BFTA Championship 4th April

The summer season begins with the BFTA Championships at Newbury. Last year 124 shooters competed for this coveted title with the winner, Ian Taylor, adding the World Championship later in the year. This would be the first chance for shooters to show how their regions winter leagues had prepared them for the GP season and allow the big guns to jostle for top spot. Who would challenge for honours this year?
Newbury is the home ground of the BFTA; the shooting terrain is deciduous woodland set atop a hill.
Various inlets allow the wind to play its part sufficient to hamper any course being cleared. It is a beautiful setting and today was alive with the sights and sounds of spring. There were many birds on show active in preparation for the nesting season and it was a delight for all to see the majestic Red Kite's aerobatics.
The day started early for those setting out the 40 shot course and competitors began to book in around 8am. Shooting commenced at 9am after a short safety briefing from Roger Moy the BFTA Chairman. Squads of 10 were called at regular intervals and soon each lane of the course was full and stories began to unfold.
It has been 6 months since a national field has been assembled so today offered a chance for distant friends to catch up on any news. Two FT characters it's always a pleasure to meet are Andy Calpin from NEFTA and Mark Bassett from WAFTA.

Well I think it's Mark!

The course began with a kneeling lane; the second target though only 35 yards was an early clue that there was more wind effect than the sunny conditions suggested. By lane 5 a range of distances had tested the competitors and now it was standers. They looked deceptively easy but even the close 20 yarder was causing problems. Lane 6 I'm sure was an optical illusion because the second target looked closer than the first but my scope said they were the same! Such a puzzle is a credit to those who designed the course; in my head was "trust the scope" but it was only a voice and I didn't listen. There then followed a few lanes with one challenging and one gettable target before once more we faced some standers. The course then skirted a small copse which was offering shelter from the wind and the remaining targets were more affected by the breeze from the adjacent field. The last lane was kneeling and target 39 at 40+ yards was sure to offer a challenging end.
Despite the tricky wind some shooters were compiling good scores. First report was that Roger Moy had finished on 38 and some forty shooters later he was joined by Nick Murphy. Neil Daniels and Mark Williams came close on 37 but none of the later shooters could challenge first or third place so shootoffs ensued.
At a now windier lane 1 Nick was successful and further up the course Neil secured 3rd place.
Well done to Neil
And RogerAnd to BFTA Champion 2009 Nick Murphy.So the summer season begins and Newbury has asked questions of us all. I'm on a diet of plenty of practise before GP1 at Harriers in two weeks time.
Many thanks to the Newbury team for a superb course and an excellent event!