The national rifle shooters have intensified their preparations at the Timehri Rifle Ranges in preparation for the West Indies Fullbore shooting championships to be held from May 8-14, 2023 at the Crabbs Ranges in Antigua/Barbuda.
With only the short range title at stake this year, the national shooters will be looking to reclaim the title they lost by one point to Jamaica last year at the Twickenham Park, Jamaica.
The squad will include defending regional champion Lennox Braithwaite, who won the Grand Aggregate prize at last year’s championships, as well as United States-based Guyanese Sigmund Douglas and John Fraser.
Douglas and Fraser were unavailable last year and their presence is expected to boost the local shooters chances against the region’s top marksmen.
The squad will be captained by Dylan Fields with Leo Romalho as vice-captain.
The other members include Peter Persaud, Ransford Goodluck, Roberto Tiwari, Sherwin Felicien and Ryan Sampson. The coach is former national captain Mahendra Persaud.
Sampson who is the secretary of the Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) said great emphasis is being placed at the 300 yards range which seem to be a weak point for the local squad.
The short range championship is shot over 300, 500 and 600 yards and only three ranges are available in Antigua. Guyana won the long range over 900 and 1000 yards’ ranges title last year.
Meanwhile, the GNRA has ratified its new constitution which paved the way for the Executive Committee to serve for four years.
Sampson said the association’s Annual General Meeting will take place on March 31 but there will be no elections for office bearers at this meeting.
Sampson said this meeting will chart a new course for the association following the recent Covid-19 pandemic which affected its work programme.
He said great emphasis will be placed on recruiting new members both male and female who are interested in the sport.
