CPSA Awards Finalists: Club / Ground
Club / Ground of the Year, Sponsored by Promatic
This category rewards a club or ground that has made a significant contribution to the shooting experience of CPSA members.
EJ Churchill
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E.J. Churchill and its dedicated members have, without a doubt, set the gold standard in 2023 for both the physical and cultural aspects of a shooting ground. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in the remarkable developments we have made to our grounds, lodge, and the extraordinary, hosted shoots we offer.
Notably, E.J. Churchill has achieved a milestone like no other by hosting an impressive five world championships, making history as the first ground to do so. What's more, we proudly held the largest World Championship event of 2023, solidifying our reputation as a true leader in the field.
But our commitment doesn't stop at hosting world-class events. E.J. Churchill has consistently upheld the spirit of giving back to the community by hosting dozens of charitable events over the last five years. We understand the importance of contributing to the broader community and supporting worthy causes.
In conclusion, E.J. Churchill's unparalleled record of hosting world championships and our unwavering commitment to charitable endeavours make us a standout candidate.
Eriswell Lodge
In January of 2015 we took over a closed and somewhat derelict clay shooting ground, which in its glory days had previously held the World Sporting Championships on two occasions. We managed to install a temporary clubhouse and were able to re-open the site the following April under the new name of Eriswell Lodge. Since that time, we have substantially re-developed the site, including building and opening a state-of-the-art clubhouse facility, with retail & gun room, large café/restaurant and bar, and a number of conferencing and meeting rooms.
Over the last three years we are very proud to have hosted the English Open English Skeet and Skeet Doubles, the British Open English Skeet, English Skeet England Team Selection Shoot, the GB FITASC Selection Shoot, the UK Compak Sporting Championship, the English Open Sportrap, and many other regional and county events. We hosted the English Open English Sporting with the CPSA in 2023 and were incredibly proud of the fantastic comments about the shoot, the ground, and the staff team we received too. It has been a fantastic journey for Eriswell Lodge so far, and we are looking forward to next year and what that brings for us!
Nottingham & District Gun Club
Nottingham and District Gun Club has been established for over 60 years and is the linchpin of Clay Shooting in the East Midlands, our aim has always been to take a vital role in not just County and Regional committees but also representing the members at CPSA board level.
Our ground has gained a reputation of promoting the sport at every level; from running County ‘have a go days’, helping novices get into clay shooting, hosting sponsored junior days and regular scheduled ladies events. We have for many years taken great pride in hosting championships to the highest standard that shooters have grown to expect from us at county, regional and national level.
We believe that clay target shooting shouldn’t just be about the big ‘prestigious’ events, we have a great passion to provide this sport from a grass roots level all the way up to national level. This year alone we held 11 county championship shoots, 6 regional ones then some of the bigger shoots- English Open & British Open Single Barrel, English Open Skeet, Skeet England team selection final shoot, plus the English Open & British Open All Round. Most of these were record attendances too.
Nottingham has set the standard that as a clay shooter you should be able to expect the same service at every level and that is what we endeavour to do, our shooters are as much friends as customers. The social side of our club is just as important as the competition side and is the best way to grow and promote our sport as being all inclusive.
Nottingham and District Gun Club has reinvested a lot over the years to provide our customers with some of the best facilities in the country; we have a modern clubhouse with cafe and gunroom along with a purpose built conference suite and training rooms in which we host many CPSA training courses. We have 6 skeet layouts, 6 DTL layouts, 4 Automatic Ball Trap layouts, an English Sporting course and a Sportrap and FITASC layout.
After 40 years in the industry Carl Smith from Nottingham believes that the sport is forever evolving and there is always something new to learn to continue delivering the absolute best.
Feel free to see what we offer by visiting us at www.nottsclayshooting.co.uk