The Dewar Match is an annual postal smallbore prone rifle competition organised by the NSRA. The Match was first contested in 1909. Australia, Canada, Cylon, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, and the USA have, at some point, competed for the Lord Dewar Cup.
The course of fire is a Single Dewar (20 shots at 50 metres/yards and 20 shots at 100 yards) shot outdoors on NSRA approved targets. Shooting positions and equipment must comply with NSRA rules. Each team consists of 20 shooters, two reserves, a captain, and an adjutant. The team must shoot the Match together on the same range on the same day. The team may be coached. Each team is responsible for the scoring of their targets, which must be carried out by an experienced scorer/panel of scorers* who is not a member of the team. The firing of the Match and scoring of the shot targets must be observed by each team’s designated official witness.
*Experienced scorers must be officially recognised by their team’s national governing body or have been authorised by the NSRA to carry out the official scoring duties for their team in the Dewar Match for that year.
2026 GB Dewar Trial
STAGE 1 - Postal Trial - Double Dewar (40 shots at 50 metres/yards and 40 shots at 100 yards) shot on any suitable range and on NSRA issued paper targets. The last day for shooting is Monday, 18 May 2026. Each athlete may submit multiple entries; only their best score will count.
STAGE 2 - The 2026 Great Britain Dewar Team will be selected from a shoulder-to-shoulder trial, held at Appleton Rifle Club in Cheshire on Sunday, 19 July 2026. It is intended that the Dewar Match will be fired on the same day as the trial. There will be up to 60 places available at the shoulder-to-shoulder trial. Please note, the Great Britain Team Officials are not obligated to fill all 60 places available at the shoulder-to-shoulder trial.
The following athletes are automatically invited and do not need to enter the postal trial:
1. Athletes who finish in places 1-5 in the 2025 British Long Range Prone Small-bore Rifle Championship (Earl Roberts Memorial Competition - Comp. 21) at the 2025 Bisley National Rifle Meeting.
2. 40 from the 2025 Bisley National Rifle Meeting across classes X and A as follows:
- Those promoted from Class A to Class X in the Championship Aggregate (Comp. 7).
- Those in X Class placed in the top five places in the Weekend Aggregate (Comp. 11), who did not compete in the Championship Aggregate (Comp. 7).
- All remaining places to the leading eligible athletes in Class X in the Championship Aggregate (Comp. 7).
3. Those who did not compete in either the Weekend Aggregate (Comp. 11) or Championship Aggregate (Comp. 7) at the 2025 Bisley National Rifle Meeting and placed in the top five scores, irrespective of class, in the Squadded Aggregate (Comp. 4) at the 2025 Haig Meeting.
4. Up to five wildcards at the discretion of the Great Britain Dewar Team Captain.
5. Any number of remaining places, to be determined by the Team Captain based upon the number of athletes qualifying from 1-5 above and range availability, to the leading available athletes in the 2026 Great Britain Dewar Team Postal Trial.
Please note the following:
Only current full members of the NSRA who are British citizens or UK residents are eligible to qualify (please see the 2026 Selection Policy for more details).
Disabled shooters who comply with the World Para Sport classification criteria for Sport Class SH1 (Rifle) are eligible for selection.
The Great Britain Team Officials are not obligated to fill all 60 places available at the shoulder-to-shoulder trial.
Where an ineligible athlete finishes in a qualifying position at the 2025 National Rifle Meeting or 2025 Haig Meeting, the next highest-placed eligible athlete will be invited to the shoulder-to-shoulder trial.
Wildcard places are offered entirely at the discretion of the Team Captain.
Postal Trialists and wildcards will be confirmed by invitation (around May/June 2026) to attend the Stage 2 shoulder-to-shoulder trial.
At the shoulder-to-shoulder trial it is anticipated that there will be four separate squads of up to 15 athletes each shooting a Double Dewar. The leading five athletes from each squad will form the 2026 Great Britain Dewar Team. The two reserve positions for the Team will be filled by the two highest scoring athletes across all four squads who did not finish in the top five in their squad. The full competition conditions and squadding information will be issued to all trialists ahead of the event.