Guyra Gun Club committee member and chief handicapper Greg Brunsdon thought a $100,141 upgrade of the club's onsite amenities, camping facilities and electricity supply would povide the firepower for larger events.
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He described the funding as a “huge win in tough times”.
“Everyone’s ecstatic about it; over the moon, it’s absolutely fantastic news,” Mr Brunsdon said.
“Clubs like ours just don’t get this sort of funding often and for us to get a grant of this extent is rare. Usually it revolves around some smaller grants, with working bees and relying on members with some trades experience to invest their time and expertise so often to help out.”
He said the project would deliver better camping facilities at the club’s grounds with the construction of a new standalone amenities block near the caravan sites, which would be additional to the current block attached to the clubhouse and to create many more powered camping sites for use all year round.
“By offering more facilities we can then attract more shooters to the Guyra area and that will have a flow-on effect,” Mr Brunsdon said.
“Because the gun club is close to the New England Highway, it gives camping opportunities in town outside of the normal shooting calendar.”
Mr Brunsdon thought the increased number of powered camping sites would increase the attraction to stay in Guyra, not only for traveling shooters, but also for grey nomads in general.
This latest funding comes just a few months after the club was awarded almost $8000 from the NSW Government to upgrade its toilet and shower facilities and provide disabled access, and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall welcomed another financial win.
Mr Marshall said existing facilities were stretched, particularly at the club’s larger shoots, when people come from interstate to compete.
“Many visiting shooters and their families camp at the club grounds for a number of days and so these facilities are critical to keeping these large events going in our region,” he said.
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“The Guyra Gun Club has a proud tradition when it comes to shooting – we’ve had Olympic and Commonwealth shooters like Terry Rumbel come out of this club, and many state and world championship placegetters as well, so we know just what a great breeding ground it is.
“We’ve only just seen Ben Rumbel finish sixth in the World Championships in Wagga, as well as breaking a club record over the weekend, and then there’s great shots like John Reid and John Smith who are shooting really well in competition.
“Guyra attracts shooters from everywhere and it’s one of the strongest clubs around with a membership of 110 that prides itself on encouraging younger and up-an-coming shooters to do better."
