There are five honours and awards in the gift of the NSRA.
Vice-Presidency of the NSRA
Whilst some of the Association’s Vice-Presidents are from outside the NSRA, it is also the highest honour that the Association can bestow on one of its members.
The Vice-Presidents of the NSRA are re-elected annually by the Shooting Council at their first meeting of the calendar year. It is open to any member of the Shooting Council to propose a person to be elected a Vice-President. This is normally done at the time of the annual elections, but may be done at any meeting of the Council.
Honorary Life Membership of the NSRA
Honorary Life Membership is an award solely in the gift of the Board of Management.
Special Service Award
The Awards were established in 1972 to recognise exceptional services to small-bore and airgun shooting. At its inception there were four classes of award:
-
The Gold Award
-
The Silver Award
-
The Bronze Award
-
The Diploma
The scheme was extended in 1999 by the addition of:
-
The Certificate of Meritorious Service
The awards are the responsibility of the Special Awards Committee, which comprises of five members of the Shooting Council who are not members of any other committee of the Association.
Nominations for an award are made on a form available from the Secretary to the Special Awards Committee. The form can be downloaded from the link below. The nomination will specify details of the work done by the nominee for the sport, but will not seek an award of a specified level, which will be a matter for the Committee.
Category A clubs send their nominations through their County Association which may wish to add information on work the nominee has done at local or county level. Category B, C and D organisations make their recommendations direct to the Committee. The Committee may seek further advice on any application from any other affiliated organisation for which the nominee is known to have worked.
Having considered each nomination, the Committee will make their recommendations on awards to the Chairman of the Shooting Council for his approval. The Chairman of the Council has the right to ask the Committee to consider any person he considers qualifies for an award, and the Committee may also initiate nominations themselves.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards comprise a beribboned medal and a signed certificate. The Diploma and Certificate Awards are of a signed certificate. Awards will be presented at an appropriate function as agreed between the nominating organisation and the NSRA.
Where possible nominations should be made without the knowledge of the person being recommended and all correspondence and discussions treated as confidential until an official announcement of an award is made.
Distinguished Service Award
The Awards were established in 1937 to recognise the service given by those acting as secretaries of clubs, associations and other organisations affiliated to the NSRA.
The award can be made whilst the secretary is in post or after retirement and is made in recognition of any period of service subject to a minimum of five years. A beribboned medal is issued in respect of the first five years of service, and bars for attachment to the ribbon are issued for each subsequent five-year period.
Applications for awards will normally be made by the President or Chairman of the club or association and may be made at any time to the Secretary of the NSRA. No special application form is required, but the letter of application should include information on the first date of election as secretary, and on the dates of subsequent re-elections.
Awards will be published in On Target. Applicants should notify Headquarters if they wish publication to be delayed until after the presentation has taken place.
Cafferata Award
The Award was established in 1979 following the retirement Mr. Gerald W. Cafferata in May 1978 from the various posts he held with the Association. These included membership of the Council for 32 years, 17 years as Vice-Chairman, membership of the Executive Committee for 31 years and Chairmanship of the Pistol Committee and Free Rifle Committee for 26 years and 22 years respectively.
A fund was raised through an appeal and a draw. The capital was invested and the income therefrom is used to give a monetary award to a promising junior who may be in any discipline governed by the NSRA and the Rules of the ISSF. Inflation and interest rate changes have reduced the value of the fund and the income since the award was inaugurated and it is now augmented by donations from a small number of individual members.
Nominations for the award may be made by any club official, coach or member of the NSRA. Nominations should be submitted to the Secretary of the NSRA by 31st May. No special application form is required, but the letter of nomination should include details of the nominee, information on their shooting history and the reasons for being nominated for the award.
The award winner will be decided by the Board of Management. The award may be divided. It may also be withheld in any year if in the opinion of the Board there is no suitable candidate, or for external reasons for which the Association is not responsible. If the award is withheld, the interest will be reinvested.