The Wimbledon Cup is a

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than- ...

trophy that was established in the 1870s. It is awarded annually during the

National Rifle & Pistol Matches National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

which are held at

Camp Perry Camp Perry is a National Guard training facility located on the shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. In addition to its regular mission as a military training base, Camp Perry also boasts the second largest outdoor rifle range ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and has become the most prestigious prize in US long-range rifle shooting. Each year the high-power phase of these matches traditionally takes place during the first two weeks of August. The Wimbledon Cup is awarded for the winner of a 1000-yard shooting match — in which the rules permit use of "any sight", including telescopes. Concurrent with the Wimbledon,

service rifle A service rifle (or standard-issue rifle) is a rifle a military issues to regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is typically a versatile and rugged battle rifle, assault rifle, or carbine suitable for use in nearly all environments. Most ...

shooters compete for the Farr Trophy, and Palma rifle shooters vie for the "Doc" Aiken Trophy.

History

The Wimbledon Cup is a silver tankard wrought by British silversmiths of the Victorian period. The British

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

inaugurated the prize in 1866. The

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

reported on July 26, 1866, that the Wimbledon Cup was a new prize for the Wimbledon Rifle Meeting of that year. In 1875, the trophy was presented to the American rifle team attending the British matches at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

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, on behalf of the riflemen of Great Britain. Members of the American team competed among themselves for the trophy at Wimbledon; this match was won by Major Henry Fulton. The Wimbledon Cup was taken to the United States and placed in annual competition at

Creedmoor Rifle Range Creedmoor Rifle Range was sited on Long Island in what is now Queens Village, Queens, New York. History The range was established after the New York Legislature and the newly formed National Rifle Association (NRA) combined in 1872 to acquire 7 ...

as the trophy for a long range match open to any rifle. Michelle Gallagher has won the most cups with five. Her family have won it seven times. Her mother Nancy H. Tompkins-Gallagher won once and her step-father Middleton W. Tompkins won once. The 1965 Trophy was awarded to CPL Carlos N. Hathcock, USMC.

References

Inline citations

{{reflist Sports trophies and awards Shooting competitions