By Troy Peters
Guyana has lost a sports icon with the passing of national rifle shooter Ransford Roxroy Goodluck, who died on August 1 (Emancipation Day) at the age of 71 years following a period of illness.
Goodluck was regarded as one of Guyana and the Caribbean’s most prolific marksmen, having won local and regional championships on many occasions. He represented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games, as well as the West Indies team at Bisley, England, regarded as the mecca of international rifle shooting.
He had the honour of being Guyana’s flagbearer at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, by being a seasoned campaigner at the Games, with participation in 1994 (Victoria, Canada), 1998 (Malaysia), 2002 (London), 2006, 2010 (India), and finally in 2018 (Australia).
In 2014, he managed Guyana’s full-bore team at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the team placed a creditable 6th place.
Goodluck started shooting back in 1972 when he joined the Guyana Police Force, and he excelled at rifle and handgun shooting competitions in the Force.
However, his career blossomed when he joined the Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) in 1979 after Captain Paul Archer, late Neville Denny, and close friend (Ret’d) Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe, who had gone to Barbados the previous year and returned with several prizes, persuaded him to do so. Goodluck was on the local squad to the West Indies full-bore shooting championships and returned home as the regional junior title holder. That was the beginning of an illustrious rifle-shooting career.
He won his first senior West Indies individual title in 1995 in Guyana and followed up with championship honours in 1998 (Barbados), 2000 (Jamaica), 2004 (Trinidad and Tobago), 2010 and 2018 in (Barbados) – seven years of regional dominance by any full-bore shooter in the history of the West Indies.
Locally, Goodluck won several national individual titles and Spoon shoots, and based on his performances, he was awarded National Sportsman in 2005 and was national runner-up sportsman in 1995, 1998, and 2004.
He served as national team captain and led Guyana to battle against the very best of shooters from Antigua/Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
He was phenomenal at long range, and the team depended heavily on his marksmanship at the 600, 900, and 1000-yard ranges.
Goodluck was the Guyana Police Force armourer for many years and retired at the rank of chief inspector.
“You never retire from rifle shooting. You grow old in it, and you can compete as long as you can see the target and be physically able to compete”, Goodluck said during a recent interview. Despite many years of physical and mental demand of the sport, he was actively preparing to compete at Bisley next year and was practicing up to a few weeks ago.
Goodluck will be laid to rest on Wednesday following a funeral service at Christ Church in Waterloo Street. Rifle shooting in Guyana, the West Indies, and internationally has lost a remarkable marksman and armourer.
