The Elcho Shield is an annual

long range shooting Long range shooting is a collective term for shooting disciplines where the distance to target is significant enough that shooter has to put effort into calculating various ballistic factors, especially in regards to the deviating effects ...

competition between national teams of eight from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The trophy holder was originally able to choose the venue of the competition, however, since the

NRA 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 rights lobbying organization while contin ...

's move to Surrey from Wimbledon in 1890, the competition has been held at Bisley Ranges,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, England (now the

National Shooting Centre The National Shooting Centre 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 near the village of ...

). The 2021 holder of the trophy is England.

Course of Fire

Each shooter fires fifteen shots at , , and . Unusually, no "sighting" or practice shots are permitted. The shooters may be coached which allows other team members to judge and make necessary adjustments to the shooter's sights. The rules allow each team two hours at each distance to fire all their shots. The match is most regularly held following the national championships in July each year.

History

The first match, on Wednesday July 9, 1862, was held over , and solely between Scotland and England. In the event England won by 166 points. Scotland won the trophy for the first time in 1864 and Ireland joined the fray in 1865. By this time, the match had become a major sporting event in Victorian England, as important as

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

or the Eton v Harrow cricket match at Lords. Wales did not compete until 1991. The Elcho Shield is large and distinctive, made from a sheet of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

decorated with repousse scenes to a design by the artist

G. F. Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

. It was presented to the

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 rights lobbying organization while cont ...

by its founder and president, Lord Elcho.

References

External links

National Rifle Club of Scotland
- History of the Elcho
GB Match Rifle Team
- History of the Elcho Sports trophies and awards Rifle shooting sports Sport in Surrey Recurring events established in 1862 1862 establishments in the United Kingdom National Rifle Association (United Kingdom) {{England-sport-stub

Course of Fire

History

See also

References

External links