NRA Journal - Spring 2011 - National Rifle Association

Aunts and Uncles Scheme – 2011A reaction to the NRA SurveyI need urgently to address the responses concerning the Aunts and Uncles Scheme contained in the recentsurvey – to which there were over 1,200 replies. Necessarily, this relates only to MR, TR and F Class in theImperial Meeting, Aunts and Uncles all being volunteers and the Scheme being specific to those disciplinesin the Imperial Meeting.I would like to thank those who made specific reference to the Scheme. I was gratified that none of the commentswas critical of it and, from the survey, I resume the two main points which arose, the first major and indirectand the second minor and direct:1 The survey shows very clearly that it is not generally known that, as a spin-off from the Aunts andUncles Scheme, there are two Guides to the Imperial Meeting on the website, one for Cadets and onefor Adults, both updated annually.They cover not only the administration of Bisley, but also, and for instance, where you can buy groceries,what you might wear in a clubhouse of an evening, accommodation options, firing point etiquette, radiomessages and so on.Go to the website, highlight the Competitions tab, highlight Imperial Meeting 2011, left click on ImperialMeeting Information and, in the bottom right of the main box which comes up on screen, select whicheverdownload (The Guide for Cadets or The Guide for Adults) that you consider appropriate.I have repeatedly sought advice and suggestions about how to improve these Guides as to content andstructure and have, in the many years that I have been producing them, received almost none.2 The second point to arise is a difficult but emotive one. One voice – and one voice only – expressedminor disquiet about the name of the Scheme, thus echoing a similar minor disquiet which has recentlybeen expressed within certain sections of the NRA. Like the name of the Imperial Meeting which cameunder scrutiny a while ago, the name ‘Aunts and Uncles Scheme’ has, like ‘The Imperial Meeting’,acquired its own recognisable and stand-alone identity and thus dilutes any unfortunate contemporaryconnotations that might otherwise cling to it.I should welcome any views before we consider a change: one single member-opinion and someanonymous disquiet within the NRA is not enough. Please contact me about this and, most particularly,if you wish there to be a change, put forward a suggestion as to what that change should be.Thank you.Tim (TJ) ElliottLark Hill, Haynes West End, Bedfordshire MK45 3RBTelephone: 01234 740334 Mobile: 07932 706171 E-mail: tje@easynet.co.ukThe Bisley Clubs’ Easter Meeting 2011Open to All Comers in Target Rifle and F ClassAre you a newcomer to the sport? Are you worried about entering an official competitionbecause you don’t know how it works? Would you like to try a formal event with all thefeatures of the Imperial Meeting but in a controlled setting?The Bisley Clubs’ Easter Meeting offers ten shoots making up five events and nine aggregatesover the Easter Weekend. All for £96 plus your ammunition (131 rounds). It is run, not bythe NRA, but by the major resident Clubs on Bisley in turn. This year the London & MiddlesexRifle Association are the organisers.The NRA will have expert competitors on hand to talk newcomers through the process andpractice targets available on Saturday morning. Download an entry form from the NRAwebsite (look for 23 April on Upcoming Events on the left side of the homepage), and bookassistance on the day with an e-mail to karen@nra.org.uk.39