THE British Association for Shooting and Conservation is calling on people who shoot to help encourage a new generation to take up the sport.

The BASC is to launch a new fund-raising appeal to help expand its work to encourage more young people into shooting and to give a greater understanding of shooting sports and their role in the countryside to young people from all walks of life.

Money raised will allow BASC to mentor more young people and help fund young shots aspiring to join the next generation of elite British competitors at international events such a s the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

It will also go towards expanding BASC’s existing Young Shots programme and developing and promoting its resources for schools, as well as ensuring staff can continue to reach out to many more than the 4,000 young people from urban areas that BASC already educates at Countryside Live events.

Last year BASC gave more than 2,000 young people hands-on experience of shooting through its Young Shots programme and the network of more than 100 accredited and CRB-checked shotgun coaches. In future, BASC wants to maintain that enthusiasm and bring young people into a lifetime’s enjoyment of shooting sports.

BASC head of fund-raising Nick Glazebrook said: “Our sport’s future depends in the introduction of young people to safe and responsible shooting.

It is up to us all to help equip newcomers with the knowledge and skills they need. BASC has been working on this project for some time and it has been inspired by our years of work with young people.”