Constitution and History

History of ICFRA

Representatives of 14 countries competing in the Palma and Individual Long Range World Championship Matches in Bloemfontein, South Africa, met on 8 April 1999 and agreed to investigate the formation of an International body. A steering committee was formed, chaired by Deon Burger of South Africa, and comprised representatives from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and South Africa. A draft Constitution was written and approved by early 2002 and finalised at the first Council meeting of the Confederation during the staging of the Palma and Individual Long Range World Championships at Bisley, United Kingdom in July 2003 when ICFRA was formally inaugurated. Stan Frost of Canada was elected first President and Colin Cheshire, Great Britain, was appointed as Secretary-General. Stan Frost was succeded by Tony Loughnan (New Zealand) in 2007, and he in turn by Bernand de Beer (South Africa) in 2011, at which time Colin Cheshire became Vice President and Phil Harrison (Great Britain) was appointed Secretary General. In 2015, Phil Harrison retired as Secretary General and was replaced by Charles Brooks (GBR). in 2018 Phil Harrison resumed the Secretaryship-General, re-retiring in March 2019 to be replaced by Mr Lindsay Peden (Scotland).  At the same time Mr Des Vamplew (Canada) was elected President of ICFRA.

​ICFRA is a confederation of independent autonomous national fullbore rifle associations and is the only World-wide body for the promotion of fullbore rifle shooting. It is the successor to the Palma Match Council. Its aims are set out in the Constitution and include the standardisation of fullbore rifle shooting rules and the promotion and control of international matches at World level, including World Championships for Target rifle and F-Class (Individual and Team).