Training for the Olympics
England Champion Ruth Mwandumba reveals what it takes to pull the trigger in competitive rifle shooting.
Intrigued by the idea of a sport that doesn’t rely on strength and fitness? If the answer is ‘yes’ then competitive rifle shooting could be for you. Yet while it doesn’t necessitate an athlete’s physique it does require composure, exquisite fine motor skills, superb hand-eye coordination and the ability to hold your nerve.
It’s this absence of huff, puff and sweat that initially attracted 25-year-old England Champion Ruth Mwandumba. She was given the opportunity to try rifle shooting in CCF at St Mary’s College in Liverpool.
‘I wasn’t into fitness or athletics and I wasn’t a sporty kid at school,’ she said. ‘Shooting was the first sport I was good at and it drew me in because it didn’t require impressive fitness.’
Preparing for Competitions
Although Ruth likes to work out to feel at her best in competitions, there are two attributes much higher on her priority list.
The first is balance (so she can cope with the long periods of standing), which she cultivates by doing yoga, using a balance board and trying to hold her body still while on top of the likes of dumbbells and foam rollers. The second is mental preparation: competitions are nail-bitingly tense so being able to hold your nerve and exercise immaculate self-control is essential.
‘Shooting is a mental sport more than anything,’ she explains. ‘I like to read books on sports psychology but some of my fellow competitors use apps.’
The mental technique Ruth favours, to help her stay calm while practising hitting targets 10, 25 or 50 metres away, is self-talk. ‘Every athlete has a process they go through before they take a shot,’ وہ کہتی ہے۔. ‘For me, I tell myself every single part of my process so that
when it comes to the point of taking the shot, I know it’s going to be a good one. I don’t just think about my process, I say it to myself in my head.’
Despite the intense tension of competitions, Ruth loves the sport for its friendly community. ‘It’s great to be in a sport you’re passionate about and where you have fun and make great friends,’ وہ کہتی ہے۔. ‘I’ve been able to travel with it, too, so I’ve made many international friends. Everyone is so welcoming in the shooting community and very helpful – especially when you first start – which I love.’
Her Training Schedule
Ruth fits her training around studying for a PHD in epidemiology (she’s working towards a career researching infectious diseases) at the University of Manchester, and her part-time job. ‘I have to make sure I’m on top of my organisational skills and plan everything to a tee so I can shoot well and still maintain the other elements of my life. I’ve always known how far I want to go in the sport and, because I remind myself of that, I find ways to balance everything.’
Her long-term goal is to compete at the Olympics. First, though, she’ll have to pit herself against the shooting elite in major championships including the European Championships, World Championships and the European Games. Achieving the title of England Champion in her first season of competitive shooting was an incredibly encouraging start.
‘I don’t think even I believed it when it happened. I was new to the sport at the time and I don’t think it fully hit me when I got that title. I can definitely say I am glad to have it – and that I have it for life now.’
Learn how to shoot a rifle like Ruth with the Army Cadets! شوٹنگ is part of our Army Cadet Syllabus and a favourite amongst our cadets, اپنا مقامی دستہ تلاش کریں and join the ACF today to learn how!