All at Scottish Target Shooting are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96, as many of our members and partners will be too.
Her Majesty was always a huge supporter of sport and the role it plays in society, keenly demonstrated by her unwavering support for the Commonwealth Games and her connection and patronage with shooting organisations such as the NRA and NSRA. Her presence will be greatly missed across the global community but particularly in sport and across the Commonwealth and we offer our sincere condolences to their Majesties the King and Queen Consort and the whole Royal Family. There will now be an official mourning period of 12 days.
UK government have now published The Demise of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: National Mourning Guidance for the public and businesses. The most pertinent excerpt for sport and sports club is provided below:
MAJOR EVENTS, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
There is no obligation to cancel or postpone events and sporting fixtures, or close entertainment venues during the National Mourning period. This is at the discretion of individual organisations. As a mark of respect, organisations might wish to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the State Funeral. They are under no obligation to do so and this is entirely at the discretion of individual organisations.
If sporting fixtures or events are planned for the day of the State Funeral, organisations may want to adjust the event timings so they do not clash with the timings of the funeral service and associated processions. As a mark of respect, and in keeping with the tone of National Mourning, organisers may wish to hold a period of silence and/or play the National Anthem at the start of events or sporting fixtures, and players may wish to wear black armbands.
As stated previously, STS does not have any events planned over this time so this will not impact on our schedule. As club’s will note from the extract above, it is up to clubs to proceed as they see fit. Clubs will need to judge the mood in relation to any decisions they make therefore STS would advise that any club with an event scheduled over the next 12 days have a dialogue with organisers, partners, members and entrants to decide if proceeding is the most suitable course of action.
Should we receive any additional state guidance we will be sure to pass this on to help clubs with their decision making process.