With the Commonwealth Games upon us once more, The Big Shoot HQ has you covered with all you need to know about the shooting events which are due to commence this Sunday, 8th April. In this post, we’ll give you a run through of the UK’s shooting teams. But first, here’s a few facts about the games:
The Commonwealth Games have been held every four years ever since the event was first held in 1930. However, the 1942 and 1946 games were cancelled due to the Second World War. Unlike the Olympic Games in which Great Britain compete as ‘Team GB’, each country competes separately under ‘Team England’, ‘Team Wales’, and so on.
The previous instalment of the games were held in Glasgow in 2014, with Team England finishing at the top of the medal table with an incredible 174 medals in total across all events. Elsewhere in the UK, Scotland were able to finish in 4th place with a medal haul of 53. Wales and Northern Ireland were able to earn a total of 36 and 12 medals respectively.
Now that we’ve got the facts out of the way, it’s time to give you a run through of what you can expect from each UK team:
Team England
Last time round, the England shooting team were beaten by Australia in terms of total medals in the shooting category. Whilst Team England were able to finish with a total of 15 medals, their inferior number of gold medals meant that they were bettered by the Australia shooting team (England had 5 golds as opposed to Australia’s 6 golds).
This year in Australia, the likes of Ken Parr will be appearing for the England team once again. Previously, the Rifle shooter was able to earn a bronze medal at Glasgow 2014, and two silver medals at Delhi 2010. In the shotgun category, we can expect to see the likes of Steven Scott and Rachel Parish, who have both won gold medals at previous instalments of the Commonwealth Games. Team England’s shooting team consists of 21 shooters across all shooting disciplines.
Team Wales
Competing in the shotgun discipline, Welsh clay shooter Ben Llewellin will appear in his first Commonwealth Games – he is currently ranked as fifth in the world. David Phelps, winner of a gold medal in the 2006 Melbourne Games, will also make an appearance for the team.
Team Wales consists of a team of 11 shooters across all disciplines. At Glasgow 2014, they finished joint ninth with Bangladesh and South Africa in the medal table – with each shooting team earning themselves 1 silver medal.
Team Scotland
With a total of 4 medals (2 silver and 2 bronze) at Glasgow 2014, the hosts of the previous Games will look to improve this time round. Just four years earlier in Delhi, they were able to finish fourth in the medal table in the shooting events – earning a total of 9 medals which included 4 golds.
We can expect to see the likes of Jennifer McIntosh appear for Team Scotland, with the 26 year old rifle shooter earning medals including two golds at the 2010 Delhi Games. Team Scotland consists of a team of 13 shooters this year.
Team Northern Ireland
Team Northern failed to earn themselves any medals in the shooting category in 2014. Overall, they finished 15th in the medal table with a total of 12 medals overall. However, this time round they’ll no doubt look to improve their performance, in the shooting category and elsewhere.
A total of eight shooters will be competing for Team Northern Ireland this year, including the likes of Jack Alexander, David Beattie, Kirsty Barr, and more.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it folks! Your guide to the UK’s shooting teams in this year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia. The Games are taking place on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Shooting events commence from Sunday 8th April and will draw to a close on Saturday 14th April, the day before the closing ceremony. All you shooting fans out there, don’t forget to tune in so you don’t miss the action!