RIFLE SHOOTING

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 126, 1 May 1925, Page 6

RIFLE SHOOTING

CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING OPENED. (Par Frew Aisociation.) TRENTHAM, May 1. The rifle championship meeting opened this morning in brilliant weather. A fresh, fluctuating left breeze and passing clouds made occasional dull patches of light, but generally bright sunshine prevailed. The men paraded at eight o’clock, and tvere briefly addressed by Colonel Hughes, chief executive officer. He referred to the death of Colonel Collins, who was for so long associated with rifle shooting, and at liis instance the whole gathering remained silent and bareheaded for a few moments as a mark of respect for the departed chief. In welcoming the competitors Colonel Hughes said that the cause of the postponement of the meeting was deplored, but it waa gratifying that the entries nevertheless were eo good. A number of intending competitors hud perforce to cancel their visit to Trentham this year as a result of the postponement, but others who could not come early in the year counter-balanced these. The total entry was 310, which was the best since the war period. At this season the period of daylight was less and there was a liability to an earlier stoppage of shooting if the afternoons became overcast, therefore the co-operation of .all concerned was necessary to enable the meeting to conclude in the time specified. The men, then moved off to the_ firing mounds to bSgin. the service series. Notable among the absentees is Croxton, a dormer champion, who is suffering from a serious affliction to the eyes due to poisoning, which developed while attending the Greytown meeting lust Week and necessitated his return home before the shooting ended. No. 1 match, ten shots rapid, 300 yards, is completed, but a few cards are outstanding. The leader is J. L. Christenson (Omana), with a score of 46, followed by Captain F. Bolton (Masterton) and F. R. Chapman (Wairoa), each with 41.