One of the NRA’s most cherished competition traditions is the Goodwill Randle Team, an all-woman smallbore rifle team that accompanies the U.S. Pershing Team (or the Roberts Team while in England) to the match venue, which rotates from the U.S. and U.K. every four years. The 2022 Goodwill Randle Team Match will be held August 3 at Camp Atterbury during the NRA National Smallbore Prone Championships.
Similar to the Roberts and Pershing Trophy Matches, the Goodwill Randle Match is fired shoulder-to-shoulder. Team members volunteer their time and money to continue this institution with a history stretching back more than 20 years.
At the previous Goodwill Randle Match, fired in 2017 at Bisley Camp in England, the United States defeated the British, 2304-2289, giving the U.S. back-to-back wins in the series. The United States currently has a one-win advantage in the series with Great Britain, 3-2.
More background from the late shooting sports historian, Hap Rocketto: “The Goodwill Randle Match is organized and conducted in the United States every eight years in conjunction with the firing of the Pershing Match. The Goodwill Randle Match may be organized every eight years in England in conjunction with the firing of the Roberts Match as the National Small-Bore Rifle Association of Great Britain wishes.”
There are a few differences between Goodwill Randle Match customs and the official Randle rules. As a postal match, the Randle competition is shot on NRA targets, while the in-person Goodwill matches use British Metric targets in the United Kingdom and American Conventional targets in the United States.
Since the beginning, the Goodwill Randle Match has promoted friendship between the respective shooting sports communities of Great Britain and the United States. During each competition, the women of the host country hold a reception with the women from the visiting country. This post-match event is highlighted by fine food, along with the exchange of gifts.
2022 Goodwill Randle Team
The NRA is encouraging all women to join with their shooting sisters to celebrate this smallbore rifle tradition on August 3 at Camp Atterbury during the 2022 NRA National Matches.
The Goodwill Randle Team is chosen by adding the score fired to make the Randle Team (a.k.a. the Metallic Sight Aggregate) to the score fired on the Randle Team. The top six shooters will form the Goodwill Randle Team. This year, there will be six competitors on each country’s team because the British are bringing six ladies to Camp Atterbury. One difference between Randle and Goodwill Randle—for the latter, the team members may select male coaches.
This year’s Goodwill Randle Team boasts veteran talent at the helm. Team Captain Lenore Lemanski has appeared on the Randle Team 30 times, and joining her this summer at Camp Atterbury will be Team Coach Barbara Hampson, who is making her 15th Randle Team appearance and is also a previous All-National Guard shooter. Goodwill Randle Team officials are selected by the NRA Smallbore Rifle Committee, much like the method used for the U.S. Randle Postal Match team selection.
For more information on how to try out for the 2022 Goodwill Randle Team during the Smallbore Prone Nationals, please contact NRA Smallbore Committee Chairwoman Patti Clark via email at [email protected]. To learn more about the 2022 NRA National Matches at Camp Atterbury and to register, go to this link.
