![]() Dominion of Canada Rifle Association Logo | |
Formation | April 1, 1868 |
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Type | Shooting organization |
Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
Official language | English |
Affiliations | International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) |
Website | www.dcra.ca |
The Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA; French : Association de Tir Dominion du Canada) is a Canadian shooting sports organization governing fullbore target rifle disciplines. The Association was founded in 1868 and incorporated by an Act of Parliament 63-64 Victoria Chapter 99, assented to July 7, 1900, to promote and encourage the training of marksmanship throughout Canada. [1]
DCRA isa member of the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations and sends teams to World Championships every four years. [2] As of 2022, DCRA teams had won the Palma Trophy four times for Canada - in 1901; 1967; 1972 and 1982.
On April 1, 1868, Adjutant General of the Militia General MacDougall called a meeting in Ottawa, where it was decided to form the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association, bringing together thirty three disparate associations. [3]
The first Annual Prize Meeting was held just outside Montreal. In excess of 900 competitors turned up to compete for $5,500 in prize money (equivalent to nearly $200,000 in 2022). The DCRA has continued to hold prize meetings every year since, except during the two World Wars. The Rideau Range near Ottawa served as the national range until 1897. In 1898 the Meeting moved to Rockcliffe, which permitted shooting from 200 to 1000 yards with room for extension back to 2000.
The DCRA erected a plaque in 1906 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ottawa which is dedicated to Lt Colonel John MacPherson (1830-1906), who served as its treasurer for 36 years. [4] In 1921, the Association moved again to Connaught Ranges, which they were granted the use of in perpetuity. The DCRA erected a memorial plaque at the DCRA building at the Connaught Ranges (Shirley's Bay) which is dedicated in memory of the members of the DCRA who gave their lives in World War II. [5]
In 1896, the DCRA ran a competition for the construction of a pavilion on Bisley Camp. [6] This was to serve as a residence for the Canadian national team when competing at the UK National Rifle Association's annual Imperial Meeting, to which the DCRA have sent teams since at least 1871 [7] [8] [9] The contract was awarded to the firm of C J Saxe and R M Rodden of Montreal, who completed "the Macdonald Stewart Pavilion" in 1897 (more often known at Bisley as "Canada House"). Aside from providing a comfortable accommodation for the team, the specification called for extensive use of Canadian woods, demonstrating the versatility of the materials to all visitors. In 2003 the building became Grade-II listed by Historic England and has since been used as a filming location for Netflix series The Crown, as a stand-in for period locations in North America.
The provincial rifle associations are: [10]
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the governing body for full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom. The Association was founded in 1859 with the founding aim of raising funds for an annual national rifle meeting to improve standards of marksmanship. Today the NRA continues this objective as well as organising civilian target shooting and selecting British teams to contest the ICFRA World Championships. The National Shooting Centre at Bisley is a wholly owned subsidiary of the association.
Fullbore target rifle (TR) is a precision rifle shooting sport discipline governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA). The sport evolved as a British and Commonwealth of Nations discipline distinct from service rifle (SR) shooting in the late 1960s. Its development was heavily influenced by the British National Rifle Association (NRA). Due to this history, it is usually contested amongst the shooting events at the Commonwealth Games, although not at the Olympics. World championships are held on a four-year cycle. The annual NRA Imperial Meeting at Bisley in the UK is globally recognised as an historic annual meeting for the discipline.
The National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA) is the national governing body for all small-bore rifle and pistol target shooting in the United Kingdom, including airgun and match crossbow shooting.
Sydney High School Rifle Club is a Rifle Shooting club established in 1883 within Sydney Boys High School. It is based at the ANZAC Rifle Range in Sydney, Australia. The club is affiliated to the New South Wales Rifle Association and participates in competitions conducted by the AAGPS.
The Elcho Shield is an annual long range shooting competition between national teams of eight from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The trophy holder was originally able to choose the venue of the competition, however, since the NRA's move to Surrey from Wimbledon in 1890, the competition has been held at National Shooting Centre, Bisley in Surrey, England. It is usually contested during the NRA Imperial Meeting.
The Challenge Trophy is the trophy presented to Canada's men's amateur soccer champions as part of Canada Soccer's annual National Championships. The men's competition was created with the inauguration of the Dominion of Canada Football Association in 1912 and the first club winners were presented the Connaught Cup in 1913. The first Challenge Trophy, donated by The Football Association, was presented to the Dominion of Canada Football Championship winners for the first time in 1926. The new Challenge Trophy was presented to the men's amateur champions for the first time in 2004.
The Welsh Target Shooting Federation (WTSF) is the governing body for shooting sports in Wales. The Federation is based within the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The WTSF represents and supports its member bodies in promoting and developing shooting sports in Wales, engaging with Sport Wales, Team Wales, the Welsh Government, British Shooting and others.
The Canadian Armed Forces Small Arms Concentration (CAFSAC) and the Canadian Army Skill At Arms Meeting (CASAM) is a series of shooting matches conducted annually by the Canadian Forces at the Connaught Ranges and Primary Training Centre, located near Shirley's Bay in Ottawa, Ontario. The matches were preceded by the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) National Service Arms Competition, also conducted annually at Connaught Ranges, and were the latest iteration of a series of Canadian shooting competitions dating back to 1869 until 2019.
Connaught Cadet Training Centre is a training centre for Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, and Royal Canadian Sea Cadets since 1989. It is located at the Connaught Range and Primary Training Centre (CRPTC), in Ottawa, Ontario, and trains approximately 500 cadets each summer in 3, 4, 6, and 9 week courses. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence.
Shooting sports in Canada are practised across the country at recreational and competitive levels, including internationally and at the Olympics. Each province has its own organizations that govern the various disciplines. Many of the disciplines are connected nationally and some are part of larger international organizations.
The National Shooting Centre, often referred to simply as Bisley, is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large Bisley Camp complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located between the villages of Bisley and Brookwood in Surrey. The site is wholly owned by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) is the international association for the fullbore rifle shooting sports of Target Rifle ('TR') (in the US 'Palma' Rifle) and F-Class, which are long range competitions shot at distances between 300 and 900 meters or 300 to 1,000 yards depending on the range. F-Class shooters often shoot concurrently with the world's long-range TR shooters and use the same targets, except that the F-Class target has an extra ring half the diameter of the smallest in use for TR. ICFRA manages the programme of World Championships and other major matches for Fullbore Rifle and seeks to standardize the competition rules for TR and F-Class around the world.
Andrew St George Tucker (1937–2003) was a Scottish-born, sports shooter who represented England and Great Britain shooting smallbore and fullbore target rifle. He won the Queen's Prize at Bisley twice, medalled at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland as well as winning the NSRA Lord Roberts Trophy for smallbore, He also won the Grand Aggregates at both the NRA Imperial Meeting and NSRA National Smallbore Meeting. He is the first and only person to win the "big four" of both British titles and both Grand Aggregates. He ran Andrew Tucker Gunsmiths, manufacturing firearms and target shooting equipment including jackets, rifle slings and gloves.
The National Rifle Association of Australia (NRAA) is the national governing body for Fullbore rifle shooting in Australia.
The National Rifle Association of New Zealand (NRA) is the national governing body for Fullbore rifle shooting in New Zealand.
The Sovereign's Prize is a British fullbore target rifle shooting competition. It is the climax of the National Rifle Association's annual Imperial Meeting and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport globally. The prize is typically referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch.
This article lists the main target shooting events and their results for 2017.
The sport of rifle shooting at Cambridge University has been practised since at least the early 19th century. Beginning as part of the military training of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, it has since been conducted by a number of student clubs, and is currently carried out predominantly by the Cambridge University Rifle Association and Cambridge University Small Bore Club, with some participation by the Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club for the discipline of gallery rifle.
The Imperial Meeting is a major annual target shooting competition hosted by the National Rifle Association on the historic Bisley Camp in England.
Alain Marion was a French Canadian sport shooter. He competed in the discipline of fullbore target rifle (TR), and won three Commonwealth Games medals, including gold in the 1986 fullbore pairs. He set the record score for the Sovereign's Prize twice, and was the second shooter to win it three times.