Rules

FENLAND FIELD TARGET ASSOCIATION

Winter League Constitution & Rules

Winter League Constitution & Rules ( 2024- 2025 Series )

1. The objective of the WINTER LEAGUE is to provide a series of shoots outside the National
   Calendar. Thus the newer member may obtain a flavour of Competition whilst improving his/her
   shooting. The seasoned shooter can practise and maintain his/her skills. Prospective course
   builders will be able to demonstrate and refine their ability. The series will be conducted
   professionally and fairly, with a clear structure, but above all in a friendly atmosphere….

2. The WINTER LEAGUE series shall normally consist of each FENLAND club hosting a round at
their home ground (this must remain flexible to allow for clubs joining or leaving the Region), if
through any reason the home ground is unavailable the club may elect to use a neutral site, this will
be discussed, and may be voted on at committee. Currently there are 5 clubs Affiliated to the FFTA
— Broadlands, Colne Valley, East-Tree, Lea Valley, Midshires, and Sywell.

3. The WINTER LEAGUE results may be used by the Competition Secretary when selecting the team
to represent the Fenlands Region in the BFTA INTER-REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

4. At the conclusion of the WINTER LEAGUE series ‘The FFTA CHAMPIONSHIPS’ will take place
with awards to 5th place for ungraded, and to 3rd place in Piston and Open class. The FFTA
Championships will also be used to conduct any shoot-offs required from the WINTER LEAGUE.
The shoot will be followed by the Prize Giving Ceremony for presentation of the WINTER LEAGUE
trophies.

5. The B.F.T.A. Main Shoot Rules 2024 will apply throughout the series of shoots. At the start of each
shoot the ‘abbreviated Fenland shooting brief’ or a ‘club specific brief’ will be read out, a full written
copy will be made available at ‘stats’, by ‘signing in’ the shooter is confirming they have read,
understand and accept the various rules.

6. The FENLANDS Competition Secretary and/or The Winter League Secretary will be responsible for
the administration of the series including:- the collation of scores, forwarding scores for uploading to
website as soon as possible after each shoot and also dealing with any disputes.

7. Cost of entry will be presented at the AGM each year (already voted at the previous committee
meeting) entry fees will be set to cover the running costs involved in the series, including the prize
shoot, purchase of all trophies etc and still enable the Region to gain financially. £5 entry for the
Main or first time round event and £5 for the re-entry events (spring and/or open) both prices to
include a “Golden Pot”. Awards for the Golden Pot” draw shall be three of £10 in the Main and two
of £10 in the Re-Entry, fixed for the ’24/25 season.

8. The Region will supply scorecards, score sheets and a grading list. MAIN or BFTA grade cards will
be White, SPRING grade cards Green and OPEN Class cards Pink together with the same coloured
score sheets.

9. Shooters grades for the Winter League will be calculated internally by the FFTA, with no reference
to the shooter’s BFTA Grade so as to give a true representation of each shooter’s ability within the
Fenlands Region.

10. Grades will be calculated each season, as follows:
a. If you have a current FFTA grade percentage, this will be used as a start basis and together
with your next two W/L percentages from your main entry you will then have a new FFTA
percentage/grade for your third shoot.
b. If you are a Fenlands Club member and start the series without an FFTA percentage you
will be allocated a start percentage of 84% as a basis and your grade established based on
the next three W/L percentages from your main entry. You will then have a new FFTA
percentage/grade for your fourth shot.
c. Grade percentage boundaries will be calculated each year.
d. A shooter may elect to shoot in a higher grade; this must be done by advising the Winter
League Secretary or Competition Secretary prior to their 3rd W/L shoot.

11. Classes
a. OPEN/SUPPORTED class encompasses the existing ‘OPEN Class’ as defined in the BFTA
Rules together with SUPPORTED which allows the use of bipods, tripods and other
‘non-fixed supporting devices plus stools or seating with no back support. A bean bag
cushion may not be used together with a front support for the rifle. Only the front end of the
rifle can be supported. The front support must not provide lateral support to the rifle, must
not grip the rifle and cannot provide support over more than 2″/50.8mm of the length of the
underside of the rifle.
b. ‘SPRING GUN’ is defined as follows…
i. Any piston powered gun, including semi-recoilless, Whiscombe, Theoben etc.
ii. Single or Multi pump pneumatic rifles are NOT classed as piston powered or Spring
Guns.

12. The host club at each round shall set out the main course, set out a practice area, provide
marshalling, enforce safety, collect fees, ensure score cards are correctly and legibly filled in, collect
score cards and complete the score sheets. A Competitor must not score his or her own card and
each member of that squad must sign all cards. Cards and result sheets to be passed to the Winter
League Secretary or his representative as soon as possible after the shoot, cards not handed in by
the end of the shoot on the day will be deemed void. All monies to be passed over to the FFTA
Treasurer, or the Treasurers Representative.

13. No shooting on the main course until l0:00 am or a pre-arranged start time as decided by the FFTA
committee. The ‘Practice Range’ will close at the start of the Briefing and will not re-open until
11.30hrs. Any person not on site when the briefing starts may shoot the morning round, but may not
submit his/her card from the morning round for scoring. The exception to this will be when a shooter
is unavoidably detained on the journey to the event and phones ahead to advise stats, afternoon
rounds will score as normal. All targets will be shot at in numerical order, if a target is shot at out of
order B.F.T.A. rules apply. For a shooter’s score to be recorded and counted in the competition they
must be a bonafide member of an FFTA club.

14. Courses to be shot through with paired shooters only: in the exceptional circumstance of a group of
3 shooters, the first shooter having shot at his/her targets will immediately move on to the next lane
so that no delay is incurred. 1 gun may be shared between a maximum of 2 shooters, provided no
delay is incurred.

15. A shotgun start will be employed (lanes will be allocated when signing in) and any shooter taking
part in the re-entry round must give way to a shooter in the main, and let them shoot through.

16. Any disputes 1) refer to the rules 2) contact the appointed Chief Marshal 3) contact the Winter
League Competition Secretary (not whilst they are shooting) 4) contact a FENLAND COMMITTEE
member.

17. At the end of the Winter League Series the following awards shall be presented..

18. For calculations all scores will be converted into percentages (with the exception of the team event)
a. Individual trophies will be presented 1st to 3rd place in ‘AA’ ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’ grade in the Main.
b. Spring gun re-entry rounds 1st to 8th and in the OPEN[SUPPORTED] Class places 1st to
3rd. Best 5 scores to count.
c. The Champion of Champions will be the shooter with the best 5 aggregate scores from
his/her main and re-entry rounds (“pneumatic” the first time round and a “spring” for the
re-entry). Awards will be presented 1st to 3rd place, with the overall winner retaining the
MICHAEL TAWN trophy for one year.
d. An INDIVIDUAL WINNER trophy will also be presented to the shooter with the highest
number of actual targets hit from their best 5 rounds in the main class.
e. The FFTA Winter League Shield will be presented to the overall winning club. The best 4
( MAIN – BFTA Grade white card ) scores from each club on the day count towards the team
event, all rounds are included. The top team score will receive points equivalent to the
number of clubs in the region, then dropping one point per position, with zero points for any
team that does not turn up.
f. There will be individual awards for each member of the overall winning team.
An absolute minimum of 3 scores must be submitted by
an individual shooter to be eligible for any award.

19. Shoot-offs if required will normally be conducted over a 2-lane representative Field Target course.1
lane kneeling and 1 lane standing. If scores are still drawn after shooting these 2 lanes the targets
will continue to be shot in sequence with sudden death after each lane is completed.

20. In the event of a tie in the club/team result, the contesting clubs will each need to nominate a team
of 4 shooters to take part in the shoot off. Variation to the above ‘shoot off’ rules may be allowed if
all parties concerned are in full agreement. If a shoot off is needed in Open class this will be
conducted over 2 lanes seated.

21. Cancelling a shoot part way through for whatever reason will render all scores that day void, and the
course will need to be shot again, preferably at the same ground at a date to be decided by
committee.

22. The Spring gun round is re-entry, if the shooter’s only gun is a spring gun, the first time round will be
deemed to be their entry for the main, and scored on a white scorecard should they wish to enter in
the spring gun re-entry they will need to shoot round again, using a green score card.

23. Note….
a. It is expected that your first time round will be your MAIN score (using either a PCP or
Springer) and submitted on a White Scorecard. You can then shoot a second time round with
a Spring Rifle (Green card) or Open class (Pink card). If you only want to enter one round in
Open you may shoot this in the first round(A.M). Pink cards shot as first round must be
clearly marked with AM
b. All cards must be signed by the Buddy Marshal, the Shooter and all other persons in their
squad.
c. All cards must be marked to show which type of rifle is being used i.e Spring or PCP

24. The host club may organise side shoots as long as there is no delay to the main and re-entry
rounds, all proceeds going to the host club.

25. Course layout…
a. Each Winter League course shall consist of 30 targets, normal hit zones to be 40 or 45mm
diameter,
b. A maximum of 25% (= 7 targets) of the course to be reducers
c. There must be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 reducer targets set out to a maximum
range of 35 yards of which only 2 may be in the range 30-35 yards. If seven 25mm hit zone
targets are used there shall be no 15mm hit zone targets. The following limitations shall
apply to ‘reduced hit zone’ target:
i. There may be a maximum of two 15mm hit zone targets set out to a maximum
distance of 25 yards with the following restriction: An imaginary horizontal line is
drawn from the feet of a competitor standing in the lane gate. 15mm targets must be
positioned no more than ± 2 metre vertically on this line. (The intention of this rule is
clear: to prevent 15mm targets being set high or low). 15mm hit zones will only be
allowed on lanes with no enforced shooting positions and will form part of the 25%
rule.
ii. One target in a kneeling lane and one target in the standing lanes may be a 25mm hit
zone. The maximum distance for these targets is 20 yards.
iii. 25mm hit zone targets can be used in a positional lane not exceeding 20 yards and
not exceeding the given percentage above
d. 20% (=6 six targets) of the course to be Positional Shots.
e. All targets to be clearly numbered at both the target position and lane end; all positional
shots to be clearly indicated at the lane end (and also near the target if desired).
f. As guidance to ensure rounds are similar in difficulty, courses should be constructed with an
overall average of 42 to 45 yard target distance (totals within 1260 yards to 1350 yards). The
actual distance of a reducer should be multiplied by 1.5 for calculations.
g. It is unwise to have a long lane immediately following a positional lane, as undue queues are
likely to form at the long lane!

26. BFTA Shoot Rules state…
a. No target may be set nearer than 10 yards.
b. 25mm reducers shall not be set beyond 35 yards. (25mm reducers shall not be set as
positional shots beyond 20 yards)
c. 15mm reducers shall not be set beyond 25 yards. (15mm reducers shall not be set as
positional shots )
d. Positional shots may not be set beyond 45 yards.
e. No target may be set further than 55 yards.

27. FFTA recommendations…
a. Total distance of targets in a Standing Lane to be a maximum of 60 (sixty) yards.
b. Total distance of targets in a Kneeling Lane to be a maximum of 70 (seventy) yards.
c. Total distance of targets in a Freestyle Lane to be a maximum of 90 (ninety) yards.

28. Timing…
a. Shooting shall be timed. Shooters are allowed 3 minutes in each lane. Immediately
that the next lane is vacated by shooters, the next competitor should enter the lane
without any delay. Timing starts immediately when the shooter sits down/kneels or
enters the lane if designated standing. Looking through the scope, target location,
range finding, loading of rifle, checking of the wind are all part of the timing process.
Once the shooter has taken their last shot, the timer should be reset for the next
shooter and targets reset. The shooter should then vacate the lane immediately.
b. In the event of a ceasefire all timers are immediately stopped, and any loaded rifles
are fired into the ground in front of the shooters and across the firing line. The timer
will be reset to 2 minutes if 1 target remains and 3 minutes if 2 targets remain.
c. At all times the timer must be clearly visible. Timing may be run by the shooter or a
Buddy Marshall. The buddy marshall shall be responsible for ensuring the timer is
running. If a course Marshal observes that the shooter or Buddy Marshal is not
running the timer, then the following sanctions will apply to both the shooter and
Buddy Marshal: First offence – a verbal warning is given. Second or subsequent
offences – both targets in the lane(s) are scored as missed, whether they have been
shot or not. The Marshal will amend and sign the scorecard.

29. Unless otherwise stated the penalty for infringing or disregarding safety rules and/or competition
rules is……
a. A verbal warning,a written warning, disqualification from the course, a number of targets or a
complete score being voided or any other action deemed suitable using the existing
FENLAND and/or BFTA disciplinary codes.

30. The ( MAIN – BFTA Grade white card ) average during the 2024- 2025 season will be presented to
the BFTA Grading Secretary to enable as many FFTA shooters as possible to obtain a realistic
National Grade. You will need to be a BFTA Card holder to be enabled to have a grade

Fenland Field Target Association – Winter League Rules 2024 -2025 Season (7 rounds)