Mel Sykes in the Sunday Express today

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Nicola said:
Yes....but what people on here seem to forget is that there is only one ladies OT place and we have to win the quota place first....true story..!

We were lucky at London 2012 because as host nation we were given the place..! We did not manage to win one....just saying..!

So for those that do not know...that means being in the top 2 of the rankings in order to get on the GbR team...in order to go to a quota place shoot next year.....and then you need to win.

This is a big ask for all our experienced girls....who will also be chasing it as 'their dream' as well.

Big ask..??? You tell me..!

As I said....I only do reality and realistic goals...

Why not ask Phil Coley what he thinks the chances are?
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none of us need to ask Phil what he thinks as we all know what the answer is....this thread is more about the publicity she is creating for the sport in general...like I said, it'll be the PR/media putting the Olympics stuff out there....true story.
 
Sorry....but I have not heard what Phil thinks about the chances of getting there.

Kent makes a great point. F1 has a massive following and very few actual drivers....because the sport is a very expensive one to play in. The people follow the top teams and the top drivers....I do not see any celebs doing it.

I know from what we have heard that MEL loves the sport and that is great. I hope that she loves it forever like we do...and that she brings more people into the sport with her passion. But we have had plenty of celebs in our sport for many years.

People may not be aware that 20 years ago we had 25,000 members in Cpsa .....at the moment we have 24,000.....that should tell you all something......just saying..!

 
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I think that the point nic and i are trying to make is that yes promotion of the sport is great and worthwhile but we already have people within the sport who have accomplished great things and are celebrities within the sport and it is those people that should be used as ambassadors and not have a go celebs. Imagine an interview about the sport by tv or radio who would know what there talking about kerwood (for instance) or sykes ???

 
Everybody has made valid points on this subject, to be honest I doubt whether she will get anywhere near to Olympic standard. But if we get some good publicity off the back of it then hoorah boom titty boom

 
Well apparently Italian trap shooters do enjoy celebrity status to a degree. Not sure if or how this is accomplished / promoted but shooting in Italy is massive by comparison to UK.

 
The Spanish HELICE team were invited to a do with their King and Queen. The Portuguese have televised celebrations honouring their shooting heroes.

Here in this country we do not seem to be very good at getting the sports heroes in the limelight. Although our some members of our wining Commonwealth team were invited to Spoty after India in 2010. Our Olympic team were honoured with attendance at some of the Queen's garden parties last year.

More could be done if they had stronger connections to the media.

After the Cumbrian incident when shooting was under threat I was part of a team that hosted part of the investigating select committee (chaired by Keith Vaz) to a day at Bisley showing them all what shooting was all about. They were given lessons in clay shooting and air rifle shooting. I even asked people like the lovely Anita North who was at the time the current OT commonwealth champion to cone along to help fly the flag...which of course she was glad to do. But how has the link been kept since then?? I doubt it has. Hardly anything got in the non-shooting media.....opportunity wasted again....!

Lots of people work hard to support and protect the sport...you just don't hear about it..!!

Stronger connections to the media big wigs would help...!

Our GBR teams turn out on lots of occasions at their own expense to promote the sport at fundraisers etc...but when do you see that in the media....

Great opportunities wasted because our people do not have the connections. And that is why it rarely appears in the media...true story...!

....just saying..!

 
I would hazard a guess that a lot of F1 popularity comes from the fact that millions and millions of people can feel a connection to the sport because they are drivers. It also has a history of being sexy, technical and is an amazing spectator sport. A fat old bloke in a hedge shooting invisible shot at barely visible clays does not really cut it, especially considering that nobody has a way of relating to it. Even a young attractive trapista shooting a flash target is not politically acceptable nor visually stimulating for by far the majority of the population and crucially sponsors. Shooting in all it's forms will always be a minority sport/pastime, the best it can achieve is slightly less of a minority. It should not stop us trying though.

 
Quite and more to the point.....people following any sport want to see the skill......!

They are not really bothered if you are beautiful, thin, fat or ugly......they want to see you win....

.....just realistically saying....!!

I know this is a mainly male forum.....Zzzzzzz....but not every shooter is swayed by looks or job.........some might just see the short term novelty value and think how interesting.....and then they get back to following the real stars of the sport....whether the are a celeb outside the sport or not.....

There are many celeb inside the sport.....like Hillyer, North, Burton, Marshall, Povey, Kerwood, Hill, Little, Wixey, Hall, Faulds, Bream, Carrie, Riddington, Chambers, Wilcocks, Brumby.........need I go on....!

 
Playing the media is a hard and thankless game and particularly nasty for women. It's so nasty I'm currently helping someone who was extremely traumatised by the media treatment she got and the associated public treatment. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because they dared to have an opinion. It's vile and misogynistic and a game you absolutely cannot win if you are a women. Once you become media property your life is hell. I would never want to do it myself, and I certainly wouldn't want suggest exposing any woman doing sports to it as a matter of course. National media coverage for women comes at a very, very high price that men don't have to pay. Your body, your behaviour, your past, your private life, they become available for comment in a way that doesn't happen to men. Check out No More Page 3 and the associated work if you actually give a sh*t. Unless you are given angel status you will be hounded for being ugly/fat/over groomed/underdressed/a whore. 

If a currently celebrity wants to help shooting, great. That's way better IMHO than sacrificing a sportswoman on the altar of media promotion. 

 
:fie:  Bloody womans libber :fie:   :fie:   :fie:   the country has gone to the dogs! :fie:  

 
shootinguru said:
Bloody womans libber   the country has gone to the dogs! :fie:  
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Calm down dear...i have added you as the 'old woman' of clay shooting :laugh:

It is not women's lib...you daft old sausage....keep up ...or i will have to get nursey to increase your dose....

it was a part of the conversation taking about other female role models.

:wink:

 
I'm sitting here, laptop in hand, reading this thread while waiting for the start of Moto GP.

The starting grid is awash with celebriries of stage, screen and sport having been invited by various teams to add to the diverse publicity this sport receives. Some are interviewed and clearly have no interest in the racing but use this spectacle to increase their exposure to the ensuing media circus. Their followers are probably tuning in to see their "star" make their appearance and with any luck will gain a little from the race coverage.

The last time I shot the British Open or Beretta World, I certainly cannot remember bumping into any celebrities from outside of our sport, or indeed, seeing any media presence other than journalists from the shooting magazines.

Are we missing a trick? Should we invite "One Direction" (That's a currently popular beat group Ips) or some other high profile personalities to our events? Would it do any good?

Back in the eighties I saw various celebs shoot in "Charity" events - Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Suzi Quattro, Patrick Lichfield, Ian Botham etc etc but these don't seem to happen now, unless they are "behind closed doors". Cameras were everywhere and it made national news at the time. Remember these were the days of multi-national company sponsorship with the associated large prize pots, therefore higher profile and acceptance for our sport.

 
no.1topdog said:
Are we missing a trick? Should we invite "One Direction" (That's a currently popular beat group Ips) or some other high profile personalities to our events? Would it do any good?
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:laugh: oh my giddy Aunt ,judging by how this thread has gone Off track during its life span TD, that was probably not the wisest question to post on here, expect a deluge of suggestions, anything from Dolly Parton to the chuffing Chipping Dales wouldn't come as any surprise to me! :laugh: (Got a few suggestions myself tbh :biggrin: )

 
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Funny enough Mrs Claus mentioned  mizz Sykes over dinner , 

I asked her how she knew, and she replied that it was some of her colleagues in her office, 

They knew her game plan & olyimpic aspirations ..

Like it or loath it, its putting our sport out to a much wider audience than most of us could

Mart

 
Can anyone tell me....apart from the TV show where she showed her and Gino shooting ...and the couple of articles....back in May I think.....what other promotion of the sport has been done since..?

How many people have been encouraged to take up the sport..?

I would love to know how this has benefited the sport.

Honestly....because I have not seen anything.

 
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