Pistol Junior International

Bisley 2025

STS Pistol team

The annual Junior International match held at Bisley shooting ground was once again a great success for our athletes.

A team of six shooters competed in five different events over the course of the week. This match affords our athletes the opportunity to compete in both 25m and 10m disciplines which is something they relish as the 25m is not something they are often able to compete in.

The first of the 25m outdoor events was the rapid fire pistol which was a real test of nerve and discipline with athletes required to shoot five separate targets within time limits as short as 4 seconds.

Penny, Bruce, and Gemma all took on this demanding discipline.

Penny excelled in this event, delivering a series of confident and controlled strings in the second half of the match to secure a well-earned bronze medal on a score of 541. As this is a mixed gender event it is also worth mentioning that she had the highest female score.

The second 25m event was the sport pistol in which all 6 athletes were competing. This event is shot over 25m and consists of 30 precision shots followed by 30 rapid-fire shots on turning targets. This is a discipline few athletes in the UK have the chance to train for, due to the scarcity of suitable facilities, but our squad rose to the challenge with determination and skill.

In the Junior Men’s event, Finlay - in only in his second time shooting this discipline - produced a composed performance under pressure. He achieved a personal best, improving by more than 20 points, finishing 4th overall with a score of 566.

When the scores are good, that is one thing, but the athlete to come off the line saying “I really enjoyed that” makes it all the more meaningful.

After shooting 10m before the 25m Bruce settled well to the change in environment and conditions to shoot a very respectable 541.

The JI organising team also allocate athletes to random teams if they do not have enough athletes to create their own. Bruce’s team of 3 came 2nd so he got the chance to step on to the medal podium.

Team with Bruce receiving Silver for 25m Event

In the Junior Women’s competition, Gemma, Emily, Iona, and Penny each gave an outstanding account of themselves.

For Emily and Iona, it was their first time competing in this event, but their Pony Club Tetrathlon background clearly paid off.

Emily shot a superb 282, and Iona an impressive 287, in the rapid fire section of the match. Iona’s score was the highest achieved by any athlete; male or female, therefore earning her a special trophy – The Dick Fillery Trophy for 25m Sport Pistol, what an absolute honour.

Gemma also excelled in this event, displaying remarkable composure and discipline, claiming the gold medal with a brilliant total score of 564.

Her success doubled when, together with Penny and Iona, she secured team gold for the Junior Women’s squad ahead of the West Midlands team. Emily was put in a mixed team with athletes from other regions and they earned the bronze medal.

Bruce and Gemma also competed in the 25m Standard Pistol event, another discipline which involves a variation timing that enables both precision and rapid fire style shooting – the last series of 5 is 5 shots in 10 seconds.

Bruce suffered a malfunction with his pistol in the first detail but followed the correct procedures and was allowed time to fix the pistol before shooting again in the following detail. He held his nerve and shot a respectable 508 leaving him 9th overall. Gemma just missed out on the medal placings, coming 4th overall (2nd female) with a score of 544.)

Moving inside to the 10m air events, the main focus was the two 10m air pistol matches that all 6 athletes were entered in. However, not being one to shy away from a challenge Penny went for one more, competing in the sporter rifle which was also shot on the 10m range. This was a tough field with the South African competitors cleaning up taking all the medals, showing their expertise and forte.

In the air pistol events our athletes were up against some tough competition with athletes on various British Shooting squads being their opponents.

In the Junior Men’s category, Bruce was the first to shoot, and shoot he did! A calm performance where he stuck to the process earned him a fantastic PB of 539! Finlay carried his Sport Pistol form forward, posting a new PB of 545 in his first match; (and 4th place in the 10m GP). Then on day 2 of the 10m air he built on the strengths of the previous match to boost his PB further to 554, earning him 4th place again and qualifying for the final.

After a shaky start in the first 5 shots Finlay scored some of the highest in the field of 8 to fight back to 6th position overall. In the team of 3 event, both had been allocated teams – Bruce’s team coming away with another silver medal and Finlay’s finishing 4th.

When the Junior Women stepped up to the firing point they were not going to be outdone by the men with all 4 of them equalling or beating their PBs!

Gemma shot first and after a difficult 10m GP match the 2nd 60 shot match was far more reflective of Gemma’s abilities with a brilliant 539 which put her in 7th place, qualifying for the final.

Penny, Emily and Iona all shot in the same detail. Penny got off to an absolute flying start and with the support of her Mum finsihed the match brilliantly for a HUGE pb of 538.

We were rooting for her to make the final but she was just pipped into 9th by one of the British Shooting development squad members.

Both Emily and Iona did well in their matches, shooting the same scores of 511, again a PB for them both. Huge well done to our junior ladies not only were there PBs all around but they all finsihed in the top half of the field. These efforts were rewarded with team medals. The STS Faeries (Gemma, Penny and Em) finsihed on a team score 1588 coming 2nd behind a very strong West Midlands team.

The STS Faeries Team receiving Silver on the Podium

Final Thoughts….

Bisley JI 2025 was definitely a week to remember; across five (six for Penny!) demanding disciplines, our squad not only achieved medals and personal bests but also demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and sportsmanship. Their performances highlighted the depth of talent emerging in Scottish junior pistol shooting.

It is so exciting to get to work with athletes like these 6. They were an absolute credit to their parents and coaches – thank you Vicky, Mark, Andrew, Nick, Lisa, Rob, and Jo for being the best parents and coaches to work with.

Huge thank you especially to Vicky who was a brilliant coach, support and voice of reason – always good to work alongside you.

Can’t finish this report without mentioning two other special events – firstly the rounders match! What a blast! Who knew we were all so competitive and talented in sports other than shooting. Thank you team Flett for hosting the team BBQ and for the rounders bat innovation. The perfect evening!

Secondly, a surprise special guest arrived on the final day to present awards, none other than Turkish superstar and silver medal winning Olympian, Yusef Dikec!

So inspiring for our athletes to meet him – a few signatures and photos were taken to mark the occasion.