PW_1_2024

IPA News

National Clay Shooting competition Steve Bretherton, Secretary, 8 Region

No one went away empty handed, and everyone went away with an IPA memento. Regional Secretary Steve Bretherton, was delighted to present Jules and Sam with certificates of appreciation, for not only giving up their time, but for their good humour, patience and excellent coaching throughout the day. The IPA and the event organisers would like to thank the event sponsors, Giles Marriott Ltd. The company provided several shotguns free of charge, shotgun cartridges at cost and £100 worth of prizes. The support provided Giles Marriott Ltd. doesn’t end there; Julian is offering a free gun fit to any Section UK member (usually around £100) and a discount on any gun of up to 10%.

Cambridge Gun Club, just outside the village of Cottenham, 20 minutes north of Cambridge was the venue for this year’s National Clay Shooting competition. On the day after storm Babet struck, 25 members, family and friends of all ages gathered in the warmth of the club café for the obligatory safety briefing. Fortified by a hot drink, and in many cases by a bacon baguette, we took to the training stands for the morning’s 20 practice shots. Our coaches for the day were our very own President Clive Wood, a keen clay shooter, along with Julian Arnold and his son, Sam. Julian is the gun shop manager for Giles Marriott guns and Sam is a gunsmith. Several people had shot before, but most were complete novices. Breaking into three groups, Clive, Julian and Sam talked us through the basics. Everyone managed to hit at least one clay during the practice session, which was no mean feat, with clays travelling at up to 60kph, with a variety of trajectories, angles, elevations, speeds and distances. After lunch, and with the weather turning decidedly soggy, we returned to the stands for the competition proper. The competition comprised 10 clays, from each of the three stands. Local honour was upheld when Andy Chatfield, from Cambridgeshire Branch, came second, pipped at the post by Brian Kimber, after a shoot off when both hit 21 out of 30 clays. Both received vouchers to spend at Giles Marriott Ltd, a family gun business in Market Harborough.

IPA go Clay Shooting

1st place

2nd place

Winner

Police Resettlement Event David King, Surrey Branch I put my name forward to promote the IPA at October’s Police Resettlement event, at The QEII building in Central London. VP Colin Hutt arranged for flyers, Police World magazines and a banner to be sent to me. I would be sharing a table with Claire Christian, from Blue Line Press at the event. The event proved popular, with lots of officers and police staff visiting our table to talk about the benefits of the IPA. The event attracted a lot of officers from London and the surrounding Counties. I also met some IPA members, who had not attended any events since joining . I spoke about how much personally; I have benefitted since joining the IPA in 1985. I spoke about the International friendship events I have attended, and how many friends, throughout Europe, USA and Canada, I have made as a result. I also highlighted the training events in the magazine, especially to serving officers. I believe the event was worthwhile, and hopefully we have attracted a lot of interest in our IPA as a result.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.1, 2024