News
Day 21 – Palma Match Day 1
Featured Team Members
Seth Dowley
Seth started shooting in 2008 at Cheltenham College. During Ashburtons, Athelings and early tours, he found he particularly enjoyed the wind coaching side of team matches. As a result he has gone on to coach his county, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, as well as England in the National and Mackinnon, and GB in Canada and South Africa. This will be his ninth overseas tour having been fortunate enough to tour with cadet teams, GB U25s and GB.
He attended the last two World Championships in the USA and New Zealand as an U25 and is thrilled to be going this time with the Palma team. He is looking forward to catching up with overseas friends and building on foundations from the 2023 tour.
Away from the ranges, Seth works as an investment adviser for charities, corporates, and private clients and keeps fit with running, hiking and squash.
Parag Patel
GM GC5 SM SB2 SC2
Parag first started shooting at Epsom College and his prodigious talent was in early evidence when he took gold in the Canadian Grand Aggregate as an Atheling, aged 18, in 1994. Following that, it took him years of learning about mental readiness prior to winning the Bisley Grand Aggregate in 2001. Since then, he has become a regular international shot with this being his 15th GB overseas tour. Despite winning the H.M. Queen’s Prize as well as eight Commonwealth Games medals (4 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze) his proudest accolade is having won the Bisley Grand Aggregate a record of five times 2001, ‘03, ‘20, ‘21 and ‘22.
While his time on the ranges is limited due to NHS commitments, he and his ever-supportive wife Urvi, enjoy their free time watching their three boys compete in their own sporting endeavours.
Under 25s
Toby Cubitt
Toby shot his first Imperial Meeting in 2017, touring with the UK Cadets to Jersey the following year. He was a member of the 2020 Athelings but didn’t tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID also prevented him from visiting South Africa with the GB U19s but he made the most of the alternative tour to the 2021 Scottish Open, winning the Scottish Grand Aggregate by dropping only 2 points.
His 2022 Imperial Meeting was by far his best year, as he finished top 50 in the Grand Aggregate for the first time and received his first England cap in the National Match. In 2023, he competed in the H.M. King’s Final and came 13th. Toby is now preparing to tour South Africa for the first time with the GB U25s.
Toby is mid-way through his studies in Engineering at the University of East Anglia. After his 4-year course he would like to pursue a career in the Motorsport world.
Under 21s
Rory Mace
Rory began shooting smallbore in 2017 before progressing to fullbore with Bradfield College a year later. He was lucky to be part of the winning Ashburton team in 2022 and shoots for Hampshire county. In 2021, Rory was selected to tour Jersey with the UK Cadets and also with the Athelings for their tour to York and Liverpool.
Individually, Rory’s achievements include reaching the St George’s Final in 2022 and 2023, and being the youngest finalist in the H.M. King’s Prize in 2023, finishing in 15th place. This tour will be his first opportunity to shoot outside the British Isles. He is very much looking forward to the challenge of shooting in Bloemfontein and meeting members of the global Target Rifle community.
Away from the range, Rory is studying Design at Loughborough University. He enjoys climbing, mountain biking, and building and flying drones.
Veterans
David Calvert
GM3 SB3 SC2 SM
Bloemfontein is arguably David’s second ‘shooting home’, having competed in all 25 SA Open Championships held there. His first shooting visit to South Africa was to Kimberley in 1996, when his RAF Club team won the Protea Match and he won his first of eight SA Open Championships.
David has represented GB on more than 50 occasions and has toured with GB, Ireland and RAF Club teams to 35 shooting venues in 20 countries across six continents. Individual Target Rifle achievements include four Gold Medals for Northern Ireland over 11 consecutive Commonwealth Games, and three Gold Medals in the H.M. Queen’s Prize. David has also represented GB in Match Rifle, Smallbore Rifle and Service Rifle.
Away from shooting, his interests and activities include family, golf, occasional skiing and scuba diving, and flying as a part-time instructor pilot in the RAF Reserve.
Chris Fitzpatrick
GM SM
This is Chris’s third GB Veterans tour to the World Championships and his inclusion no longer lowers the average age of the team.
He has worked his passage to the Veterans through many teams, the first being the Athelings to Canada in 1967. The same year, he represented Ireland in the National Match and is pleased to say he still makes that team. Full GB representation started in Canada in 1975, he was back there for the Palma in 1982 and again in 2013, that time as Captain. Chris is a H.M. Queen’s Final winner, taking the prize in 1991.
Flying has been Chris’s career, with the majority in the Royal Air Force. The RAF TR team was extremely successful at home, regularly winning in the Inter-Services but also around the world which it toured regularly, including South Africa in 1996 when the RAF team beat the SA Protea team by one point.
Tour Information
Captain’s Foreword
