Caithness couple in with a shot at Commonwealth Games

MARRIED after meeting through the love of their sport, a husband and wife have a real shot at representing their country in the Commonwealth Games.

James and Sarah Henderson first met when they were ranked among the best shooters in the country.

Two years after walking down the aisle they have a high chance of walking out together at the opening ceremony at Celtic Park in July.

The couple, from Larel, near Watten, along with Fiona Crowden, a vet from Wick, have been selected for the Scottish high performance squad, which will decide who represents Scotland in the 50-metre prone rifle event at the shooting range in Glasgow in July.

Competition is tight with only two male and two female places available, but all three contenders are said to have an excellent chance of being picked.

Sarah (32) first met James (40) in 2005 during a meeting of the high performance squad and the couple got married in May 2012.

Sarah is ranked as one of the favourites and said it would be a dream if she could qualify along with her husband.

"It would be amazing if James and I both qualified," she said. It is through the sport we met and it is our shared passion. To both be there at a home games would be unbelievably special." Sarah first learned to shoot during her time at junior school in Crieff, when her French teacher encouraged all pupils to get involved in the sport.

She continued to train at high school when she was selected for the British schools team and also competed as a student at St Andrews University.

Sarah has been competing for Scotland and Great Britain at senior level since 2005 and has recently given up her job to train full time in her bid to qualify for the games and the world championships in Spain in September. Despite being considered one of the favourites to grab one of the two places available, she is taking nothing for granted.

"To qualify for the Commonwealth Games you have to be on the high performance squad. The next stage is a qualifying window when certain competitions count towards qualifying for one of the two places," she said.

"We have been travelling quite a lot and there are only three competitions left in the qualifying window before the announcement of the squad is made in June. I am training full time, which includes gym work and firing range practice, while James fits his training around his job.

"I have been working really hard towards this and all I can do is put in the best scores I possibly can and hope for the best.

"There has been a change in how they score the competitions so it is a big unknown. We will have to wait to see the outcome of the outdoor competitions and find out who is on form as close to the time as possible."

If the couple qualify for the squad it will be the second time a husband-and-wife team have qualified for the Commonwealth Games – the first being Malcolm and Sarah Cooper from England.

Caithness has a proud tradition of shooters who have represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, including Sinclair Bruce, the late Mark Campbell from Armadale and William McNeill from Castletown.

Caithness Small-Bore Rifle Association captain John Sinclair said to have three shooters from the far north representing the country would be massive for the sport in the area.

"It is absolutely fantastic that three shooters are within a shout of representing Scotland," he said.

"Caithness has a high standard of shooting, with the Wick Old Stagers involved in national competition and the county leading in the national leagues."

Sinclair Bruce, Scotland national rifle coach, said all three shooters had a good chance of making the squad.

"There are six women in the running for the two female places," said Mr Bruce, a native of Haster.

"There are only three competitions left to determine who gets chosen and I’m sure Fiona and Sarah will be entering all three.

"James’s situation is different as one male place has already been filled and there are five men competing for the final spot."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.