The mission: to produce Commonwealth shooting events to remember
Where should we hold the Commonwealth Shooting Events in 2022? Bisley was the venue for Manchester 2002, Woolwich landed London 2012 but that was a temporary facility, Barrybudden had the Glasgow 2014 events but it, too, was temporary.
There’s a huge range outside Liverpool that welcomes civilian shooters and requires just a few improvements to leave a medal-winning legacy for years to come. The Commonwealth Shooting Federation, backed by Commonwealth Shooting organisations and the International Shooting Sports Federation, proposes Altcar Shooting Ranges for the 2022 Commonwealth shooting events.
For more, contact Keith Shields or Charlie Jacoby
Planning for shooting events at Altcar has already taken place – it was the proposed site for the Liverpool bid for CWG 2022.
It is a fully-operational MoD ranges, consisting of 600 acres, training around 2,000 soldiers a week, with a long tradition of welcoming civilian shooters.
Upgrades will be low-cost, requiring only an improved Trap layout, improvedment to disabled access throughout the site, temporary conversion of a gym to an indoor airgun range, and administration buildings to be set up for visiting officials and media.
The legacy will be the creation of a ‘Bisley of the North’.
There are biodiversity benefits. As one of the UK’s largest landowners, the MoD has a major role to play in the conservation of the UK’s natural resources. Stewardship of the MoD estate means that it has responsibility for some of the most unspoilt and remote areas in Britain; with statutory obligations to protect the protected habitats and the species that they support. Everyone using the MoD estate, whether service or civilian, has a duty to minimise adverse effects on the environment. Altcar ranges incudes two important habitats: the 500 acres of sand dunes and flats on the Irish Sea, and the River Alt, which flows across Altcar Training Camp. Both are already protected by range activity. The Commonwealth shooting events will leave Altcar ranges better than it found it, with the aim of increasing and enhancing biodiversity on the site.
FAQs
Why can’t Birmingham hold shooting events in 2022?
The organising committee has ruled out holding shooting events at Birmingham 2022. The UK government is keen for shooting events to take place alongside Birmingham 2022. The Commonwealth Shooting Federation will seek medal affiliation with the Commonwealth Games.
What’s the legacy from Altcar?
Major shooting events in the UK in recent years have left little or any legacy benefits for the UK medal-winning shooting community. Neither Barrybudden (Commonwealth Games 2014) nor Woolwich (Olympic Games 2012) left a legacy, and the shooting facilities at Bisley from Manchester (Commonwealth Games 2002) are up to a modern standard. 2022 can give the UK the boost its shooters and para shooters need to win medals at Paris 2024. Called the ‘Bisley of the North’, Altcar is centrally located for shooters in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In the last five Olympic games, GB shooters won between 10% and 20% of GB’s total medal haul at each Games.
How will the organisers promote the 2022 Commonwealth shooting events?
The host broadcaster at Altcar 2022 will provide live feeds from the games, as well as filmed packages profiling previous and likely future medal winners. The host broadcaster will have relationships in place with sports departments from Commonwealth country TV networks in order to run this material smoothly throughout the event.
