Management
Meet the Management group of four attempting to (mis)guide the Magpies' tour of the Channel Islands
James Mehta - Captain
Essex, Scotland, GB
James started shooting as a cadet at Framlingham College, and won the Cadet Rifle Aggregate in 1975. Continuing through University at Edinburgh, he then had a long break of about twenty years when career and family commitments got in the way.
A chance return to Bisley reignited his passion for the sport, and since then he has been trying to make up for lost time. He has represented GB in Canada and the USA, and more recently travelled with the GB Veterans to South Africa and New Zealand.
Now reaching the end of his dental career he is looking forward to further touring opportunities and renewing friendships made across the world through our great sport.
Kim Pope - Vice-Captain
Suffolk, Ireland
Kim's stint as James' Vice-Captain is almost two decades in the making, with the pair alternating as the Old Framlinghamian Captain and Vice over the years. Like most on the team, she got into shooting through cadets, admittedly mainly to get out of contact sports. Outside of shooting, Kimbers is a Senior Resident Services Manager, managing two sites, including one due to launch just before the tour. Her best shooting experience was naturally from a previous tour with Ireland to the West Indies in 2017, winning the 1000 yards competition and bagging a solid gold medal in the process!
Looking past this tour, Kim would like to tour more and attend more international competitions - experiencing new ranges. Last year she made it through to her first Queens Final (broke the Stage 2 curse!) and would like to make that a more regular occurrence.
When asked who she would like to thank for her shooting career thus far, she replied “Old Frams without a doubt, supported me since 13, sponsored me with a club rifle that has taken me to all senior tours and has enabled me to continue my Bisley and overseas trips, Suffolk County Rifle Association, Edinburgh University RC, Irish Rifle Club Bisley, and all those fantastic people who have encouraged and supported me throughout my shooting career. Plus a special thanks to my family and partner Patrick, who have been so patient (and mostly understanding) with me spending 99% of all my money and annual leave on shooting....”
Ian Ashworth - Adjutant
Gloucestershire, England, GB
Ian was first introduced to shooting on his 11th birthday when his father bought him an air rifle, one still in Ian’s possession. His first dalliance with fullbore was with a Lee Enfield in cadets, before swiftly moving onto smallbore at his father’s club. He was then drafted into the national U21 Smallbore rifle squad, came 2nd in a competition in the NSRA meeting and was selected as reserve for an U21 tour to Norway. Unfortunately, with no drop-outs, Ian’s quest to represent GB could not be completed.
With university came a regrettable hiatus of some 26 years, with Ian re-entering the sport by sheer luck in 2011 when his company asked for shooters for in an inter-factory fullbore TR competition. Ian pitched in, had a decent shoot, thought “this was fun” and instantly became a fully committed TR shooter. Ian was mentored (for which he owes a great deal of his success) by John Dean the then Captain of Gloucestershire, a role which Ian later took up. Ian was part of John Webster’s NRA tour to the Channel Islands in 2014 (initially as reserve) which fuelled his thirst for a full blown tour.
Ian is thrilled to be returning to the Channel Islands as part of the management team (3 of which were on the 2014 tour) to encourage other shooters to greater things.In 2016 Ian’s hunt for a GB cap came to a fruitful end after Lindsay Peden promoted him from reserve 1 day before the Canada & USA tour started – earning Ian the nick-name ‘Super-Sub’. Ian would like to warmly thank a certain Mr Shaw’s appendix for this opportunity. Ian is still aiming to shoot the National for England and another GB tour is not out of the question. Off the range Ian enjoys family life his wife Sarah and two daughters Emma (19) and Lucy (17).
Simon Dickson - Head Coach
West of Scotland, Scotland
Simon brings a wealth of experience to share with the squad. Falling in love with shooting at school, he gravitated towards fullbore, leading the Athelings to a record-breaking score in the 1987 Michael Faraday match. His foray into coaching has been equally successful. He regularly wind coaches for Scotland, most recently finding himself in the chair for his nation's European Long Range Championships win in October 2022. He also enjoyed a stint as the Scotland captain in the Home Countries v Armed Forces match between 2016 and 2021.
Looking forward to the tour, Simon is gearing up for continued success and has been fully committed to the recent training weekends, leading by example in team morale both in the coaching chair and at the clubhouses after the hooter. His own biggest inspiration was the Shooting Master at Glasgow Academy, Derek Wild, who sadly died last year.
When off the range, Simon dabbles in selling things on eBay, walking and enjoying a good vinyl. After being pressed on his favourite record, he recommended Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra.
Fun fact: Management had to have weekly meetings for the last year in order to organise the tour.