Going great guns as team enjoy away day
Budding young footballers from Crieff hit a target of a different kind when they tried their hand at a sport synonymous with the countryside recently.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is sponsoring Crieff Juniors FC’s 2008 squad and hosted the lads at Gleneagles Shooting and Fishing School for an afternoon of clay shooting.
This culminated in the team being presented with new BASCbranded waterproof jackets, which the players will sport before matches and training sessions.
The squad – most of whom had never shot before – learned about all aspects of gun safety and handling a shotgun during their visit.
They were then given the opportunity to try shooting some easy targets, before embarking on a mini-competition under the watchful eye of expert coaches.
Out of 32 targets, Lewis Blair – who was firing a shotgun for the first time – was the ‘top gun’ of the day having shot 25 clays.
He was followed by Lochie Dodd with 23 hits and Archie Skinner with 22.
Archie, who is also a BASC young shot member and was instrumental in setting up the sponsorship arrangement, received the branded jackets from BASC’s public affairs manager in Scotland, Ross Ewing.
Archie said: “It is absolutely fantastic that we have been able to secure sponsorship from BASC,
as well as a number of exciting shooting-themed away days for my team-mates and I.
“Shooting is such an enjoyable sport, and I think it is really important that other young people like me have the opportunity to experience it and take it up as a hobby.
“Everyone at Crieff Juniors is grateful to BASC and Gleneagles for facilitating such an enjoyable day for us. We are looking forward to the next one already.”
The squad also enjoyed an introductory presentation on the link between shooting and conservation, and the importance
of shooting to Scotland’s rural economy.
Ross said: “We are absolutely delighted to be sponsoring the Crieff Juniors 2008 squad, and facilitating what we hope will be an enduring relationship with shooting sports.
“The team shot very well indeed considering the vast majority were complete beginners. It is quite clear that football is not the only sport in which these boys have potential.
“We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Nick Raby and his team at Gleneagles for facilitating what was a fantastic introduction to shooting, and we look forward to further supporting the squad and developing their interest in
shooting in the months ahead.”
Both BASC and Crieff Juniors FC thanked Gleneagles-based coaches David Harris, Greg Vears, Gerry Rattray and Ross Kirton for making the day possible.