At the AGM it was incorrectly announced the new Club Champion was Derek Street. This was incorrect due to a counting error, for which I sincerely apologise.
My apologies also go to Trevor Smith. Trevor now retains the title of Club Champion and the cup will be returned to Trevor at the next shoot.
Many thanks to all those who stayed after the shoot to help clear away. It made a huge difference and we got cleared away in record time. Your assistance is always appreciated even though it might not have been said at the time.
Thank you as well to everyone who helped set up.
Apologies
Our apologies for the lateness in issuing the Christmas shoot handicap prizes. I hope all those who attended Sunday’s shoot have received their prize. If not, please mention it when you pay at the next shoot.
Updates
Over the past few months, we have been experiencing a few battery failures. It was discovered that not all the batteries were being charged due to loose connections. This has now been rectified with thanks to JD. We have also purchased 6 new heavy-duty batteries suitable for the traps. This now gives us a few spares should the need ever arise. We have also experienced some controllers failing. These have been replaced with new ones.
One of our members asked why the membership fees had increased, and whether it should have been voted on and approved by the membership.
The membership fees have always been matched to cover the costs of insurance and land rent. I am sure everyone has experienced the increase in insurance over the past couple of years and we also expect an increase in land rent as we have not seen a rise in the past 5 years. Regarding membership voting, this only applies to the election of the committee. The committee you elected meet up and makes all decisions regarding the running of the club. Club matters are discussed and voted upon during these meetings and throughout the year. Only items that get the majority vote are passed for action. The committee will always welcome any observations, ideas and constructive criticism. Your comments on how your committee can improve the club are appreciated as always and we are always looking for more committee members.
Reminders
Shooting now starts at 10.00 am. There will be an exception at the next shoot due to holding the AGM before starting.
Member fees for rejoining or wishing to join were due at the end of March. There will be a grace period until the end of April. Thank you to all who have rejoined.
We hope to see you at the next shoot.
Dear Members,
As a not-for-profit volunteer-run shooting club, it is incumbent upon the membership to help out when they can.
Some of you already do this during the set-up by loading clays, setting up the cages and setting out the layout. Thank you.
Everyone helps by breaking down the cages and taking the bins back to the clubhouse at the end of the shoot and we are very grateful for your help. However, I know in the past, this is all we have asked of you – but now we need a little more.
At the end of each shoot, it takes at least 5-6 people to pack away quickly and efficiently. Recently, there have been as few as 2 people packing away and this takes hours. This is not sustainable and unfair on those left to clear up.
We believe we have 2 choices:
Option 1)
More members to help clear away. We need at least 2 volunteers, preferably more, to supplement the committee members who are in attendance. These volunteers will be asked to drive the buggies and collect the traps to take back to the containers. The traps will be loaded into the containers by the committee or other volunteers. They will also be needed to collect the cages and stands. Easy work – it only takes a little effort and about 30-40 minutes of your time.
Please note, that when you volunteer, it is only for that day’s shoot. We are not looking for you to commit for the whole year. With 50 members regularly shooting, it will only require each of you to volunteer once or twice per year. I believe this is a reasonable request to keep the club going.
To ensure we have enough volunteers, please state on your booking form in the ‘comments’ section, that you can help clear away. If we do not get at least 2 volunteers, it leaves us with option 2.
Option 2)
This will only occur if we don’t get volunteers to sign up to help clear away. Regretfully, we will have to cancel that week’s shoot. This is not an option any of us wants to do. To ensure there is enough time to evaluate if we have enough volunteers and advise membership accordingly, we will be closing the shoot bookings on a Wednesday night. This way, if we don’t have the numbers, those who have booked will be informed on a Thursday.
All of us like to shoot and a volunteer-led club is the only way to survive and to keep costs down. Please help your club and volunteer.
Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.
With kind regards from The HansonCPC Committee
This is a not-for-profit shooting club run by volunteers.
Over the past couple of years, we have struggled to get volunteers to join the committee (an ageing committee). A committee is vital for any club to survive, without a committee to carry out the administrative duties, there is no club.
Being on the committee does not mean you have to be at every shoot, it does not mean you have to set up or pack away after every shoot. What it does do, is allow you to give your suggestions for improvement, opinions and vote on how the club is run. Yes, there are some duties to perform, but these are voluntary and some duties are just alternates should another committee member not be available at the time due to holidays, etc.
There are not many duties to carry out and we only convene a committee meeting 2 to 3 times in the year. As a small incentive, we give all committee members free membership after serving their first year and each year after that while serving on the committee.
If you want to join, please contact any existing committee member or shout out at the next AGM.
As you will be aware the clocks change as from 31st March. As a result, from today all future events will start at 10.00 am until the clocks change again in October.
Due to ground conditions, access & availability, the committee have decided to cancel the coming weekends shoot.
We trust you will understand and look forward to seeing you at the next one.
Tickets for the Christmas Raffle will be on sale from the next shoot.
Prizes to be given out at the Christmas shoot.
Tickets are £5 per strip. Please bring cash and get your raffle tickets from Wendy.
You may have noted the change in start time for the upcoming shoots when you booked in.
Starting times have been put back to 10.30 to allow more time in daylight hours to set-up the shoot.
Recently, setting up the shoot is taking longer due to the lack of volunteers. We manage to keep costs and resulting shoot fees low because we are a non-profit club that can only exist by members volunteering to lend a hand. Your club has a small committee that organises and completes all the background tasks that most of you are unaware of. With the exception of a couple of regular non-committee members, most of you turn up, enjoy the shoot and leave. We all have busy lives but we do need your help in setting up.
We are not asking you to arrive exceptionally early, and it is no longer necessary to pull out traps or to carry boxes of clays and batteries to each stand, Neither do we ask you to haul the gun racks and cages to each stand – we’ve got that covered. So what can you do?
The last and easiest task is all we are asking you to help with, and it will only take a little effort and just a few minutes – you can even do it in pairs so you can carry on talking to your friends. When you arrive at the shoot at your normal time (we are not asking you to come earlier), and before you have a cup of tea, coffee or bacon roll, take a walk down the field, and if you see a trap that is not full of clays, load it up. All the traps are unarmed and safe until they have been loaded. Please do not turn them on. Loading a trap takes less than 5 minutes. Your help will make a difference, if we have enough volunteers to do at least 1 trap each, it is likely your assistance may not be required, and we are only asking you to do at least 1 trap.
Our thanks in anticipation of your assistance.
It is sad to inform you that Tim has passed away. Despite his declining health, Tim put on a brave face, wore a big smile, and always had a kind word for others. He said it was not about the scores but the enjoyment of shooting in the company of his good friends – which is so true for many of us. We are grateful he spent some of his time with us on the weekends.
Our deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences go to his family and closest friends.
How lucky we were to have a friend that makes saying goodbye so hard.
Last year we raised £600 for Cancer Research UK
This year, the 100 bird Charity shoot is open to members and guests for a flat fee of £25 per person. We will also waive the booking fee to encourage as many people as possible. The committee will choose the charity for this year but we welcome any suggestions you may have.
The layout will be designed by Derek Street & Mark Walker. If possible, please attend early to help with the setting up. Your assistance is always appreciated.
There is a prize for the High Gun on the day which will be based on the handicap system. Eligible members only.