Marksmen take aim in open rifle meet
THE Scottish Open golf competition is not the only national sports event taking place in the Highlands this week.
About 200 of Britain’s top marksmen and women travelled to Caithness for the Scottish open rifle meet.
The event, staged at the Second World War airfield at Thurdistoft, near Castletown, may not pull the 50,000 to 60,000 spectators expected at the links course at Castle Stuart, near Inverness. But it has, nonetheless, provided a very useful boost for the Far North tourist trade.
Attractions such as the Castle of Mey and Caithness Horizons in Thurso saw numbers rise as the competition got under way at the weekend.
The venue, just off the main Castletown/Wick road, has been converted into a self-contained tented village by the local organising committee.
It is the third time Thurdistoft has hosted the annual Scottish competition run by the National Small-Bore Rifle Association.
NSRA official Mike Chapman praised the efforts of the small army of volunteers who set up the range and the ancillary facilities.
"They have done an excellent job," he said. "Apart from members of local rifle clubs, we’ve had great help from farmers and contractors in setting up the venue."
Mr Chapman believed the drop of about 40 competitors from last year’s event at Lauder is not solely due to the distance factor.
He said: "We’re in the midst of a recession and there’s not a lot of money about so people are perhaps cutting back on their leisure activities."
The NSRA is impressed by the effort made by the local committee to produce a coloured brochure and to promote a series of outings and activities for the visiting shots. He said: "Caithness is an ideal place for a holiday and I’m sure the committee’s efforts will entice people to come back here for a break."
Mr Chapman, who lives near Cambridge, said the event is timed to coincide with the start of the Scottish school holidays to encourage competitors to make family trips. The previous two competitions at Thurdistoft in 2005 and 2006 each injected an estimated £350,000 into the local economy.
Marty Simpson, secretary of the Caithness Small-Bore Rifle Association, said she has so far had very good feedback from the visiting shots from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
She said: "I think they’re delighted with the hospitality they have received, not least the catering provided by the ladies from Murkle SWRI."
The competition has been staged in Caithness on two other occasions – in Wick in 1988; and in Lower Reiss in 1932 on a farm then lived on by Marty’s mother, Jenny Waugh.
Competition-wise, the shooters enjoyed excellent conditions on Saturday and Sunday but Monday and Tuesday had been made challenging by blustery winds.
Orkney shooter Bobby Spence, fresh from the Inter-Island Games on the Isle of Wight, has been in cracking form.
The 28-year-old engineer, from Kirkwall, has won three trophies and has also booked his place in the final of the Earl Haig Cup, the premier individual shoot.
Also in the final is local shot Fiona Spence, who only took up the sport a couple of years ago. She is the only class-"C" competitor to make the final, which is the climax to the week-long competition this afternoon.
Also in the 20-gun shoot-off are fellow Wick Old Stager John Sinclair; James Henderson, from Watten Rifle Club, and Halkirk RC’s Robbie Campbell.
The line-up includes Caithness-exile Sinclair Bruce, who now lives in Alloway.
The range is also being used to stage the annual Caithness shoot tomorrow and Sunday.