February

April

December

NOVEMBER 2008 NEWSLETTER

· Enclosures. The following documents and notices are enclosed with this Newsletter:

o Minutes of Board Meeting 27 October 2008 (Clubs only)

o WDRA OPM Notice

o Member Fee Schedule 2009

o Nomination Form for the Board of QRA

· Membership 1 Jan – 31 Dec 09

NRA QRA TOTAL TOTAL

W’O ATR WITH ATR

FULL MEMBER 33.00 65.00 98.00 131.00

FULL JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 16.50 35.00 51.50 84.50

FIELD AND RIMFIRE 33.00 32.50 65.50 98.50

F & R JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 16.50 16.00 32.50 65.50

· Range Registers. Clubs are reminded that Range Officers must check the shooter has their licence in their possession when the Register is signed and sign off each entry on the Range Register. This is not a new requirement: it has been this way for over 10 years. It is also important that the Form 33 is correctly completed by unlicensed shooters, which includes the requirement for the Range Officer to sight photographic identification. If the identification is not provided, the person is not permitted to shoot.

· Zero Range. Members are reminded that the Zero Range at Belmont cannot be used without the shooter signing a Range Register. If shooting with Phoenix Club on Thursday, you must sign their Register. On Saturdays, sign your Club Register. All other times please complete the Register at the Office and pay the range fee.

· Nominations for President, Board and Council. In accordance with the rotation policy, nominations are called for the positions of 2 Board members. The nomination form is enclosed.

· Queensland Team – Bisley 2009. It is intended that a Queensland Team will compete at Bisley in July 2009. Nominations are called for the positions of Captain, Manager, Wind Coaches and Shooters for the Team. Nominations are to be forwarded to the Executive Officer by 21 November 2008. This team is fully self funded.

· Membership Target. We are pleased to advise that the membership target of 1000 full bore and field and rimfire members set last year has already been exceeded reaching 1068. Congratulations to Clubs who are actively working at increasing their membership, and to the Marketing and Development Committee.

· Club Assistance Grants. More clubs have recently taken advantage of the club assistance grants to cover capital and clubhouse upgrades. If clubs wish any more information about the grants available, please contact the Executive Officer of your Councillor.

· AGM and Country V City Match/Champion of Champions. The AGM, Champion of Champions and Country versus City Teams Matches will be held as follows:

3 Apr AGM to commence at 1.00 pm, followed by the Workshop, then dinner.

4 Apr AM Champions of Champions and PM practice alongside MDRA. A BBQ will held in the evening.

5 Apr Country v City Teams matches.

Nominations are called for coordinators of the Country and City teams. It is planned that the coordinators will work in conjunction with the State Selectors to call for teams. The closing date for nomination of these coordinators is 15 December.

· Founding Date of QRA. Material recently obtained from the John Oxley Library shows that the formation of the QRA was actually in 1860. As such the QRA is the oldest sporting body in Queensland.

· Health and Safety Levy. All organisations holding explosives ‘sell’ licences are required to pay a ‘Health and Safety’ levy. This is an annual fee imposed by the Queensland Government. A letter has been written to the Department of Mines and Energy on behalf of all clubs requesting reconsideration of this levy.

· Office Closure. The Office will be closed for the festive season at 4.30pm on 17 December 2008 and reopen on 5 January 2009.

· Q Store Closure. The Q Store will be closed from 14 December 2008 and reopen on 15 January 2009.

· Accommodation. Accommodation is available throughout the Christmas break.

· Domain Space. Last year an offer was made to clubs for domain hosting at $99 per year. The intention was that a club would create their own web pages and upload them remotely from a home computer, once the initial set up is done by QRA’s ISP. By using this system we would project a corporate image as the site name would be www.xxrc.qldrifle.com. Ipswich and District RC has taken advantage of this offer www.ipswichrifle.qldrifle.com and it is hoped that others will see value in developing in this direction. If any clubs wish to take advantage of this offer, please call Meredith at the Office to discuss.

· Email Addresses. We would like to continue to expand contact with members via email (there are now 150 members on the list). If individual Club members wish to receive this Newsletter by email, please send your email address to the Executive Officer QRA. If you have previously notified an email address but have not been receiving news lately, please confirm that the Office has the correct address.

· Visit the Website. The website www.qldrifle.com is continually being upgraded with more information being posted each week. Please visit the site often.

AUGUST 2008 NEWSLETTER

· Enclosures. The following documents and notices are enclosed with this Newsletter:

o Minutes of Board Meeting 8 August 2008 (Clubs only)

o Minutes of the Special General Meeting 13 August 2008 (Clubs only)

o Minutes of the Council Meeting 13 August 2008 (Clubs only)

o NRAA Incident Report Form (link from Newsletters web page)

o New Member Fee Schedule (October to December 2008)

· Membership 1 Oct – 31 Dec 08

NRA QRA TOTAL TOTAL

W/O ATR W/ATR

FULL MEMBER 8.25 16.25 24.50

FULL JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 4.15 8.75 12.90

FIELD AND RIMFIRE 8.25 8.15 16.40

F & R JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 4.15 4.00 8.15

· Queens 2008. Queens 2008 was a great success with 263 competitors, an increase of 66 from last year. Especially pleasing were the number of B and C Grade shooters who participated. Next year with the State Teams here for the National Teams Matches we expect an entry of 350. To fit the Teams Matches in, please note the Queens will finish on Sunday 16 August. The programme for 2009 will be:

o 8 August MDRA OPM

o 9-11 August National Teams Matches

o 11 August Optical Championships (on the International Range)

o 12-13 August Duncan

o 14-16 August Queens

Please plan your attendance for next year well ahead.

· History. The QRA History Committee held a historic meeting with the Director of the Centre for Applied History and Heritage Studies and other representatives from the University of Queensland on Wed 23 July 2008. UQ’s School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics is formalising arrangements to engage a post graduate student to compile the history of the QRA over the period 2009-2010, for publication in 2011 in time for the World Long Range Championships. President John Johnstone has been personally guiding this project and is proud to announce that prospective students will be interviewed in November for selection in December. All members are welcome to contribute to the history project; please contact the Office.

· Range Registers. Clubs are reminded that Range Officers must sign off each entry on the Range Register. It is also important that the Form 33 is correctly completed by unlicensed shooters, which includes the requirement for the Range Officer to sight photographic identification. If the identification is not provided, the person is not permitted to shoot.

· Incident Reporting. Clubs are reminded of the requirement to report incidents in accordance with NRAA Procedures of Best Practice. The Incident Report Form is attached.

· F Class Standard Teams Match. The NRAA has advised that a national F Class Teams Match will be introduced in 2009 with VRA being the inaugural host. The second event will be held in Canberra in November 2010. Nominations for Captain, Coach, Manager and Shooters are to be submitted to the Executive Officer by 31 October 2008.

· Prize Meetings 2009. It is intended to have the QRA Calendar advertised in the first issue of the ATR next year. To achieve this it is necessary to submit the dates to the Editor by 14 November this year. It is requested that Clubs and DRAs confirm dates they intend to conduct Prize Meetings in 2009, by 30 September.

· Development Workshops. The next Development Workshops are planned for 6/7 September, to be at Ipswich, 4/5 October at Warwick and 7/8 November at Toowoomba.

· Membership Target. We are pleased to advise that the membership target of 1000 full bore and field and rimfire members set last year has already been exceeded reaching 1028. Congratulations to Clubs who are actively working at increasing their membership, and to the Marketing and Development Committee.

· Pro Rata Fees. Attached is the pro-rata fee schedule for new members for the three months from 1 October 2008.

· Weapons Licensing Branch. Points of interest from a recent meeting with Weapons Licensing Branch officers:

o 30000 PTAs were processed in 2007.

o Licence renewals dates will now be changed to the licence holder’s birthday, except for special one year licences.

o A review of Weapons Licensing Branch is being conducted and it is likely that by 2011 there will be web based licence renewal process with more opportunity for dealers and clubs to assist members with the renewal process.

o Contemporary means of paying fees will be available (similar to driver’s licence renewals).

o There is a possibility that a new firearms licence applicant will have PTAs issued automatically as part of the application process.

o Membership details will be updated on line.

· Visit Website. The website www.qldrifle.com is continually being upgraded with more information being posted each week. Please visit the site often.

JUNE 2008 NEWSLETTER

· Enclosures. The following documents and notices are enclosed with this Newsletter:

o New Member Fee Schedule (June to December 2008)

o Minutes of Board Meeting 13 June 2008 (Clubs only)

· Membership 1 Jul – 31 Dec 08

NRA QRA TOTAL TOTAL

W/O ATR W/ATR

FULL MEMBER 16.50 32.50 49.00 64.00

FULL JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 8.25 17.50 25.75 40.75

FIELD AND RIMFIRE 16.50 16.25 32.75 47.75

F & R JUNIOR (UNDER 21) 8.25 8.00 16.25 31.25

· Pro Rata Fees. Attached is the pro-rata fee schedule for new members for the six months from 1 July 2008.

· The Queens. The Queens programme commences on 9 August with the Brisbane RC OPM, followed by the MDRA OPM on 10 August. There will be a combined aggregate between these Prize Meetings for Australian Shooting Games medals. The Optical Championships will be held on Monday 11 August with the 1000 yard Sweepstakes on the International Range commencing at 11.00 am. The Queens Series will commence with the Duncan on Tuesday 12 August and conclude on Saturday with the presentation of the Queen’s Prize. Please support your State Championships and enter early to assist the organisers.

· Visit Website. The website www.qldrifle.com is continually being upgraded with more information being posted each week. Please visit the site often.

From the NRAA

· 2011 World Championships Update (3 October to 22 October 2011). The first planning meeting of the World Championship Committee occurred on 9 April with the next scheduled for 22 August. The competition schedule has been sent to ICFRA for endorsement. Proposed dates and matches are:

3-7 Oct 11 – practice targets available for both individuals & teams
8 Oct 11 – Provincial & Composite Teams & President’s Day 1
9 Oct 11 – President’s Day 2
10 Oct 11 – World Veterans, Ages & Australia Match practice day
11 Oct 11 – Australia Match
12 Oct 11 – World Veterans & Ages Teams Championship
13-15 Oct 11 – NRAA Queens
16-19 Oct 11 – WLRC Individual
20-22 Oct 11 – WLRC Teams ‘PALMA’

· Nominations – Captain and Manager NRAA F Class Team in Bisley July 2009. NRAA will recall for nominations for both these positions in the next ATR. NRAA hopes to field a team in this competition.