at Bisley due to proximity and only need to be a member of one club to get regular shooting.

The resource deficit is huge 'tween North and south and it is the aspiring young shooters (and the art as a whole) who loose out.

The solution from our "national" body to addressing this seems to be to wait for rich benefactor to happen along. wtfwtf

[rox]

I am a member of four Northern clubs so as to have a good chance of getting 2 full bore ranges a month costing me £650 a year in membership alone before any travel. A good part of that money is no doubt going on multiple payments for insurance and NRA affiliation (along with my individual NRA membership fee) so no doubt I and many others are subsidising NRA members who can shoot regularly at Bisley due to proximity

Back in the real world, your 650 wouldn't be that far from covering the affiliation of all four clubs if you were the only member! Unless these clubs all have absolutely tiny membership counts, to suggest that a 'good part' goes on 'multiple payments' and 'subsidises members who can shoot regularly at Bisley' is nonsense.

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[Dangermouse]

Dromia,

Afraid I have to take issue with your statement

The solution from our "national" body to addressing this seems to be to wait for rich benefactor to happen along

This was a light hearted comment made by Karen and was not meant to be passed as an NRA statement. Most of us were happy to have the NRA members who came on board try to discuss issues with us on the forum and we were disappointed when the NRA stopped them from giving out all but the most basic of information. I feel that by miss quoting Karen in this way you stand to put any kind of relationship that we can expect from the NRA on the forum in future at risk.

Regards,

DM

[Watcher]

Dromia,

Exactly what do you want the NRA to do?

M

[dromia]

I am a member of four Northern clubs so as to have a good chance of getting 2 full bore ranges a month costing me £650 a year in membership alone before any travel. A good part of that money is no doubt going on multiple payments for insurance and NRA affiliation (along with my individual NRA membership fee) so no doubt I and many others are subsidising NRA members who can shoot regularly at Bisley due to proximity

Back in the real world, your 650 wouldn't be that far from covering the affiliation of all four clubs if you were the only member! Unless these clubs all have absolutely tiny membership counts, to suggest that a 'good part' goes on 'multiple payments' and 'subsidises members who can shoot regularly at Bisley' is nonsense.

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Can someone then explain what happens to the affiliation and insurance parts of multiple memberships. If one club could meet my needs then I would be paying less.

[rox]

This isn't about the failings ACF its about us, the cadets are people too and have their civilian lives to lead and that is where the disjoin is, obviously some people in the NRA think that its the clubs fault, what about a bit of leadership then to help address that issue NRA?

The solution from our "national" body to addressing this seems to be to wait for rich benefactor to happen along. wtfwtf

There is heaps of support and effort being provided to cadets of all types by numerous individuals, clubs and associations. Next week, for example, about 20 volunteers will spend the day with ACF cadets from all over the country in the V Club match, which is often the first time they get to shoot at 900 & 1000 yards. How sad that you turn the success of some teams and individuals into yet another ‘national body criticism’ thread. I suppose you told the young man who made the GB U19 team that you want his discipline to die, and that you don’t like reading about his exploits in the Journal.



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[dromia]

Dromia,

Afraid I have to take issue with your statement

The solution from our "national" body to addressing this seems to be to wait for rich benefactor to happen along

This was a light hearted comment made by Karen and was not meant to be passed as an NRA statement. Most of us were happy to have the NRA members who came on board try to discuss issues with us on the forum and we were disappointed when the NRA stopped them from giving out all but the most basic of information. I feel that by miss quoting Karen in this way you stand to put any kind of relationship that we can expect from the NRA on the forum in future at risk.

Regards,

DM

That is a fair point and I should have said "someone from our national body".

I don't know whether is was light hearted or not.

[dromia]

Dromia,

Exactly what do you want the NRA to do?

M

I would like to see the NRA sort itself out, become more professional so as to avoid staggering from one crisis to another.

I would like to see a meaningful commitment to regional development underpinned by a long term tangible plan, that does not necessarily mean building a "Bisley of the North" either, "part of that being to become a representative organisation with a target of increasing its membership to 50,000 over 10 years.

[dromia]

This isn't about the failings ACF its about us, the cadets are people too and have their civilian lives to lead and that is where the disjoin is, obviously some people in the NRA think that its the clubs fault, what about a bit of leadership then to help address that issue NRA?

The solution from our "national" body to addressing this seems to be to wait for rich benefactor to happen along. wtfwtf

There is heaps of support and effort being provided to cadets of all types by numerous individuals, clubs and associations. Next week, for example, about 20 volunteers will spend the day with ACF cadets from all over the country in the V Club match, which is often the first time they get to shoot at 900 & 1000 yards. How sad that you turn the success of some teams and individuals into yet another ‘national body criticism’ thread. I suppose you told the young man who made the GB U19 team that you want his discipline to die, and that you don’t like reading about his exploits in the Journal.



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I didn't start this thread about what happens to the young people when they are part of the ACF it was about what happens to them when they are out with that supportive environment.