On 30 January, we hosted the first new-format Awards Night. After being remiss in celebrating our champions for some time (covid, new committee, etc.), this was long overdue.

To make this ‘first new’ awards night extra special, we decided to dedicate our awards to cherished members who are sadly no longer with us. As such, as of the 2023 club competitions, our 50-metre rifle trophies are now the Bob Foster Award and the 10-metre pistol trophies are the Ian Jones Award.

Moreover, our 10-metre pistol range has now been renamed Lord’s Manor, in memory of Kevin Lord who, almost literally on occasion, poured his heart and soul into our club to help make it what it is today; (one of) the best air gun shooting facilities in the country.

To celebrate these dedications, we were very pleased to be joined by the families of Ian Jones and Kevin Lord. Ian’s daughter, Vicky, graciously agreed to formally present the Ian Jones awards; The (absent) winner: Ivan “Avi” Ivanov, runner-up Jon Pike and 3rd place Wesley Groot. The Bob Foster awards were presented in tandem by Angela and Wesley to the winner, Tony Kay, the (absent) runner-up Chris Turner and 3rd place, Jay.
Thankfully John Stansfield was willing to step forward and accept their awards on their behalf.

Then, Kevin’s daughter, Emma, did the official reveal of the commemorative plaque, dedicating the 10-metre range to Kevin; Lord’s Manor; to commemorate Kevin’s unwavering dedication to making our club the great place it is today.

Our Club Captain, Angela, did a fantastic job organising the trophies and then taking on the role of Master of Ceremony, bravely pushing through the very emotional dedications to the friends we’ve lost. Steve (SAS) put on a lovely chicken curry with chips for all, with just enough of a chilli kick that we had an excuse for our sniffly noses, and the entire club was filled with a fantastic atmosphere of happy people chatting away and doing their usual.