When I was first appointed as captain of the team over 2 years ago, I had 2 very clear aspirations for the team – that the tour be memorable and enjoyable. Obviously, winning the Woomera Match was a major objective, but one the result of which could not be completely controlled from the outset. Yes, all the pre-tour training was focussed on performing to our best in the match, but we had no way of influencing how well the Australian team performed. You can have a great deal of confidence in winning but no absolute certainty. By contrast, ensuring an enjoyable and memorable tour was completely within our control, and, in my experience, is a major contributor to everyone’s shooting performance anyway.
I have been very fortunate in being involved with all 9 Woomera matches, 5 of them in Australia. I have also been a member of numerous Target Rifle touring teams. Some of those tours, both MR and TR, have a very special place in my memory, and others less so. When I looked at what made the difference between a special tour and an ok one, I concluded that it came down to 2 aspects. Firstly, results. Good results, especially a win in the main team match, has a major impact on how much affection we have for a tour. But, as I’ve said, it is impossible to absolutely guarantee all the results you aspire to. Secondly, enjoyment. This is something within the management team’s control, but, historically, often overlooked. At its heart is organisation. If the team is well organised, with all the logistics worked out beforehand, it makes a massive difference to the pleasure of touring. In addition, it is vital to plan that part of the tour which takes place outside the period of the main event. In my view, this requires properly structured R&R and any preliminary shoots.
Getting these elements right is even more imperative when a tour only takes place every 6-7 years, as the GB Woomera tours do. I was very aware, when I first started thinking of how to structure the tour, that this would be the first experience of touring for many of the team members, and possibly the last for others. As a consequence, I was determined to make the tour as varied, enjoyable and, ultimately, competitive, as possible.
I was also very aware of how the Australian match rifle community might perceive our visit. Putting on the Australian match rifle championships and Woomera Match is a huge logistical exercise, involving a large number of volunteers, given there is no administrative permanent organisation like the NRA of GB, based at a single location. To my mind, it was essential the GB team recognised that and instead of just ‘parachuting’ in for the championships, we did what we could to support MR shooting in Australia. This was a main driver for me to seek to visit at least 1-2 regional club ranges before we arrived in Stawell for the main event. Fortunately, this was welcomed by the Aussies, and we ended up visiting 4 very different, but all equally superb ranges. None of them (currently) go beyond 1000 yards, but in one case our visit prompted the club concerned to reinstate their 1000 yard firing point, and in another it crystallised an ambition of theirs to create a new butt of targets to enable shooting back to 1200 yards. At each club there was a great deal of enthusiasm for our visit, and the shoots organised were very well attended, not only by MR shooters, but also F Class and TR. In addition, I presented a half day seminar on various aspects of long range shooting and handloading, attended by over 25 Australian shooters.
So, by the time we arrived in Stawell, on Wednesday 5th October, we had had some R&R in Melbourne, toured a decent chunk of Victoria, including the Great Ocean Road, and had shot sufficiently to ‘hit the ground running’ at the start of the Australian championships. Even so, the team, individually, performed beyond my hopes and expectations, taking 9 of the top 10 places in the championship. Many congratulations go to John Lindsay for securing the win with a superb 75.9 at 1200 yards, on the final day, knowing the slightest slip would hand the win to another member of the team. Congratulations also go to Ashley Abrahams. He only just fell short in the championship but had a superb string of shoots at the regional ranges to claim top spot in those overall.
As I have already mentioned, the core to a good tour is organisation, I will be forever grateful for 2 people’s diligence, patience (sorely tested on occasions!), and perseverance, in the face of, at times, insurmountable Australian bureaucracy! Jon Sweet, the adj, performed miracles in clearing all the obstacles strewn in our path, and Anna Dyson, the Australian team manager, organised our Victorian tour down the last detail. The tour would not have happened without them.
Finally, to the match itself. With such a dominance of the individual results, one might have thought winning the Woomera match would be a formality. But, as anyone cognisant of Australian competitiveness will know, you underestimate them at your peril! We were under no illusions, having seen how well they shot on the team practice day. And so it proved. 1 ahead after 1000 yards, we maintained that slender advantage after 1100 yards, only thanks to an Australian having a mechanical problem. Cue a little intervention from the captain! GB then got a firm grip of the match at 1200 yards, winning the range by 7 points (excluding the cross-shot by an Aussie), to win by 13 overall. A great result, made even more satisfying when we realised afterwards the record score had been broken by 2 points!
From my perspective, the tour achieved all its objectives and aspirations. The team performed superbly, and it was truly an honour to lead them. It was also utterly exhausting and took me a week to recover!
