About the Mitsubishi Motors World Series Championship
In 2004 Countryman Fairs introduced a groundbreaking clay shooting championship; the now world famous Mitsubishi Motors World Series. Not only did the competition offer the largest prize fund in clay shooting but also an innovative classification system meant that shooters of all abilities really did have a good chance of taking away high value prizes.
The championship was the brainchild of Countryman Fairs’ Chief Executive, Ian Harford. “Clay shooting had always been a key part of our event formula, but we often received negative feedback from the average shooter, who simply couldn’t compete with regular club shots. The prizes often ended up in the same few shooters hands, and this discouraged greater participation. Once a high score had been posted, many shooters simply walked away without entering.”
“Something needed to be done to inject new energy and excitement into the sport. Our ethos has always been to encourage greater participation in shooting, and particularly from younger shots, who can sometimes get fazed by the big names. And thus the World Series was born”
Initially the competition offered two classes for competitors. The Professional class was for anyone who was, or ever had been a CPSA Class A shot in any recognised clay shooting discipline. The Open class was for all other shooters. The top 10 shooters from each class at each of the 3 qualifying events were invited to the final at the world renowned Midland Game Fair to shoot off for a brand new car. Both classes were offered identical prize packages, and by giving the regular shooters their own class, shooters of all abilities were drawn to enter the event.
In 2006 Graham Brown of Purbeck Shooting School took over design of the course, and bought with him an experience of building clay shoots that remains second to none. At the same time the field, which had previously been limited to BASC and CPSA members only, was opened up to all shooters. This increased the entries by over 20% and ensured the competition was open to anyone.
For 2007 a dedicated Ladies Class and Junior Class were introduced and the Professional and Open classes remained the same. The new structure gave 20 shooters the opportunity to qualify at each of the three Countryman Fairs Spring and Summer events, with 5 qualifying in each of the four categories. The new categories produced 154% increase in the number of juniors entering and a 74% increase in the number of ladies entering.
Following this success the format for 2008 Mitsubishi Motors World Series remained much the same as 2007 with four dedicated classes, Professional Class, Open Class, Ladies Class and Junior Class. Instead of the format changing it was the Championships prize find that received and overhaul. The names of each of the 20 qualifying shots at each event were placed into a hat, and the shooter lucky enough to have their name drawn won a brand new Mitsubishi Colt CZ1 worth £7,499.00 LP. This format gave four shooters in total a brand new Mitsubishi each.
Countryman Fairs’ Chief Executive, Ian Harford, said, “In 2004, the World Series achieved exactly what we had hoped for when Bastien Havart took the title at just 15 years old, and in 2005 Tim Bovingdon only just lost out to Martin Myers. 2006 saw pigeon shooter Anthony Poolman, 2007 provided the competitions first Ladies Class Champion, and in 2008 the title went to the competitions youngest ever Champion, 14 year old Jordan Gray. The championship encourages new talent, and helps all shooters, regardless of their ability, to get involved at a national level in a way that no other competition can achieve. By further opening up the Mitsubishi Motors World Series with more qualifying opportunities than ever before, we have enabled even the newest clay shooters to make their mark on the international scene.”
Mitsubishi Motors World Series 2009
For 2009 the Mitsubishi Motors World Series will offer more qualifying opportunities than ever before with each competitor having the chance to shoot as many times as they like.
On both days of Kelmarsh Country Fair, Highclere Country Fair and the Sussex Country Fair, the top three shots from each class; Professional, Open, Ladies and Junior qualify for the Grand Final. In total there are now 20 more qualifying places in 2009 than in any other year.
For the first time in the competitions history the Saturday of the Midland Game Fair will also offer the opportunity for two competitors in each class to qualify for the Grand Final on the Sunday of the Midland Game Fair. The Grand Final will see 80 finalists compete head to head to decide the overall Mitsubishi Motors World Series Champion.
The finalists in each class will shoot off until there is one remaining Class Champion. The four Class Champions will then shoot for the title of Mitsubishi Motors World Series Champion and drive away in a brand new Mitsubishi L200 Trojan worth over £20,000.00LP.
Events & Locations
| Kelmarsh Country Fair | 12th April and 13th April 2009 | Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire NN6 9LY | View Map |
| Highclere Country Fair | 24th May and 25th May 2009 | Highclere Castle, Newbury RG20 9RN | View Map |
| Sussex Country Fair | 20th June and 21st June 2009 | Parham Park, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 4HS | View Map |
| Midland Country Fair | 19th September and 20th September 2009 | Weston Park, Shropshire TF11 8LE | View Map |