NRA Journal - Summer 2003 - National Rifle Association

THE GREAT BRITAIN UNDER 19 TEAM TO SOUTH AFRICA 2003by Simon Fraser and Mik MaksimovicThe GB U19 Team:Commandant:Adjutant:Armourer / Coach:Team members:Simon FraserMik MaksimovicPeter MedhurstSam AdamsonNick BussellJen CharltonSam DashJames HeadonPeter LawCerise MacintoshTanja ShieldsThe team assembled at Bisley on the Friday evening.As a warm up we shot all ranges on Saturday andhad a match on Sunday morning before setting off,full of anticipation, for Heathrow. To quote one younglady team member, “I can tell that this is going to befun!” South Africa here we come.We had expected a wall of heat as we left the aircraftin Johannesburg but it was actually cooler thanLondon; the Commandant’s credibility was shatteredalready! Met by Deon and Jeanette Burger, ChristoLauterbach and John Clipstone we were soon on ourway to Krugersdorp, a game park west ofJohannesburg where we stayed for our first night. Itwas beautiful and relaxed. On a brief safari we sawrhino, lion, giraffe, meerkat, ostrich, wildebeest andantelope as well as many beautiful birds. We swamand sunbathed before dinner followed by an earlynight in upmarket rondavels.The next day we travelled to General de Wet range atBloemfontein via Potchefstroom. The journey waslargely uneventful and we arrived in the rain. Theaccommodation proved a surprise for some, so a hastyshopping trip for some home comforts was rapidlyscheduled before dinner in Bloemfontein.We soon had to get down to business as the firstinternational match was in three days. Zeros werechecked and major restoration was executed on MikMaksimovic’s F Class rifle and scope, which had beendamaged in transit. Despite these difficulties we shotwith some success alongside the Free Statecompetitions on Wednesday and in competition onThursday. Everyone had a taste of the difficult windconditions and achieved a zero at all distances. SamDash, James Headon and Tanja Shields won medalsand the team were beaten into third place in aconcurrent match by just three points by Wales.Friday started with the Scottish Sword, a warm upmatch in the morning, and the first International, 2and 15 at 800 and 900 metres in the afternoon. Despitesuch little practice on a range that is totally uniqueand far from easy, our coaches, James and SamAdamson coaxed the best out of our firers andmanaged to take 39 points from the South Africans at800 metres. The longer range was trickier still but wegained a further eight points to win, 788.25 to 741.25.This was an outstanding achievement and the GBU19’s first long range victory against South Africa ontheir range. Jen Charlton top scored with 138.6.On Saturday we shot alongside the team events formore much needed experience in the difficult rangeconditions; in the evening the team members dinedout with the younger Welsh contingent inBloemfontein. A good night was had by all! Luckilythat Sunday allowed the team’s first lie in beforehitting the mall and an Italian style lunch on theWaterfront. Reyneke Park beckoned; was it theswimming pool, the trampoline or the final of the SixNations rugby, Ireland v England that was the starattraction?Monday started with the opening ceremony and it wasdown to business in earnest. Over the next six dayswe were to be thoroughly tested by Bloemfontein’sconditions, the learning curve was truly steep but fun,if frustrating. After shooting we held our official teamparty at the New York restaurant in Bloemfontein tothank many of those who did so much to make ourtour both possible and the fantastic experience that itwas. On Tuesday Nick Bussell top scored at 900metres in very tricky wind and light. Hardly hadshooting finished than we piled into a pick up for agame drive into the range danger area courtesy ofCaptain Heinric Terrblanch. The quantity of game wasmind blowing, some 6,000 springbok, thousands ofhartebeest, wildebeest, zebra and other antelope allgalloping madly across the ground as far as the eyecould see, often racing the vehicle. They areapparently very suspicious of vehicles and run as soonas one enters their area. The whole plain seemed tobe on the move and the dust was flying everywhere.We even saw a giant tortoise and some meerkats.Wednesday was the first stage of the State President’s;Cerise led the way then came 16 th in the King’s Nortonat 600 metres, whilst Peter Law top scored in the ColBodley at 900 metres. On Thursday Jen had the topscore of the team in both morning matches and in theafternoon we checked wind zeros ready for the JuniorInternational. On Friday morning in the StatePresident’s, Cerise confirmed her place in the Finalwith Peter Medhurst who achieved an outstanding150; Mik qualified for the Final in F Class. We thenswitched into team mode for the Simon Fraser Cup,the Junior International Match, 2 and 10 at 300, 600and 900 metres. The coaches were the same as for thelong range match and all went well at 300 where wewent eight points clear; at 600 we gained a further39