Australian Rifle Team selection trials will be held 31 Oct - 3 Nov 2008 at Belmont
Thank you to all those who nominated providing a rich cross section of
Australia's finest full bore shooters and wind coaches

Rick Scoones has been appointed by the NRAA to lead the Australian Rifle Team
to Trentham, New Zealand 2009, Australia Match, Bisley, England 2010
and World Long Range Palma Match, Brisbane, Australia 2011.
Rex Wigney has been appointed as the Australian Rifle Team Manager
for New Zealand 2009 and Palma Australia 2011.
Reg Wagland has been appointed as the Australian Rifle Team Manager
for UK 2010 and Technical Officer for Palma Australia 2011.

Australia On Target
World Long Range Rifle Championships

The Australian Rifle Team will be training in ernest on the Belmont Range in Brisbane, Queensland, in preparation to contest the Palma Match in 2011. The match is being hosted by the National Rifle Association of Australia on the home range of the Queensland Rifle Association. Belmont Shooting Complex is located 15 minutes from the centre of Brisbane, 15 minutes from the international airport and 45 minutes from the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast. Belmont is a world class sporting facility, home to full bore, small bore, clay target, pistol and archery ranges.

Australia is proud to be one of only five countries to have competed in the original Centennial International Long Range Match, which was held at the Creedmore Range in New York, USA in 1876. Subsequently the event became known as the Palma Trophy Teams Match and it has been shot 27 times officially between 1876 and 2007. Australia has competed 14 times, in 1876, 1903, 1907, 1971, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

The Palma Match is shot at distances of 800, 900 and 1000 yards on imperial ranges such as Belmont, and 700, 800 and 900 metres on metric ranges such as Connaught. Teams of 16 men and women, in four squads of four, fire 15 shots at each distance, repeated over two days. Each squad is controlled by a coach who applies corrections for wind to the iron sights of .308 calibre rifles. Full bore team shooting is an endurance sport and the Palma Match is a unique, shoulder to shoulder, international competition of marksmanship skills.

2007 Australian Rifle Team

The 2007 Australian Palma Rifle Team at Connaught Canada

Only five countries have won this match, out of a total of 24 national teams (not counting composite teams). Australia has won the Palma Match twice, at Trentham in New Zealand in 1979, and at home at Malabar in Sydney in 1988. The Australia Rifle Team is looking to follow up their 2007 Bronze medal success in the Palma Match at Connaught in Ottawa, Canada, when they outshot the previous Palma world record by 51 points.

The Palma Trophy

The Palma Trophy was originally named the Grand Centennial Trophy, in honour of the Centennial celebration of the independance of the United States of America. It was commissioned from Tiffanny’s at a cost of $1500, which was raised from popular subscriptions.
The trophy was a full sized replica of a Roman Legion standard, seven and one half feet tall, executed in bronze with silver and gold inlay. On the banner of the standard was the legend, “In the name of the United States of America to the Riflemen of the World”. Above the banner was the single word, “PALMA”, the latin word for palm tree, which was used by the Romans to signify victory, or the ultimate in excellence.
The original trophy has not been seen since 1954. Serving in its place is a copy which was made from the original Tiffany blue prints at a cost of $32,500. The countries that have competed for the trophy and their scores are listed on the results page.