With the greatest regret, the Board and Staff announce the cancellation of the Scottish and Bisley National Rifle Meetings for 2021. Here at the NSRA we were very much looking forward to being able to resume our major Rifle Championship Meetings this year, so as you can imagine these were very difficult decisions to make and, as such, they were not taken lightly.
The factors that have driven these decisions include the following:
Scotland (June/July)
- The local council have advised the venue that permission is unlikely to be granted for the event.
- Scotland has generally managed the pandemic more cautiously and has not published any specific dates for easing of restrictions beyond April 2021 (Scottish roadmap)
Bisley (August)
- Prof J Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England warned on 1st March that “we are still in a zone of great uncertainty” and the Prime Minister indicated that there is "no guarantee England will end restrictions on 21st June".
- This uncertainty affects both NSRA and NRA, so fixed dates for the hire of Century range cannot be guaranteed
- Changing accommodation, supplier and contractor arrangements at short notice is at best very challenging and prevents the meeting running this year.
- The roadmap for easing restrictions depends on so many factors, especially with the appearance of new variants and vaccination roll-out, which could easily affect the lead time (English roadmap)
The wellbeing and safety of volunteers, staff and competitors is paramount.
Contingency Plan
The Rifle Committee and NSRA Staff have been working hard on a contingency plan involving Regional long range qualifying events leading to a final at a suitable venue in late summer. Please keep an eye on the website and social media for more details and entry forms. There will also be details published regarding contingency plans for the ELEY, Queen Alexandra, Astor and Champion of Champions.
The cancellation of Bisley and Scotland together with the Junior International will have an impact on team selection for the Dewar, Drew, Pershing, Randle & Wakefield teams. Details will be published separately.
Bisley Centenary (2022)
Next year is a very important milestone in the history of the NSRA since it will mark the centenary of the first Smallbore Rifle Meeting held at Bisley. Planning has already started for what will be an historic and very special event coinciding with our Patron, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Refunds
There are two options regarding refunds for both events:
1. Carryover entry fees to 2022 to avoid any possible price fluctuations
2. Request a refund – please send details to:
We understand this news will be extremely disappointing, but we very much hope that you have a clear understanding of the reasons for these very challenging decisions and that you will enjoy the regional competition.
Kindest regards
Board of Management & NSRA Team