It is with much excitement and anticipation that the Great Britain Rifle Team shall imminently depart the United Kingdom, bound for Canada to compete in a series of regional and national championships before contesting the Canada and Commonwealth Matches. With the original captaincy having been announced four years ago, this is another in a series of overseas teams that have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight of the travelling team of twenty are new caps. Over the coming weeks, the team will only have three days off for R&R – and will finish with nine consecutive days of shooting. With everyone still warm from the NRA’s 154th Imperial Meeting, the atmosphere over recent weeks has been one of focused preparation.

As one of the new caps on his first tour, I have been struck by how early the preparations begin for departure. All rifles have been checked over by our reputable armourer since the meeting. The team’s WhatsApp group has been abuzz with discussions about the unique bits of kit we might need to deal with the hot and humid North American climate. On Wednesday, the arduous process of packing, weighing, and rebalancing the team’s baggage began. Throughout all of this, our experienced Adjutant has guided us with the greatest of good humour and calmness, making what is clearly a complex job appear effortless.

In a few short minutes, we will board our flight and I will surely not be the only one who feels greatly relieved once we have made it onto the plane and can have a few hours to relax. We are due to arrive in the late afternoon, before collecting our hire vehicles and making our way to a local motel. The following day will see us make the long drive to Quebec, before getting ourselves ready for the Valcartier Invitational.

I’d like to finish by thanking all of our sponsors, without whose kind and generous support we would not have reached this point. I would also like to extend my thanks to our wonderful management team and the senior members of the team for their advice and support since we formed as a team last autumn. For our supporters back home, please keep checking in here to see our progress and results.

Written by Simon Hayton