Having become national indoor champions earlier in the year, Epsom’s Rifle Team arrived at Bisley with great determination, ready for two weeks of national competitions.
Schools Meeting (14-18 July)
The highlight was winning the Ashburton Shield, the national full-bore championships, by a significant margin of 20 points. Leo Skingley, Gemma Willams, Janice Leung, Theo Maxwell Randeria, Harry Hamlyn, Zoe Moir, Rafi Darwish and Aaron Patel made up the winning team.
The National Schools Fours competition was won by Epsom’s Lucy Hughes, Isabella Matson, Bryce Whitley and Jamie Williams, with Bryce and Lucy also winning the Schools Pairs.
Epsom’s younger shots, Felicia Cheung, Caspar Maxwell Randeria, Amelia Jallot and Med Ghorashi (in Year 9) came second in the Cadet Fours by just two points, with Felicia and Caspar coming second in the Cadet Pairs by just one point.
Individual successes abounded with Leo Skingley and Rafi Darwish shooting so well at 300 yards that they had to shoot against each other, with Leo winning the tie shoot and the Wellington Trophy. Theo Maxwell Randeria came third, meaning that Epsom had the top three scores at 300 yards across the three days. Rafi Darwish won the 300 yard aggregate.
Two Epsom teams of four came second and third in the Victoria College Trophy. After leading the team to win the Ashburton, Leo got down to shoot in the heat after the competition had finished and coached himself to win the Spencer Mellish Trophy with a score of 47.3. Having had a successful day, Epsom also won a number of other trophies including the Cheltenham Cup, Garry, Kinder, Rutland, Seymour Shield, Epsom Trophy and, in combination with the OE team score, the Lucas.
Imperial Meeting (19-27 July)
Eight talented pupils were selected to represent their nations in the Home Countries Cadet International Match. Zoe Moir, Rafi Darwish, Leo Skingly, Gemma Williams and Jamie Williams shot for the winning Welsh Team. The first time that Wales have won in over 20 years. Mrs Jeens was Adjutant.
Theo Maxwell Randeria was selected for England and Amelia was reserve for Scotland, with Harry Hamlyn shooting for Scotland and scoring a maximum score of 105/105.
A number of pupils qualified for the second stage of the George’s, with Janice Leung making it to the George’s Final. The College had an extraordinary seven pupils qualify for the Kings second stage with Gemma Williams and Jancie Leung making it to the final 100 adult competitors and shooting in one of the most prestigious individual competitions in the world.
“Epsom pupils were selected to shoot in a variety of international matches and adult-level county matches.”
Theo Maxwell Randeria shot for Hereford and Worcester and captained the British Cadet Rifle Team in a long-range match. Aaron Patel, Leo Skingley, Harry Hamlyn, Janice Leung and Rafi Darwish represented UK Cadets. Zoe Moir shot for the adult London & Middlesex team whilst Amelia Jallot shot for Yorkshire. Leo Skingley gained his third adult cap for Wales in the National Match, of which Clare Jeens was Adjutant.
“The remaining Epsom pupils teamed up with some Sedbergh cadets and beat the actual Royal Navy in the inter-services match.”
In August, Theo Maxwell Randeria toured to Scotland with the British Cadet Rifle Team. Mr Nuthall was the Adjutant with Mrs Jeens assisting. Rafi Darwish and Aaron Patel toured Jersey with the UK Cadet Rifle Team.
The Team are hugely grateful to everyone who made their success possible. To the OE coaches and recent leavers for coaching. Also to Colour Sergeant Reilly, our School Staff Instructor, for keeping us on track throughout the week. Thank you to Mrs Donoghue (Miss Myagkova) for making everything run smoothly, to Miss Farish for her care and attention to detail, and to Mr Finn for his help and insight. The Team are indebted to Mrs Jeens for her tireless energy and ideas, and to Mr Emeny, Epsom’s Shooting Assistant for his incredible hard work throughout the year. Mr Nuthall steps down as Head of Shooting in September and couldn’t have wished for more in his last year. Well done all!
