Submitted by admin on April 23, 2009 - 01:28
Championships and Competitions
One of the principal functions of the New Zealand Small-bore Rifle Association is to arrange the conduct of competitions. The first New Zealand small-bore rifle championship and men's teams' championship was held in 1925. In the following year a ladies' championship (“R” Cup) event was inaugurated. During the next few years the scope of the competitions was widened as new events were introduced. The men's interclub event was divided into five grades, special trophies being the Master Grade Association Cup; the Winchester Cup (1931) for A Grade; the Palma (1935) for B Grade; the Whitcombe and Caldwell Cup (1929) for C Grade, and the Sidney Tisdall Cup (1928) for D Grade. Since 1932 the Turner and Le Brun Cup has been awarded to the competitor gaining the highest aggregate score for the season. A special trophy – the Rhen-West “R” Cup – has been competed for since 1938 by teams using “R” type ammunition. For the duration of the war the New Zealand small-bore rifle championships were abandoned.
Until 1940 New Zealand competitions were organised by the Wellington executive with comparatively little aid from other associations. In 1946 an attempt was made to spread representation and a more fully representative executive was set up. The competitions were widened and several new events were introduced. In that year an annual inter-association match was instituted and, since 1949, a junior championship (Stoddart Cup) and junior inter-association competition have been held. In addition to these, the Ross Shield is awarded to the winner of the annual North v. South Island match.