CURA Wins all University Matches

As well as the varsity matches, CURA competed in the other NRA and British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) matches. CURA won all of these competitions:

Chancellors' Challenge Plate - CURA 1149.107 vs 1125.85 OURC

With the Humphry Challenge Cup being a close afair it was expected to be the same in the Chancellors' and so it proved. For the first day in the whole of the TR competition, the sun was shinning but the wind remained tricky with a fishtailing headwind. CURA were strong out of the blocks at 300yards to build up a 25 point lead including a 50.10 from John Lindsay III, believed to be the first 50.10v in the history of the Chancellors'. OURC then rallied and fought back but could not overcome the deficit from 300yards with CURA eventually winning by 24 points. It is great that this match was a close fought affair, as it should be. Congratulations to John Lindsay III who top scored with a 146.16v.

Humphry Challenge Cup - CURA 792.50v vs 773.42v - A NEW RECORD SET

CURA were once again victorious in this years Humphry Match. This makes 11 consecutive years of victories for CURA beating the previous record of ten which had been set by OURC during the first years of the competition. However it was no easy feat with both teams neck and neck throughout the first two distances leaving CURA only a single point lead at lunchtime. Some good shooting by CURA at 1200yards, and taking advantage of a steady period of what had been very tricky wind, led to victory by 19 points. Congratulation to Douglas Phillips who top scored with a 203.19v.

The Canada Lions

Having not taken place since 2005, everyone was keen to reinstate this match to the Calendar. Unfortunately this year, the only time that was available was during the afternoon of the Humphry. Fortunately CURA had enough members to take part in both matches. The match, shot at 900 and 1000yards, saw CURA victorious, retaining the Lions. We all hope that this will become a regular fixture once again.

CURA Annual Dinner

CURA Dinner

The CURA Annual Dinner took place at Jesus College on the 26th February with an attendance of 92 people. The guest of honour, William Maunder-Taylor, gave a great speech recounting stories of the CURA in the past. A great time was had by all that could attend and we hope that many will return for next years' dinner.

CUSBC 1513 - 1479 OURC in the Heslop

Congratulations to our sister club for retaining the Heslop (1st VIII) in the varsity match on the 12th February. Top score was James Diviney with an impressive 197 (ex 200).

CUSBC 744 - 691 OURC in the Bentata

Congratulations to our sister club for retaining the Bentata (ladies' match) in the varsity match on the 12th February. Top score was Magdalena Jasicova with an impressive 191 (ex 200).

CURA Annual General Meeting 2010

On the 19th November 2010, CURA held its annual general meeting. The minutes of the meeting can be found here.

National Rifle Club of Scotland Open Meeting, Blair Atholl

Over the weekend of the 11/12th September, three members of CURA travelled to Scotland to shoot in the NRCoS Open Meeting. This takes place at the Glen Tilt Ranges near Blair Atholl and is a stunning range but is not without it's difficulties in reading the wind. A great time was had by all both on and off the range and our thanks goes to the NRCoS for organising a great weekend. The results of the open can be found here.

Chancellors' Challenge Plate - CURA 1153.125 vs OURC 965.75

The Chancellors' Challenge plate was once again retained by CURA. Unfortunately OURC could only field a team of 7 on the day which resulted in the large margin. Congratulations to Holly Foster who top scored with 149.20 and to John Lindsay who scored 148.15 to earn himself a full blue. This results means that CURA and CUSBC have had a clean sweep in all varsity matches for the second year running.

Humphry Challenge Cup - CURA 783.49 vs. OURC 732.27

In very challenging conditions, the Humphry Challenge Cup was contested on the 15th July. Cambridge was once again victorous with a score of 783.49. Top score was Michael Judge with 200.15. A thanks to our coaches: Alex Cargill Thompson, Rob Lygoe and David Calvert.

Cambridge Cup

On the 24th-26th June, the Cambridge University Long Range Rifle Club conducted it's annual competition at Barton Road, The Cambridge Cup. Three members of CURA shot in this competition. With temperatures of around 30°C, lying on the firing point for over an hour at a time was hard work. Congratulations to Julian Peck for winning the Cup with a score of 431 (ex. 450) and getting 5 V-bulls in the three way tie shoot. Also congratulations to Michael Judge whose good shooting on the first day narrowly held off the valliant fight back from Simon Jones to win the Notman Cup (top undergraduate) with a score of 417.

Summer Matches

CURA took part in eight team matches over the Easter holidays and summer term. We enjoyed both great weather, rain and tricky winds. The standard of shooting was generally high with all members making improvements throughout the term. Most importantly a good time was had by all both on the range and back in the English Eight clubhouse. All the results can be found here.

Easter Bisley

CURA's 2010 season got off to a good start with our annual training week at Bisley. Twenty members attended of which eight were new to full-bore shooting. For most of the week, the weather was dry but on Saturday we got some (very) wet weather training in. Two members also successfully completed a Range Conducting Officers' (RCO) course conducted by Tim Elliott. Towards the end of the week, our annual Captain vs. Secretary match took place. For the first time in many years the captain's team actually won. On the last day, our first external match of the season against the Oxford and Cambridge Rifle Association (OCRA) took place. This was a close match with CURA narrowly ahead after 500 yards but with a very strong performance by OCRA at 600 yards, they were narrowly victorious.

Full Blue awarded

Congratulations to Rosanne Furniss who has been awarded an extraordinary full-blue for representing England in The Elcho during the Bisley Meeting 2009 where she scored a respectable 206.19 in very difficult conditions. Congratulations Rosanne.

Welsh Open

Five current members and 2 old members of CURA went down to Bisley to shoot in the Welsh Open meeting over the weekend of the August bank holiday weekend. Despite being a bank holiday, the good weather persisted throughout the whole weekend. The Saturday and Sunday consisted of a Queens' I, II and III shoot. Congratulations to Ed Dickson who scored 392.37 (ex 405.51) earning himself 8th place amongst all the competitors (see all results here). On Monday three members shot the Match rifle competition consisting of 2+15 at 10, 11 and 1200yrds with decent shoots from all members. As well as shooting, a carvery dinner was held in the Army Rifle Club for all competitors on the Saturday night which was enjoyed by all.

2009 Imperial Meeting

This years' imperial meeting was hugely successful for CURA. During the Hopton there were strong performances from many members. John Lindsay finished 21st, narrowly avoiding breaking his T. This earned John the prize for top under 25 and top tyro. Rosanne Furniss finished 33rd only 8 points behind John despite a rifle failure half way through the competition. Michael Judge and Simon Jones also finished in the top 10 tyro's. Due to their strong performances, both Rosanne Furniss and John Lindsay (reserve) were chosen to shoot for England in the Elcho. This is a great achievement for anyone but was made extra special for Rosanne as she was the first woman to shoot for England in the 147 year history of the competition. Many congratulations to both. The Humphry brought more success for CURA with a convincing 30 point win over Oxford.

The target rifle competitions were equally successful. CURA was represented by 17 members during this part of the competition. Ed Dickson, John Lindsay and Rosanne Furniss finished within the top 200 of the Grand Aggregate (69th, 148th and 160th respectively). Ed Dickson also made it through to St. George's final, finishing fourth with 150.19 (ex 150.30). Both Henry Day and John Lindsay made it to HM Queen's Prize final, finishing 71st and 74th respectively. Special mention should be given to Dan Kumbang, who represented and captained Malaysia in the Junior Kolapore, Junior McKinnon and Junior Overseas. They successfully won all three competitions, with Dan top scoring in the Junior Overseas. The Chancellors' was just as successful as the Humphry; CURA won with a 24 point margin. CURA came a respectable third in the Musketeers' competition; especially considering that this team is made up of CURA's third IV. The CURA A, B and C teams also took the top three positions in the Universities' Aggregate. In the University Long Range match CURA was plagued by equipment malfunctions at 1000yrds. The A,B and C teams finished fourth, seventh and sixth respectively.

These successes in the Varsity match resulted in a hugely successful year for both CURA and CUSBC with victories in all Varsity matches this year.

2009 Cambridge Cup

Once again the Cambridge University Long Range Rifle Club met for the Cambridge Cup at Barton Road ranges, with 1000, 1100 and 1200yrd shoots happening over two days of competition. Once again three match rifle shots from CURA were allowed to participate in the competition. The weather was mostly kind to us, with only the last shoot of the weekend being wet. Jim McAllister won the competition and Rosanne Furniss (Trinity Hall) won the Notman Cup for the highest placed undergraduate.

2009 Easter Bisley

Unlike some Easter Bisleys of the past, the weather gods were kind to us and we remained dry all week. The usual format of 2 days of match rifle, followed by Target rifle, introduced our novices to the fun of full bore shooting. During this time, the new compulsory safety tests and assessments were conducted to certify everyone under the new regulations. Five members also successfully completed a Range Conducting Officers' (RCO) course. The week culminated in our annual match against the Oxford and Cambridge Rifle Club (OCRA), in which we were victorious with Dan Kumbang top scoring (results).

2009 CURA Dinner

CURA dinner 2009 - Queen's College

In 2009 CURA is celebrating its 100th anniversary. CURA was established from the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers in 1909. We are grateful that so many of the past and present members could attend our centenary dinner held in Queens' College on the 28th February. In total 108 people were present with Nick Tremlett graciously accepting our invitation to be our guest of honour. The whole of the 1958 Winning Humphry team was in attendance. A great time was had by all that could attend and we hope that many will return for next years' dinner.

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