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Featured Team Members
Andrew Lothian
Andrew was given a .177” air rifle for his seventh birthday. As he was absolutely useless at ball sports, he was delighted to discover something he could do.
He was lucky enough to attend Epsom College where he didn’t work very hard, but really got hooked shooting the good old .303”. He was in the school’s first ever Ashburton winning VIII in 1973, the month before he toured to Canada as an Atheling, where he shot like a drain.
Life then got in the way of shooting in Canada, spending the next 42 years flying airliners for a living, but still managed to shoot in the UK. He did squeeze in tours to New Zealand and Australia in the ’90’s, competing in a couple of Australia Matches and a Palma. He’s hoping his wife Alison didn’t notice. He toured with his son James in 2009 to Bloemfontein. As they were both missing, Alison probably twigged that one! After an interval of 38 years, he shot at Connaught in 2011 and again in 2019.
Now that he is retired, he indulges himself shooting as much as he can. He is passionate about supporting youth shooting, running the .22” range at a local Prep School and helping out at Epsom. Unsurprisingly, he is looking forward to meeting long standing Canadian friends and forging new links with others.
Christopher Heales
Christopher shoots with the West Suffolk Rifle Club in Norfolk, currently their captain, he is also a regular member of the Norfolk County team. He has previously toured to Canada and Guyana with England and been a member of three European Long Range teams, appearing also in the National and Lawrence. This will be his first GB tour.
When not shooting or at work, he may occasionally be found cycling along local leafy lanes, although vigorously denies having gone full “MAMIL”. He also enjoys cooking and dabbles in the world of home brewing, sometimes with explosive results. Happily married with 2 grown up children and a dog.
Michael Bumford
Mike first began shooting at Pate’s Grammar School in Cheltenham upon joining the CCF in 2009. He shot his first Imperial Meeting in 2012, going on to represent Wales in South Africa and the UKCRT in Jersey in 2013, then GBU19 in South Africa in 2015. After a hiatus during his university years, Mike picked up shooting again in 2020, placing within the top 50 of the Grand Aggregate in 2021 and 2022, as well as shooting his first Queen’s and George’s finals, before being selected to tour the Channel Islands with the NRA team in 2022.
Mike has recently taken on the Vice-Captaincy of Wales, with 4 National and 5 Mackinnon caps to date. Aside from being part of the winning National team in 2021, Mike’s proudest shooting moments include wins over both Jersey and Guernsey on their home ranges with the 2022 NRA team, a feat not easily achieved! Having caught the touring bug again, Mike is looking forward to his first trip to Canada and the experiences that come with shooting on new ranges with new faces.
Away from the range, Mike lives in London with his wife, Katie and black labrador, Ralph. He is a retail property agency surveyor, having recently moved to Knight Frank.
Nigel Ball
GC SM SC
Nigel is no stranger to Canada having been on a variety of GB and England teams during the last 32 years. It was his first official team there in 1991 that gave him an appetite to tour and he relishes the chance to return and compete with old friends.
Nigel’s shooting career began in the Royal Navy, where he won the Queens Medal with Service Rifle. He then branched out into Target Rifle which is now his main event and thinks that one day he will be quite good at it if he practices hard. He has gained several Grand Agg, Queens Final and George’s badges in his time but it is team shooting he relishes most. In his opinion there is nothing like a well-oiled team that flows and supports each other, to perform to the best, hence his delight on being in this team with a blend of youth and experience all willing and eager to demonstrate their shooting skills.
