THE National Rifle Shooting championships will get cracking today and will continue next Saturday and Sunday at the Timehri Rifle Ranges.
An intriguing battle looms as defending champion Mahendra Persaud will face stiff opposition from former national champions Ransford Goodluck and Richard Fields.

The shooters will battle over the 300, 500 and 900 yards on the opening day with the Valladares Trophy at stake for the shooter who records the best aggregate at the 500 yards range.

The main competitors in the Senior division are defending champion Mahendra Persaud, Ransford Goodluck, Richard Fields, Dane Blair, vice-captain Dylan Fields, Claude Duguid, Ryan Sampson, Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe and Lt Col. Terry Stuart.

The junior category will include Charles Deane, Peter Persaud, Everad Nelson and Rakesh Persaud.

Other trophies up for grabs during the championships are the Lushington 7-round Aggregate at 300 yards, Wood Davis 10-round Aggregate, Short Range Aggregate, Junior Sports Bar, Denis Carryl Long Range Aggregate and the Sigmund Douglas Grand Aggregate.

Starting time is at 10:00 h.

The local shooters are preparing for the West Indies Fullbore championships at the end of next month in Bridgetown, Barbados, at the Paragon Rifle Ranges.
Guyana are presently the defending champions for both the Short Range (formerly known as the BWIA Cup), and Long Range (Milex) Trophies.

In Barbados, Guyana will be seeking to make it an unprecedented 4 in a row for the Short Range Title, having won it for the last 3 years – 2007 in Guyana, 2008 in Jamaica and 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Local shooters will be attempting to win the Short Range Title in Barbados, something they have not achieved in a very long time.